Note: Rafferty Smale will be appearing as Billy in Billy Elliot the Musical (BETM) in the 2026/27 UK Tour and in the West End, from November 4, 2026 to February 26, 2028.
Debut:
Total Performances as Billy to Date: 0 (As of 31-Oct-2026)
Twelve year old Rafferty Smale, from Leigh-on-Sea, commonly referred to simply as Leigh, which is a town and civil parish within the city of Southend-on-Sea, located in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. Academically, he had been a student at St. Michael’s in Leigh-on-Sea.
At age four, Raffertyhad begun ballet lessons and also joined Junior Masters Performing Arts where he also learned tap and modern as well. In 2021, Rafferty joined Tring Park Performing Arts Classical Ballet Academy program and became a Royal Ballet Junior Associate in 2022. At age nine, Rafferty won gold for his ballet solo at the Dance World Cup 2023 and won silver at the Dance World Cup 2024 in the age 10-15 category at age 10.
He has performed in Royal Ballet’s productions of Cinderella, Don Quixote and The Winter’s Tale as Mamillius. Rafferty became a full-time student at Royal Ballet’s White Lodge in September 2025. He was cast as the first Year 7 Fritz in The Nutcracker in 2025, followed by Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works in 2026.
Rafferty is a big fan of both Bruno Mars and Harry Styles and loves going to concerts and the theatre to see both ballet and musicals. Like many children of his age, he also loves theme parks.
When asked what his hobbies are, he replied “Dancing, dancing and more dancing!”
When it was announced that he had been cast as Billy, his former dance school, Junor Master Performing Arts posted its congratualtions:
In late September of 2026, official production channels released rehearsal footage of Raffterty performing “Expressing Yourself” alongside 10-year-old Harper Etienne (Michael). To those who know him, this performance highlighted how effortlessly Rafferty has adapted his strict classical White Lodge technique to Peter Darling’s comic timing, tap choreography and character acting.
With his debut as Billy, Rafferty becomes the (number) performer in the world to portray the title role in the musical in a professional, regional or community theatre production.
For more information about Rafferty, visit:
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