Brodie Donougher

Born in Blackpool, in the northwest of England, Brodie Donougher’s first love from a very early age was gymnastics, and he competed in many regional and national competitions with the Garstang School of Gymnastics. The first time Brodie competed was at the 2011 Isle of Man gymnastics competition, where he won 5 Gold and one silver medal. Brodie also won an additional gold medal for 1st place overall, in his competition.

The confidence and flexibility he gained as a gymnast led to an offer from the Royal Ballet for Brodie to train as a Junior Associate at age 9.

In 2014, at age 11, Brodie added acting and singing to his resume when he began a two-year run (144 performances) in the title role of “Billy” in Billy Elliot the Musical on London’s West End.
Brodie was fortunate enough to work with many creatives of stature, such as Stephen Daldry CBE and Sir Elton John.

Brodie also performed at the Olivier Awards, representing Billy Elliot for Best West End Musical, in 2015.
He performed “Billy” on various television shows, including “This Morning”, a British daytime magazine program, and on the “Late Late Show” in Ireland.

After Billy, Brodie resumed ballet training at Elmhurst Ballet School, in Birmingham, England, where he trained in jazz, contemporary, drama, and flamenco.
During this time as a student, Brodie was Head Ambassador for Phoenix Boy’s Dance Company.

Brodie appeared in a Land Rover/Jaguar car commercial, was cast in Steven Spielberg’s 2018 movie “Ready Player One”, and was featured in a BBC documentary, “One Day that Changed My Life.”

In 2020, Brodie received a full scholarship to attend San Francisco Ballet School in San Francisco, California; in 2021, he was promoted to Trainee.
Brodie was thrilled to return to the stage, performing in the San Francisco Ballet Trainee Tour, and in Helgi Tomasson’s ‘The Nutcracker (Russian Dancer & Dragon), ‘Don Quixote’ (Seguidilla & Gitano), and ‘Swan Lake’ (Court).

Now an Artist with Grand Rapids Ballet, where he has performed with them during their 2022-2023 season, Brodie has performed in ‘The Nutcracker’ (The Nutcracker Doll, Spanish dancer, Chinese dancer, and Russian Dancer), ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (Montague and understudy Benvolio), ‘Jumpstart’, and ‘Ballet + Broadway’ (performing in ‘Who Cares?’ By Kennedy Centre Honorary George Balanchine, ‘Jump Cut’ by Princess Grace Award winner Penny Saunders, and ‘Remember Our Song’ by 3-time Tony Award winner, Andy Blankenbuehler.)

Brodie is looking forward to teaching at the Summer 2023 Ballet intensive at Grand Rapids Ballet School and is eager to get back on stage with the Company next season.