Kiril Kulish

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ERinVA
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Re: Kiril Kulish

Post by ERinVA »

I saw the very first Broadway preview, with Kiril doing the honors that evening, and I saw him several other times as well, including his final performance.

Now that Kiril has cast his lot in the Latin Ballroom dance world, I would love to see him show up as a pro on Dancing With the Stars at some point.

For a little taste of Kiril dancing in his chosen style, here's a video from the Adult Amateur Latin Championships last year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JY9jmsbME8
Ellen



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angelenroute
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Re: Kiril Kulish

Post by angelenroute »

joninfinity wrote:I envy you guys. :mrgreen: Getting in so late on the Billy Elliot Experience, I really missed a lot. I watched the vid again, and Kiril is a dancer's dancer... His moves so graceful, his athleticism is amazing. Many of you who got in from the start have had the wonderful privilege of seeing the whole range of Billies, from start to finish. Think about that, how utterly amazing that is. My first show was in March of 2011, and I have seen some truely wonderful Billies. I can only imagine how many equally wonderful ones I missed before that. Count yourselves as the lucky ones...
But as the miners' sign says in the show, "Think of the future!" :D
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Re: Kiril Kulish

Post by phoebe »

Just a reminder that Kiril was a Latin ballroom national champion way before Billy Elliot -- at age 8, the first time. But also a ballet champion. He was awarded the Grand Prix in the YAGP international competition when he was 14. It was at that showcase event that Nora Brennan and Stephen Daldry, trolling for their Broadway Billys, found him.

While Kiril has been most visible post-Billy in his ballroom events (note that in the video link provided, he was competing in the Adult category, even though he was under the minimum age in that category, and his partner Nino, with whom he'd been with for just over a year, was 15; they won both of the Youth Latin National Championships in their age category), he also presently continues with ballet and tap classes, as well as other performance arts -- and college.

Someone mentioned So You Think You Can Dance. One of his teachers when he was a kid is a producer of the show, and asked him to audition to work on the show when he was 18, which he did. But then they decided that he looked too young and that it would look too salacious to have a teenager dancing with some of the middle-aged contestants they have. But someday...

I am in touch with the family and all this info comes directly from Kiril or his mother -- or witnessed in person myself.
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angelenroute
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Re: Kiril Kulish

Post by angelenroute »

Thank you Phoebe, and hope you are well! Just one note: trolling is the wrong word here, as it carries a very negative connotation. Looking for kids talented enough to star in the leading role of a Broadway show is more scouting than trolling. :)

Sean
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Re: Kiril Kulish

Post by ERinVA »

phoebe wrote:Just a reminder that Kiril was a Latin ballroom national champion way before Billy Elliot -- at age 8, the first time. But also a ballet champion. He was awarded the Grand Prix in the YAGP international competition when he was 14. It was at that showcase event that Nora Brennan and Stephen Daldry, trolling for their Broadway Billys, found him.

While Kiril has been most visible post-Billy in his ballroom events (note that in the video link provided, he was competing in the Adult category, even though he was under the minimum age in that category, and his partner Nino, with whom he'd been with for just over a year, was 15; they won both of the Youth Latin National Championships in their age category), he also presently continues with ballet and tap classes, as well as other performance arts -- and college.

Someone mentioned So You Think You Can Dance. One of his teachers when he was a kid is a producer of the show, and asked him to audition to work on the show when he was 18, which he did. But then they decided that he looked too young and that it would look too salacious to have a teenager dancing with some of the middle-aged contestants they have. But someday...

I am in touch with the family and all this info comes directly from Kiril or his mother -- or witnessed in person myself.
Thanks, phoebe. Actually, the show I mentioned is Dancing With the Stars. That is the ballroom show where celebs work with pro partners, and I can see how looking too young would be a bit iffy on that show. However, he could easily have worked with Zendaya, the Disney star who was a contestant on the show this past season and was only 16, or Ally Raisman, the Olympic gymnast, who isn't much older. So maybe in a couple more years we will see him as a pro on there after all. Or, he could audition for So You Think You Can Dance. This season, they have had several dancers whose core style is Latin ballroom. The show tends to categorize the contestants into one style or another (such as contemporary, hiphop, ballroom, tap, etc.) but the ones who last the longest are the ones who are cross-trained in several different styles, as Kiril certainly is, because they must dance many different styles as they compete from week to week. The majority of the contestants on that show are between 18 and 20.
Ellen



"I don't want people who want to dance; I want people who have to dance.”
-George Balanchine 1904 -1983


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Re: Kiril Kulish

Post by phoebe »

Whoops! Yes, it was Dancing With the Stars. My mistake. I don't watch either one, but have seen them once or twice. I agree with you, Ellen, that there are plenty of partners who he'd work with and that it might be fun and different to have such a young pro on the show. But they didn't ask for my opinion. :lol: Ally Raisman is now 19, the same age as Kiril. I think that she and Kiril could have been terrific partners. Both Jewish, too!

Kiril has some ballroom friends from Utah his age who tried out for So You Think You Can Dance this season. Not sure how far they got.
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Re: Kiril Kulish

Post by Todd »

I was fortunate enough to see Kiril in his first performance (not counting previews) after the show opened in November, 2008. He appeared much as he looked in this video from "The View" as his dancing was certainly as polished as any Billy who was just starting out in the show. I remember talking to someone after seeing Trent and Kiril do their first shows that opening weekend and we both agreed that the casting directors had definitely "gotten it right" when choosing the original Broadway cast. I always liked how Kiril's ballet looked very "classical" if that's the right word for it, especially at the end of "Electricity" when he does his final round of pirouettes and raises his arms up above his head. A few other Billys have done the same thing in recent years, and it always reminds me of Kiril when I see it.

As if his dancing isn't incredible enough, he's also quite an accomplished pianist, as this video shows: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXx6TZx2Yjo
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Re: Kiril Kulish

Post by phoebe »

Thanks, Todd! I somehow forgot to mention piano. Of course, he's still keeping that up, too. His teacher is his mother, who had taught at a music conservatory in Ukraine before they immigrated, and still teaches piano today.
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Re: Kiril Kulish

Post by porschesrule »

Happy Birthday Kiril!!

Have a great celebration!!
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Re: Kiril Kulish

Post by porschesrule »

According to Variety, Kiril will appear in the movie Sonata, due for release in 2015:

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/billy ... 201260984/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2627006/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1

Before that, however, per that same Variety article, Kiril can be seen in Rivers of Milk and Honey, which is due for release this year though no specific release dates have been announced:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3555568/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
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