Meet Billy Elliot: Kaden Hinkle

Note: Kaden’s final show as Billy in Vintage Theatre’s production of Billy Elliot the Musical (BETM) in Aurora, CO, was on March 19, 2017.

Debut: February 3, 2017 (Vintage Theatre, Aurora, CO)

Total Performances to Date:  19  (No partial shows) 

Kaden Hinkle was a 13-year-old eighth grader (D.O.B. = 15-Jul-2003) when he debuted as Billy at the Vintage Theatre in Aurora.  Kaden is from Boulder, Colorado, about an hour northwest of the theater’s location in Aurora (a suburb of Denver).

Kaden has a very long resume of prior dance and theatrical experience that has been supported by the impressive training in the performing arts he’s already received in his relatively short life.

His dance training has been with Streetside Dance (Hip Hop), Ballet with Marlana Qualls (a professional dancer, choreographer and teacher of master dance classes), and Tap and Jazz with Caroline Younger.  The picture to the right is of Kaden (left) and his twin brother at age two, when both began taking tap and ballet classes.

Kaden was also involved in competitive gymnastics in the past, taking classes and competing over a four year period.  He was very successful at it, as is depicted in this picture of Kaden at a competition in which he won first place in what turned out to be his final gymnastics season.

But four years ago he had to give up gymnastics as he had become very busy with musical theater, by that time working professionally for nine months or more of the year on various musical theater stages.  He simply couldn’t find time for gymnastics any longer.

Once he turned his concentration solely on musical theater, Kaden stepped up his training. His other performance training includes:

• Vocal instruction with Katie McClave of Dana V Music in Colorado and with Trapper Felides in New York City.
• Classes at the Broadway Artists Alliance (NYC)
• Attendance at the French Woods Performing Arts Camp (NY)
• Acting classes from a variety of instructors

All of the above hard work has led Kaden to acquire a long list of performance credits, including:

• A Christmas Story National Tour (Ensemble) – Denver Cast at the Buell Theater

Credit: Video by Denver Center for the Performing Arts

• Tarzan The Musical (Young Tarzan) – The Arvada Center (CO)
• A Christmas Story (Ralphie) – Town Hall Arts Center (Littleton, CO)

Credit: Video by TownHallArtsCenter

• 

  Mary Poppins (Michael Banks) – Boulder Dinner Theatre Stage
• A Christmas Carol (Boy Scrooge) – The Arvada Center (CO)
• Miracle on 34th Street  (Ensemble) – The Arvada Center 
• Peter Pan (Michael Darling) – Starkey Theatrix at The Pace Center (Parker, CO)
• BIG FISH  (Will’s Son, Scout) – Aurora Fox Arts Center
• Wizard of Oz (Lollipop Guild) – Boulder Dinner Theatre Stage
• La Bohème (Featured Boy Soloist) – Boulder Symphony

In addition to the above, Kaden has also appeared in many Children’s Theater productions, a detailed listing of which is impossible in this short space, but they have included Oliver!, Les Misérables, Legally Blonde, Seussical, Fiddler on the Roof and Alice in Wonderland.

It’s a resume many an actor, years older than Kaden, would be proud to have.

No profile about Kaden would be complete without mention of his work in supporting charities for those in need.  He is especially passionate about the Denver Actors Fund and Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS.  This is a video in which Kaden and his friends are seen performing their rendition of the Cell Block Tango at a Denver Miscast performance in support of the Denver Actors Fund:

Credit: Video by John Moore

Kaden was cast in the Vintage Theatre production of BETM following his initial audition for the show in October, 2016.  Following a callback, he learned he had landed the role.  Due to the very large cast and complexity of the show (especially the choreography), the rehearsal period was nine weeks, which Kaden relates is an unusually long period for a Denver show.  It averaged 20 hours a week of rehearsals.  Kaden found the first four weeks of rehearsal especially tough as he was simultaneously appearing in A Christmas Story: The Musical across town (six shows a week).  So, he would often get videos of the scenes from BETM and work on them with his dance instructors early on weekend mornings.

About the rehearsal period he says, “The rehearsals have been grueling, but fun. This show is just such a beast.  Solidarity is 12 minutes of choreo!  We have one week until we open, and I am confident it will be amazing!”

When asked what people would be most surprised to learn about him, Kaden replied, “Most people are shocked to find out that my favorite subject is math. I guess quietly solving equations in the corner doesn’t fit the stereotype that everyone is expecting from a theater kid.” 

On Friday 3-Feb-2017, Kaden became the 181st boy in the world to portray Billy on stage in a professional, regional or community theater production of BETM.  With his training and experience, it will come as no surprise to audiences when this triple-threat performer brings the character of Billy Elliot to life so ably on the Vintage Theatre stage. 

*Photo credit: Some photos in this profile were provided by Shannon Hinkle.

For more information about Kaden visit:

Billy Elliot the Forum

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