Ryan Collinson

Who is Ryan Collinson?

Ryan Collinson is an English actor, singer, dancer and gymnast from Southport, U.K.. He was born to Graham and Kayla Collinson, along with siblings Lauren and Arran. He is best known for being the lead role in the West End musical, Billy Elliot the Musical.

Collinson studied gymnastics for two years before teaching himself street dancing for which he won Southport's Got Talent at the Southport 2009 Funfest. Having seen the film Billy Elliot on a DVD, he desired to learn classical dance and auditioned for the lead/title role in Billy Elliot the Musical which he landed over 1,500 other applicants. He made his West End debut on April 13, 2011—the show's 2500th performance—at age 12 and had 136 highly acclaimed performances before bowing out on September 1, 2012 to concentrate on his educational and professional development. Collinson’s gymnastic background inspired an intense choreographic interpretation focused more so than typically on acrobatic dancing than ballet which generated excitement and impressed audiences.

Collinson currently attends the Tring Park School for the Performing Arts on scholarship. He has appeared in the 2012 English National Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker at the London Coliseum.