Kiril Kulish, One Of Three Stars Of The Musical, Billy Elliot, On The View 2/2
June 16, 2009
Here is yet another example of the growing emergence of young talent.
I was shaking my head while watching Kiril Kulish- unbelievable! He needs further vocal coaching, but his dancing is phenomenal.
Oh, to be young again!
Special thanks to kmbmiddlechild for tweeting the links to me!
Update: Would you like to see “triple excellence”? Click here and enjoy all three stars from the show.
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MCL – You’re very welcome. You may think I’m nuts, but I thought of another performance to share with you. Did you happen to see Trent Kowalik’s performance of Angry Dance at the Tonys? That boy can tap to heaven! If you missed it, here it is. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c_74VGGb6M
It’s inspiring, really, the amount of talent they all have. Kiril was just 14 when he did that performance on The View. Now he’s 15, still so young but incredibly gifted.
By the way, that post went up really fast. Awesome as always and love the site!
I’m not a dance maven, but his turnout seems excellent. Dick Button goes on about the poor turnout in skaters’ layback spins as the turnout should be from the hip. I’ve tried to replicate it and nearly popped my hip out. I’m not sure of the french/ballet term for it.
I would think that Kiril’s voice hadn’t changed yet in this. The poor boys who play this part must’ve be on tenterhooks, avoiding that first crack in the voice. Out they go then.
Roseanne, and other voice professionals, is the emphasis on the blue-collar accent impede the proper vocal technique? I don’t know if Kiril is British or not but to have to sing in accent? That must be a double doozy. Most singers’ accents seem to fade in song. Even in the Beatles’ early albums, when their heavy Liverpudlian accents were at their strongest, their accents weren’t that apparent, except maybe on very certain words. Could you comment?
Jessica – actually, the proper british accent is beneficial for proper vocal production – the round, pure vowels, crisp consonants and relaxed “r” and “l” consonants heightens the clarity and precision of a singer’s voice. Also, when you you add the round mouth position, relaxed jaw and diaphragmatic breath technique to this British approach, then the singer’s voice can truly soar and achieve nuance and increased dynamic range.
British singers like Elton John, Paul McCartney etc. have kept the essence of their accent in terms of their vowel production, but have relaxed the full effect of the British accent to sound more current. I think this is why the voices of the British pop singers sound ageless.
Couldn’t agree more about Kiril’s talent, MCL. Also couldn’t agree more with Kirsten about Trent’s Angry Dance at the Tonys. All three original Billys are really phenomenal performers, and now there’s a fourth one as well, Tommy Batchelor, referred to by some as “Tommy the Tornado” for his spins.
None of the boys is going to end up with “professional singer” at the top of his resume, but they all have the right “untutored” quality about their voices that I feel fits the character of Billy and adds to their charm. I know they get some coaching, but I do wonder sometimes whether the vocal demands put on them in light of their changing voices could do damage.
As for singing “Electricity,” I am continually amazed that they have enough breath left to finish the song after all the dancing and tumbling, to say nothing of carrying the entire show several times a week. The role of Billy has to be grueling. In fact, Trent commented in one interview that they take turns playing Billy because if only one Billy did eight shows a week, he would end up in the hospital!
Kiril performed for the last time as Billy Elliot on October 3, 2009. By all accounts, it was an extremely emotional night for Kiril as well as the audience. I was not there but apparently the atmosphere in the theater was electric. He is greatly missed.
However, he has been offered scholarships to the Royal Ballet School (London), the Paris Ballet, and the American Ballet Theatre. On October 17, he performed in Dallas at the Winspear Opera House with Kristin Chenoweth and Patti LuPone and a 50-piece orchestra. He surely has an exciting future ahead of him. Good luck Kiril!
Meanwhile, 12-year-old Alex Ko, from Iowa, has replaced Kiril in the Billy rotation. He is an accomplished dancer and gymnast. His abilities can be seen in a specially choreographed dance he performed to commemorate his father, who recently died of cancer. It can be watched at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOh7Uh9TwJ8 A local news story featuring him is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHPbkARLjf0 Break a leg, Alex!