Note: Kosei Kato’s final show as Billy in the Japanese production of Billy Elliot the Musical (BETM) was in Osaka on October 22, 2017.
Debut: July 20, 2017 (Tokyo, Japan)
Total Performances as Billy: 26 (No partial shows)
Kosei Kato was 13 years old (D.O.B = 19-Nov-2003) when he debuted as Billy at the Akasaka ACT Theater in Tokyo in Japan’s first production of BETM. He lives in Tokyo.
Kosei has been taking ballet classes since he was just four years old. As is the case for many boys who dance, he originally started taking dance classes because his older sister took them. Although he admits that he didn’t like ballet much when he first started, Kosei now loves to dance and is undoubtedly very good at it. Over the years he has won many prizes for ballet, and he won a national competition last year. He also took a summer course in the USA.
Kosei was told about the auditions for the role of Billy by his ballet teacher and so, as he didn’t know much about the show, he watched the DVD of the musical, and found it really interesting so decided to go for the audition. Then, after many months of training and auditions, Kosei was cast as one of the original Billys in Japan.
Here is a clip of Kosei rehearsing Solidarity with the rest of the cast at an open rehearsal:
Credit: Video by ホリプロオンラインチケット
When asked what he would like the audience to see during his performances as Billy, he replied, “I want to show off my ballet skills, but I’ve also worked hard with acting. I hope the audience appreciates that, too.” The scene that he enjoys the most is Electricity as he thinks it is “cool that you throw yourself around and seriously dance”.
With his debut as Billy Elliot on 20-Jul-2017 Kosei becomes the 202nd actor to play the role worldwide, in a professional, regional or community theatre production of the musical.
For more information about Kosei visit:
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