TRAVIS YATES - Billy Elliot

My name is Travis Hamilton Yates, I’m 12 years old and I live in Manchester with my Mum and Dad. From being 3 years of age my Mum and Dad have always danced with me around the house, listening to all types of music from Jazz to Soul to Rock and Pop, even in the car we are always singing and fooling around. My Mum said that I never slept as a baby and so she introduced me to every type of hobby you could think of to keep me occupied until one day she took me to my local dancing school where the dance teacher Miss Tymcyshyn said "if he doesn’t like dancing he will ask to leave within the month, and if he does loves dancing he will never question it again”, 8 years later I’m still there. Since then I have danced in all her annual charity showcases and taken my dance exams in ballet, tap and jazz. When I was 6 years old I would have my weekly Saturday piano lesson then go onto Judith Barker’s drama class, where I was later picked up by a Manchester
casting agency.

Over the last 5 years I have done T.V advertisements and appeared in A&E, Heartbeat, Dalziel and Pascoe, Doctors and played several characters in a comedy sketch series called ’Stupid’ for the BBC I have also performed in shows with my local amateur dramatic societies - Middleton and Whitefield, I then had the pleasure of performing at both the Oldham Coliseum Theatre as Babe Peter in ‘Babes in the Wood and in the musical ‘Honk’ at the Lowry Theatre in Manchester. It was during one of these productions that my school music teacher 'Miss Day’ started to give me singing lessons.

Since gaining the part of Billy Elliot I have had a fabulous time and trained with some of the best dance teachers I could ever have wished for and I would like to thank them for all they have done for me from the bottom of my heart. Being in a West End show is my wildest dream come true.