Interview: Theatre Life with Liam Mower

Today's subject Liam Mower is currently living his theatre life on tour with esteemed choreographer Matthew Bourne's production of The Red Shoes in the role of Ivan Boleslawsky. The production concludes a week-long engagement today at Kennedy Center's Opera House before continuing on to Charlotte, NC and New York, NY.

Liam began his dance training in his hometown of Kingston upon Hull at the Northern Academy of Performing Arts, later becoming a pupil at the age of 11 at White Lodge, the Royal Ballet School.

Shortly after, he landed the role of Billy in the original cast of Billy Elliot the Musical on the West End. Liam was awarded a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical for that role and you can hear him on the original cast recording. During his 18-month run, he performed at The Royal Variety Performance and was invited by Anna Wintour to perform in New York City at Vogue's Met Ball. He also can be seen in Elton John's music video "Electricity." In 2014, he returned to Billy Elliot for a one-off live performance screened to cinemas worldwide playing the role of Older Billy.

At the age of 19, Liam completed his training at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance with a first-class BA.

His many collaborations with Matthew Bourne's New Adventures company include Nutcracker!, Play Without Words, the original cast and U.S. tour of Sleeping Beauty in the role of Count Lilac, The Prince in Swan Lake, Edward in Edward Scissorhands, Angelo in The Car Man. He has recently been seen touring the United Kingdom and Asia playing Count Lilac and Carabosse/Caradoc in Sleeping Beauty.

Other stage and screen credits include Mikey Adams in Wire in the Blood on ITV; A Linha Curva by Itzik Galili with Rambert Dance Company; Dancer of the Month in the Dancing Times; Matthew Bourne's Christmas; 'Imagine' - A Beauty Is Born; Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty for BBC2 and DVD release; British Style by Drew McOnie for the Queen's Coronation Concert at Buckingham Palace on BBC; the Deloitte Ignite Festival at the Royal Opera House, dancing the Swan Duet with Royal Ballet's Edward Watson; and Sunday Night at the Palladium on ITV.

Here is a case of a young man knowing what he wanted to do from a very early age and pursued that goal with much success. Imagine working with a musical legend like Elton John and a legendary choreographer like Matthew Bourne all before the age of 25. That is quite an accomplishment. If you are unable to make the final performance of The Red Shoes today at Kennedy Center, then consider making a trip to New York to catch it at City Center. Any chance to see Matthew Bourne's work makes it totally worth the trip. Seeing a young performer like Liam Mower doing what he loves to do makes the experience that much better.

At what age did you start taking dance lessons?

I started at age 9. I first started doing freestyle dancing then ballet and musical theatre at age 10.

Was there a particular reason you chose ballet over some of the other dance genres?

It was just a hobby at first, but I found something graceful about it. I always loved classical music. My dance school was a big part of it too. I had great teachers and students in my classes at the Northern Academy of the Dramatic Arts.

You were part of the original London cast of Billy Elliott. What was it like as a kid to be working with Elton John on a big new musical?

Nothing prepares you for something like that. There was a big nationwide search at dance schools all over the United Kingdom. I didn't want to audition at first. I had many auditions over a year before landing the role. It was an incredible feeling when I finally landed it.

How did you first come to work with choreographer Matthew Bourne?

I was finishing school and started auditioning, which is what students do in their third year. It came up last minute. I loved his work, but thought I would work for him later in life. It was an open audition and it was very quick. The next day or so after auditioning, I got the job for his Nutcracker. I just couldn't believe it.

Matthew Bourne has always taken the art of ballet and kicked it up a notch. Can you please tell us a little something about his vision for The Red Shoes?

Matthew always tries to find moments in the story. With The Red Shoes he picks things from the famous movie, but finds his own drama and journey in the story. The work is very relatable so it reaches a wider audience.

You've worked on many Matthew Bourne productions. Do you have any particular favorites?

The Prince in Swan Lake because that production was all male and it put Matthew Bourne on the map. Where else does a male get to play a swan? Also, Edward Scissorhands because I learned a lot from playing that role. I had to live up to Johnny Depp's characterization from the movie. That is a big responsibility.

You've worked in both theatre and classical ballet. For a young dancer just starting that thinks this kind of double dancer genre thing isn't possible, what advice would you give them?

It is definitely possible. Hard work is very important. Enjoy yourself because that will override all the obstacles you will encounter in your career. If it's something you want, anything is possible.

Special thanks to Kennedy Center's dance publicist Brittany Laeger for her assistance in coordinating this interview.

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