Note: Arcangelo’s final show as Billy in the Italian Tour of Billy Elliot the Musical (BETM) was on April 30, 2017.
Debut: January 26, 2017 (Ancona, Italy)
Total Performances as Billy: 53 (No partial shows)
Arcangelo Ciulla, from Syracuse in Sicily, was 14 years old (D.O.B. = 18-Oct-2002) when he debuted as Billy in the second Italian Tour of BETM. He previously played the role of Tall Boy and was the understudy Michael in the first Italian Tour (2015-16).
Arcangelo first started dancing when he was six-years-old at Silva Arte Danza di Siracusa. He quickly discovered a passion for street dance, and so started studying hip hop, break dance, locking, popping and house with the dance master Simone Moncada. He then went on to study these dance styles further, all with internationally renowned teachers – Kapelà (house), Salah (popping), Robbie Richie (hip hop), Neguin (break dance). Here’s a video from 2014 of Arcangelo performing a street dance routine at a dance competition:
Credit: Video by B-BOY Ice
In 2013 Arcangelo expanded his dance repertoire even further by starting to learn ballet, tap and jazz. He also began lessons in acting and singing. Throughout his years as a dancer Arcangelo has entered numerous competitions and has won many awards. His long list of dance accolades include:
- 1st place at the Italian Dance Federation (FID) Italian Championship
- 1st place in the “King of the Floor” competition in Syracuse
- 1st place in the “Sicilian Dance Award” competition
The following video shows Arcangelo displaying his singing and tap dancing skills:
Credit: Video by B-BOY Ice
In the summer of 2016, Arcangelo attended the summer school at Laine Theatre Arts School, which is a performing arts school in Epsom, England.
Arcangelo’s previous theatrical experience includes:
- ‘Abu’ in Aladdin
- ‘Timothy’ in Annie
- Pinocchio
- Corps de ballet in Nessuno nasce per niente (No one is born at all)
- The lead role of ‘Peter Pan’ in Compagnia Silva Arte Danza’s production of Verso l’sola che non (To Neverland)
- Evita (2016)
Arcangelo’s first involvement with BETM came in October 2015 when he played Tall Boy in the first Italian Tour. He was also the understudy for Michael and played this role for the first time on 7-Nov-2015. He continued to play Michael occasionally until the end of the tour in February 2016.
For the second Italian Tour Arcangelo finally got the chance to play the lead role. His debut as Billy Elliot on 26-Jan-2017 made him the 179th actor worldwide to play the role.
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As noted above, the original profile article was authored by emcpow. The Life After Billy segment, below, was researched and written by rsbatchelor.
Life After Billy
2017 – After Billy Elliot, Arcangelo focused all his time and energy on training to get into Laine Theatre Arts program in Surrey, England. Arcangelo performed in Siracusa the Musical for Silva Arte Danza.
2018 – Arcangelo performed in a new musical with Silva Arte Danza called Tito for younger audiences. He performed in Sicily in Silva Arte Danza’s Musical Don Jose, in Ulysses and Penelope (a contemporary piece,) and Gene Kelly and Jerry Mouse tap dance.
In 2018, he auditioned for and received the Dada scholarship for Laine Theatre Arts. Arcangelo also performed in the Silva Arte Danza‘s The Jungle Book seen below.
Arcangelo in The Jungle Book Silva Arte Danza
2019 to 2020 – Arcangelo moved to London to train until 2022 at the Laine Theatre Arts program. He played the part of Niccolo in the Netflix movie Cruel Peter. The picture below shows Arcangelo as Niccolo.
The movie is about the character Peter’s cruelty to children, animals, and servants. In the movie, Peter wakes up in a coffin in the Gothic cemetery one night after being ambushed. This movie, directed by Christian Bisceglia and Ascanio Malgarini was released in 2020. He also performed in the Grand Prix Festival Danza.
2021 – Arcangelo was in his second year at Laine Theatre Arts, doing very well on his exams in 2021. He took singing lessons every week to improve his skills. December 4th to January 2nd, 2021, he performed in the pantomime Dick Whittington at the New Wimbledon Theatre, produced by Qdos.
2022 – In 2022, Arcangelo performed his last prelim with a contemporary number.
He performed in the Laine showcase summer show. He graduated from Laine Theatre Arts at the end of June 2022 with a level 6 diploma in Musical Theatre. He wants to land a production in London.
For more information about Arcangelo visit:
Billy Elliot the Forum, Arcangelo’s Facebook, Arcangelo’s Instagram
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