Note: Emile’s final show as Billy in the UK & Ireland Tour of Billy Elliot The Musical was on July 23, 2017.
Debut: November 25, 2016 (Bristol Hippodrome)
Total Performances as Billy to Date: 66 (No partial shows)
Emile Gooding was 11 years old (D.O.B = 19-Apr-2005) when he debuted as Billy in the UK & Ireland Tour of BETM. Emile is from Earley, which is near Reading in the South of England, and he has two older brothers – Joel and Remi. He is a student at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Hertfordshire.
Much of Emile’s dance training has taken place at The Lodge School of Theatre Dance in Berkshire, where he has studied a wide range of dance styles including ballet, tap and modern. In 2013, aged eight, Emile came first in his age group in the modern dance category at the national finals of the Festival of Theatre Dance competition. He also won his category in the Finals of the Janet Cram Awards in 2015. This video shows Emile rehearsing his winning dance:
Credit: Video by Sedge Gooding
Emile is a talented gymnast and trains at the Bulmershe Gymnastics Club. In May 2014 he won a silver medal at the Southern Region Championships. The following video shows Emile competing at these championships:
Credit: Video by Chris Kendall
Emile is already an experienced stage performer. From September 2014 to April 2015 he performed in the West End production of Matilda the Musical as “Eric”. Emile is part of a talented family, as his older brother, Remi, also joined the Matilda cast at the same time as him to play the role of “Tommy” and later went on to play the role of “Bruce”. Emile’s most recent theatrical experience was performing in English National Ballet’s production of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall in June 2016.
Here’s a clip of the cast of Matilda the Musical, including both Emile and Remi, performing the song “Revolting Children” on the British TV show The Alan Titchmarsh Show:
Credit: Video by MYSTiiC KiiNG
Emile initially joined the tour of BETM during their stop in Dublin in order to start rehearsals with the cast. He made his debut in the lead role of Billy in Bristol on 25-Nov-2016, making him the 176th actor to play the role worldwide.
Learn more about Emile in his “Meet the Billys” video:
Credit: Video by Billy Elliot The Musical
For more information about Emile visit:
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