Matthew Koon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Matthew Koon (b. December 15, 1993) is an English stage actor and one of the boys who plays the lead character of Billy Elliot in Billy Elliot the Musical at the Victoria Palace Theatre in the West End of London. He is the first boy from a Chinese background to take on the role of Billy Elliot.[1][2]
Koon is from Kays Gardens, Trinity in Salford, Greater Manchester. He lives with father, Arthur and his mother, Hilda, both originally from Hong Kong, China. Matthew has one sister, Anna. He has studied at Lightoaks Junior School and is currently at Trinity Church of England High School.[3][2][4]
Koon premiered in Billy Elliot the Musical on March 1, 2006. When two years old, his sister Anna had inspired him to try ballet at the Alyson Livesey Academy of Dance and Drama in Whitefield. At the age of nine, Matthew was accepted to the Royal Ballet School's Junior Associate programme, which meant training at Leeds every Saturday with Miss Melanie Agar. His strength and interest in dancing grew after he started training with Caroline Wright and Darren Middleton at Centre Pointe in Manchester. He auditioned for Billy Elliot the Musical at the Zion Centre in Manchester in February 2005. Matthew left Billy Elliot the Musical on Saturday 2 December 2006.[2]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Billy Elliot the Musical Press Information from M+R (accessed July 22, 2006)
- ^ a b c Born to Boogie with Billy (accessed July 22, 2006)
- ^ "Salford's very own Billy Elliot" by Heather Butler (accessed July 22, 2006)
