Note: Matteo’s last show as Billy in the West End (London) was the shared “tag team” show celebrating the 10th Birthday of the show in London (12-May-2015)
Debut: May 12, 2014 (London)
Total Performances as Billy: 76.1 (includes 6 partial shows credited @.5 ea and the 10th Anniversary show credited at .1)
Matteo Zecca was 11 years old (D.O.B. = 27-Jun-2002) upon his debut at the Victoria Palace Theatre (VPT) on 12-May-2014. Matteo hails from the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England and is the 37th boy to play Billy on the VPT stage and the 73rd in the role worldwide. In addition to his dancing, Matteo relates in his official bio on the BETMUK site that he loves “football, trampolining, gymnastics, diving and fast cars”.
Unlike many of the boys who have played Billy, Matteo didn’t begin dancing at a very early age. In fact, it was the musical itself that inspired him to begin dancing three years ago after he had seen the show in London. But he took to it like the proverbial “fish to water” receiving initial dance training from Louise Parkes School of Dance, in Marlow, and later securing junior and mid level positions at the Royal Ballet School. In an article that appeared in his local newspaper, Bucks Free Press, the principal of his dance school is quoted as saying “Matteo has a natural talent for dance and although he was reluctant at first to swap his football boots for ballet shoes, his determination to train hard together with his growing passion for dance has seen him achieve things which takes others years to do.”
In 2013, he appeared in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a production of the Royal Ballet School.
After initially auditioning for BETM in 2012, like others who eventually became Billy, Matteo had to wait a year before finally being offered the role. Then it was on to a long period of intense training during which he moved into the “Billy House” with the other Billys, the Michaels and the Debbies as he made his debut in May of 2014.
Prior to his involvement with BETM, Matteo’s academic work was done at Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School in Marlow.
Credit: Photo by Alex Lentati
In July of 2014, BETMUK produced a “Meet the Billys” video featuring Matteo:
Credit: Video by Billy Elliot The Musical UK
In August of 2014, another video featuring Matteo was released on the BETMUK
http://https://youtu.be/UEuiBpFZFpE
Credit: Video by Billy Elliot The Musical UK
Matteo played the role of Billy for the final time at the evening show of Saturday, March 28, 2015. It was his 76th time doing so (including six partial shows credited @.5 each).
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To learn more about Matteo, visit:
The Billy Elliot Forum, The Matteo Zecca Appreciation Society on Facebook
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