Matthew Koon is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and dancer.

Career

Koon began studying ballet at the age of 2, at the Alison Livesey School of Dance and Drama in

Whitefield, Greater Manchester Whitefield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. It lies on undulating ground above the Irwell Valley, along the south bank of the River Irwell, southeast of Bury, and northwest of Manchester. Prestwic ...

. At the age of 9, he auditioned for the

Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

Junior Associate programme, he was successful and consequently attended weekly classes in Leeds. He also trained at Centre Pointe Dance Studios in Manchester, before taking a full-time place at the

English National Ballet School English National Ballet School is a specialist classical ballet school based in London in the United Kingdom. The School was founded in 1988 by Peter Schaufuss as the official school of English National Ballet. The School's current Artistic D ...

. Koon made his professional stage debut at the age of 12, playing the title role of Billy Elliot in the West End production of ''

Billy Elliot the Musical ''Billy Elliot: The Musical'' is a coming-of-age stage musical based on the 2000 film of the same name. The music is by Elton John, and the book and lyrics are by Lee Hall, who wrote the film's screenplay. The plot revolves around Billy, a ...

''. He auditioned for the role at the Zion Centre,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in February 2005. He made his first appearance in the role on 1 March 2006, and his final performance on 2 December 2006. He was the first boy from a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

background to play the role of Billy.Born to Boogie with Billy
(accessed 22 July 2006)
from M+R (accessed 22 July 2006) Following auditions in 2009, in 2010 Koon participated in the inaugural series of ''

Got to Dance ''Got to Dance'', originally titled ''Just Dance'', is a British dance competition that was broadcast on Sky 1 in the United Kingdom from 20 December 2009 to 28 December 2014. Auditions for the show were held in specially built "Dance Domes" and ...

'', a televised dance competition broadcast on Sky One. In articles about the show, he is quoted as saying that if he won the competition, he would use the prize money to continue his dance training at a professional performing arts school. He successfully competed in the second semi-final, ultimately finishing joint 3rd in the grand final on 14 February 2010. In 2010, Koon won the national final of Dance Master UK, a stage dance competition for boys, promoted by the

International Dance Teachers' Association The International Dance Teachers Association (IDTA) is a dance teaching and examination board based in Brighton, England. Operating internationally, the IDTA currently has over 7,000 members in 55 countries. The IDTA is recognised by the nationa ...

. Having qualified for the competition in a regional heat, Koon competed against other regional finalists at the Opera House Theatre in the

Winter Gardens, Blackpool The Winter Gardens is a large entertainment complex in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which includes a theatre, ballroom and conference facilities. Opened in 1878, it is a Grade II* listed building, operated by Blackpool Entertainment Compan ...

. Koon was then offered a place at the

where he studied for 3 years and graduated in 2013 as one of the top in his class, gaining a contract at

Northern Ballet Northern Ballet, formerly Northern Ballet Theatre, is a dance company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a strong repertoire in theatrical dance productions where the emphasis is on story telling as well as classical ballet. The company ...

. Koon performed as a First Soloist with Northern Ballet for 8 years, dancing many lead roles to critical acclaim. In 2022 Koon performed his piece 'Existential', written and directed himself, at The Lowry Theatre as part of their Shoots Scratch Night Programme 2022.

Awards and titles

* Fonteyn Nureyev Young Dancers Competition – Winner, 2008 * Janet Cram Awards – Outstanding Dance Award, 2008 * Janet Cram Awards – Boys Cup, 2008 * English Dance Championships – Winner, 2009 * Marjorie Davies Tap Awards – Senior Class Prize, 2009 * International Ballet Championship – Winner, 2009 * Young Ballet Dancer of the Year – Winner, 2009 * Young British Tap Dancer of the Year – Runner-up, 2009 * Dance Master UK – Winner, 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koon, Matthew Living people Male actors from Salford English male stage actors English male ballet dancers English people of Chinese descent 21st-century English male actors Year of birth missing (living people)