Oliver Taylor (actor)
Encyclopedia
Oliver Taylor is an English stage actor and dancer, best known for playing the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical
at the Victoria Palace Theatre
, London
.
, Devon
since birth.
. In 2006, Oliver won the Fonteyn Nureyev Young Dancers Competition (Junior level) run by the Royal Academy of Dance
and was awarded the Young Dancer of the Year title.
He has performed in a few theatre productions near where he live. He played the part of the Boy in The Snowman, the Nutcracker in The Nutcracker
, and Franz in Coppélia
. He was featured in Ready Steady Cook
(2006) and took part in a children's BBC programme Take a Bow (2007).
Taylor successfully auditioned for Billy Elliot the Musical
in September 2006. After training since January 2007, he gave his first performance on Monday, 18 June 2007. On 1 December 2007, the company official bade farewell to Taylor along with Ryan Longbottom, who played Michael and Leigh Laurie, who played Debbie. Oliver's 50th and final performance was 15 December 2007.
After finishing his run as Billy, Oliver resumed his training at the Buckingham Dance Studios along with taking lessons as a mid associate of the Royal Ballet. He entered the 2nd Fonteyn Nureyev Young Dancers Competition (Senior level) and in February, 2008 became a winner of Wales & South West England (Including Channel Islands) heat. On 13 April 2008 he competed in the Final of the Competition that took place at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London. On 24 February 2008 he was featured (along with four other performers of Billy Elliot role) in BBC's show "Happy Birthday Brucie!" devoted to Bruce Forsyth
's 80th birthday.
Oliver has also performed in a few theatre productions in Torquay. On 7 November 2008 hе performed the role of Prince Albrecht in the production of Giselle
prepared by the Buckingham Dance Studios and shown at the Princess Theatre
. Another lead role was performed by him in the show “The Prince and the Pauper” at Babbacombe Theatre on 21 November 2009. In the show “Old Tyme Music Hall” that took place in summer 2009 at the Princess Theather Oliver performed Nijinsky’s Fire Bird Ballet Solo. On 27 November 2010 he was a leading dancer in “A Beatles Ballet” produced by the Buckingham Dance Studio.
Since September 2010 Oliver Taylor continues his education as an A-level student at Churston Ferrers Grammar School.
Billy Elliot the Musical
Billy Elliot the Musical is a musical based on the 2000 film Billy Elliot. The music is by Sir Elton John, and book and lyrics are by Lee Hall, who wrote the film's screenplay. The plot revolves around motherless Billy, who trades boxing gloves for ballet shoes...
at the Victoria Palace Theatre
Victoria Palace Theatre
Victoria Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in Victoria Street, in the City of Westminster, opposite Victoria Station.-Origins:The theatre began life as a small concert room above the stables of the Royal Standard Hotel, a small hotel and tavern built in 1832 at what was then 522 Stockbridge...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Biography
Taylor was born in Torbay District Hospital on the 10 March 1994. Oliver attended Tower House School Junior School and then, after a successful eleven plus exam, Churston Ferrers Grammar School. He has lived with his parents and older sister in PaigntonPaignton
Paignton is a coastal town in Devon in England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignton's population in the United Kingdom Census of 2001 was 48,251. It has...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
since birth.
Career
Taylor began dancing at the age of 3 when his sister's dance teacher invited him to join in. He attends the Buckingham Dance Studios in PaigntonPaignton
Paignton is a coastal town in Devon in England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignton's population in the United Kingdom Census of 2001 was 48,251. It has...
. In 2006, Oliver won the Fonteyn Nureyev Young Dancers Competition (Junior level) run by the Royal Academy of Dance
Royal Academy of Dance
The Royal Academy of Dance is an international dance education and training organization, and examination board that specialises in the teaching and technique of Ballet. The RAD was established in London, England in 1920 as the Association of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain, and received its...
and was awarded the Young Dancer of the Year title.
He has performed in a few theatre productions near where he live. He played the part of the Boy in The Snowman, the Nutcracker in The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
, and Franz in Coppélia
Coppélia
Coppélia is a sentimental comic ballet with original choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon to a ballet libretto by Saint-Léon and Charles Nuitter and music by Léo Delibes. It was based upon two macabre stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Der Sandmann , and Die Puppe...
. He was featured in Ready Steady Cook
Ready Steady Cook
Ready Steady Cook was a BBC daytime TV cooking programme it first debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last edition was broadcast on the 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott became the new host...
(2006) and took part in a children's BBC programme Take a Bow (2007).
Taylor successfully auditioned for Billy Elliot the Musical
Billy Elliot the Musical
Billy Elliot the Musical is a musical based on the 2000 film Billy Elliot. The music is by Sir Elton John, and book and lyrics are by Lee Hall, who wrote the film's screenplay. The plot revolves around motherless Billy, who trades boxing gloves for ballet shoes...
in September 2006. After training since January 2007, he gave his first performance on Monday, 18 June 2007. On 1 December 2007, the company official bade farewell to Taylor along with Ryan Longbottom, who played Michael and Leigh Laurie, who played Debbie. Oliver's 50th and final performance was 15 December 2007.
After finishing his run as Billy, Oliver resumed his training at the Buckingham Dance Studios along with taking lessons as a mid associate of the Royal Ballet. He entered the 2nd Fonteyn Nureyev Young Dancers Competition (Senior level) and in February, 2008 became a winner of Wales & South West England (Including Channel Islands) heat. On 13 April 2008 he competed in the Final of the Competition that took place at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London. On 24 February 2008 he was featured (along with four other performers of Billy Elliot role) in BBC's show "Happy Birthday Brucie!" devoted to Bruce Forsyth
Bruce Forsyth
Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson, CBE , commonly known as Bruce Forsyth, or Brucie, is an English TV personality...
's 80th birthday.
Oliver has also performed in a few theatre productions in Torquay. On 7 November 2008 hе performed the role of Prince Albrecht in the production of Giselle
Giselle
Giselle is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem by Heinrich Heine...
prepared by the Buckingham Dance Studios and shown at the Princess Theatre
Princess Theatre
The Princess Theatre was a joint venture between the Shubert Brothers , producer Ray Comstock, theatrical agent Elisabeth Marbury and actor-director Holbrook Blinn...
. Another lead role was performed by him in the show “The Prince and the Pauper” at Babbacombe Theatre on 21 November 2009. In the show “Old Tyme Music Hall” that took place in summer 2009 at the Princess Theather Oliver performed Nijinsky’s Fire Bird Ballet Solo. On 27 November 2010 he was a leading dancer in “A Beatles Ballet” produced by the Buckingham Dance Studio.
Since September 2010 Oliver Taylor continues his education as an A-level student at Churston Ferrers Grammar School.