by Alex Ko
In just a few seconds, it would all start again. My father would grab my hand and drag me out on that stage for the final time. I’d say the words and dance the steps, just like always. It would fly by like lightning and I would remember every second of it in slow motion for the rest of my life.
But tonight would be different.
When I first started the show, I played Billy as a kid: young, innocent, excited. Like he is in the beginning. After my injury, I was more like Billy later in the play: older, experienced, more determined than ever. But tonight I would be neither of those boys.
Instead, I’d play the role a new way: as Billy from the last moment of the show. Billy about to embark on something new, suitcase in hand, staring off into the future, excited and uncertain. Billy on the verge of being a young man.
Tomorrow I’d meet with Charlotte, and a whole new phase of my life would begin. I had no way of knowing what was coming. But I’d learned that we never do, and our uncertainty does nothing to slow life down. It just keeps coming, beautiful and awful and everything, and we make the most of it, because it is a gift from God. The gift from God.
In the dark, waiting in the wings, I stood on the threshold between today and tomorrow, between my past and my future. As I waited, I could feel the excitement growing inside me. It was coming. It was coming.
A hand grabbed mine. I closed my eyes.
It was here.
ALEX KO’S
Photo Album
Alex at gymnastics—age 4
Alex and Matt’s baptism, 1997
Alex with brothers John and Matt
Sam, Alex, Matt, family friend Alex Wang, and John at RAGBRAI in Coralville, Iowa
Alex and Ming Ming
Alex performing tribute “For Ko Cheuk Man, with Love, from Ko Jun Dak” at the University of Iowa, 2008
Steps on Broadway (where Alex was discovered)
Celebrating the Billy Elliot contract signing
Alex dreams of landing the part of Billy.
Taking his solo chair packed in the “box of Frankenstein” on the subway
Taking the chair for his solo through Times Square
After auditions!
Performing with actor Gregory Jbara (playing Billy’s father)
Alex, Kate Hennig, and the ballet girls performing in Billy Elliot
Alex appears in a Billy Elliot billboard in Chicago.
Alex having a sleepover with other Billys, Liam Redhead and Michael Dameski, and dog Ming Ming
With actor Gregory Jbara onstage
Alex and director Stephen Daldry
The presidential seal
Doing arabesques in the White House hallways!
The whole family in California, May 2007
Acknowledgments
First of all, I would like to thank my family, who helped me throughout all the years to get me to where I am. I want to say a special thank-you—and I love you—to my mom, who has always supported me. I couldn’t have gone to New York and studied dance at Steps on Broadway if my brother John hadn’t worked at the Fareway grocery store to help the family and driven me to my lessons. My brother Matt is always there when I need someone to listen to me about my dreams. My grandma and grandpa have always been proud of me and done what they could. I want to say a special thank-you to Auntie Kristin, Uncle David, Ashleigh, and Alissa for always being supportive, and especially to Auntie Kristin for coming to assist my dad when we needed her in Iowa. Auntie Polly, Auntie Kitty, and Auntie Alicia were really helpful when they came to take care of my dad after the transplant, as were my cousins Emily, Pearl, and David. And Great-grandma, I wish you were still here to see me finish this book.
My dance teachers were so amazing and made this journey possible with the best dance training. I want to thank Michael Kohli from the National Dance Academy for teaching me and being my second mom when I was little. I want to give a big thank-you to Gretchen Steffen from the National Dance Academy for teaching me my very first solo, to “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.” I had the very best duet partner, Peyton McCoy, who made dancing so much fun at the competitions. At the Nolte Academy of Dance, I want to say thank you to Leslie Nolte, Grace Snider, and Tad Snider, who gave me the opportunity to perform in The Nutcracker, my first exposure to being in a real ballet. I want to thank Sarah and Eloy Barragan for putting me on a scholarship at City Ballet of Iowa. Eloy was the best ballet mentor and role model when I needed one right after my dad passed away. The tribute Eloy and I created for my dad is something I will treasure forever. I want to thank Marina Trouch and Patty Neuzil for the best costumes that could possibly be made.
My gymnastics coaches were amazing and taught me the value of perseverance, discipline, and being strong. I want to especially thank Dmitri Trouch for training me so well and coaching me to wins and championships. I want to thank Brad Virkler, Linas Gaveika, and Nabil Andrade for their great coaching as well.
I want to say a special thank-you to the best teacher ever, Debbie Wilson. She made me love to learn and helped me become the person I am today. Thank you to the Abdo family for their spiritual support, as well as All Nations Church, Pastor Lee, and Pastor Kung, for teaching us the power of faith and God.
Without Eloy and Michael I would never have been prepared for New York City. In New York, my teachers, Edward Ellison, Fabrice Herrault, Elena Kunikova, and Franco DeVita, helped me improve as an artist. I would not have been Billy on Broadway without the help of Ray Hesselink, Peter O’Brien, and Steps on Broadway, who gave me a scholarship to the summer program. My current ballet mentor, Wilhelm Burmann, is helping me continue with my dream to be the best dancer I can be, and I cannot thank him enough for believing that I could succeed.
Thank you to Brian Gendece, who was an amazing manager and was so supportive in the transition from Iowa to NYC. Thank you is not even enough for Kenny Ortega, who helped me with the many other aspects of being on Broadway. Kenny and his whole family—Dooba, Kyle, Ali, Markie, Shirl, and Manly—are my California family and have been helping me more than I could ever have imagined. And Kelly and Lou Gonda have been amazing and supportive to me and my whole family.
Thank you to Kate Dunn for teaching me to push myself more than I knew I could with my dancing; to Joan Lader for the amazing coaching for my singing; and to Ann Ratray for helping me to be an actor. I want to thank the other Billys I had a chance to work with: Trent, Kiril, David, Tommy, Liam, Dayton, Mike, Jacob, Peter, Joseph, Tade, and Giuseppe. The Billys were supportive of each other and the only others who really understood what it was like to play the role. And thank you to the rest of the Billy Elliot cast, guardians, and stage crew for making the show a great family. Without Jessica Scoblick, I would not have been able to perform with the many costume changes. Juliana Hannett helped me with my interviews and not getting nervous before I had to speak. Thank you to Ryan, Liz, Sarah, Suzanne, and Jen at PhysioArts for the best care; and to Dr. Mark Mysnyk, Dr. William Hamilton, and Dr. Phillip Bauman for help with my knees.
There have been many other people who have entered my life since Billy Elliot and have continued to support me in a big way, including Lea Salonga. The many dinners at Joe Allen with Farah Fath and John-Paul Lavoisier are some of my favorite memories.
For this book, in particular, I want to thank Charlotte Sheedy for believing in this boy from Iowa who wanted to write a book and taught me how to do the job. I couldn’t have had a better editor than Alyson Day at HarperCollins. And thank you to Hugh Ryan for his amazing insights.
As for someone who has done so much for me: I don’t know what to say to Stephen Daldry—for believing in me, changing my life, and supporting me in everything I do. You’ll be in my life forever.
Finally, I would like to thank my father, whose spirit inspires me to be the best person I can possibly be.
About the Author
Alex Ko made his Broadway debut at age thirteen in the title role of Billy in the Tony Award–winning Billy Elliot: The Musical. Alex studied dance from the ti
me he was five years old, and at the age of twelve he was the youngest student admitted to the University of Iowa Dance Department, where he received college credit with honors distinction. Alex was guided by ballet masters Eloy Barragán and George de la Peña in Iowa City and by Peter O’Brien and Wilhelm Burmann in New York City. Alex has had the distinct honor of being a guest dancer at the White House and has appeared on ABC Family’s Bunheads. Alex has won national and regional dance titles and is a USA gymnastics champion coached by 1996 Olympic gold medalist Dmitri Trouch. You can visit him online at www.alex-ko.com.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.
Credits
Cover design by Tom Starace
Front cover head shot photo © by Laura Rose Photography
Top front cover photo © by Carol Rosegg
Copyright
Lyrics by Elton John and Lee Hall. Reprinted with permission from Universal Pictures Stage Productions and Working Title.
Alex Ko: From Iowa to Broadway, My Billy Elliott Story
Copyright © 2013 by Alex Ko
All interior photos courtesy of Alex Ko and family
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
* * *
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013932626
ISBN 978-0-06-223601-2 (trade bdg.)
EPub Edition © MARCH 2013 ISBN: 9780062236067
* * *
13 14 15 16 17 LP/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
http://www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada
http://www.harpercollins.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.harpercollins.com
