What an opportunity, what a challenge!
Leo Lemmerich, a 13-year-old secondary school pupil and dancer from the Teen Dance Club in Frauenfeld, will soon be playing the lead role in the world-famous musical "Billy Elliot" - alternating with Moritz and Nevio, two teenagers of the same age. He has been looking forward to his first performance for weeks, which will take place on Saturday 2 November in the Maag Halle Zurich.
But Leo is also pretty excited. "I was already nervous when we were allowed to practise with the orchestra for the first time," he reveals recently, as he stands at Frauenfeld train station with a large bag ready to travel to another weekend of rehearsals. These intensive sessions and camps have already been an extremely intense affair. The premiere in front of 1000 pairs of eyes will be a completely new experience - but Leo's anticipation outshines his nervousness.
Leo has worked intensively on the subject matter of the musical. He tells the story of young Billy, who lives in a northern English mining town and is sent to boxing training by his single father, in an effervescent manner. Against his father's wishes, however, Billy would much rather attend ballet classes, thus shifting traditional gender roles, which drove his father to white heat. "Billy Elliot", the world-famous musical, tells stories on several levels and is now being performed in German for the first time in Zurich. To be able to play this role, the three young leading actors must therefore be able to dance, sing, speak and act. Leo brought all these talents with him, which have now been further moulded and promoted by musical professionals in recent weeks and months.
Incidentally, Leo first came into contact with ballet during the coronavirus pandemic, having previously danced Latin at Teen Dance Club Frauenfeld. A few weeks ago, Leo and his partner Laura Tomasik unexpectedly stood on the podium of a Swiss Latin championship for the first time. As a D-couple, Leo&Laura danced their way through the more competitive field with visible joy, ultimately taking the bronze medal. However, the Latin training could not be intensified for the SM because the preparations for the musical took up a lot of time at the same time. "We have to plan everything precisely at the moment so that everything works out," says Leo, who also benefits from the goodwill of his school management, even if he doesn't receive any special treatment here.
Latin Leo" will now become "Billy Elliot" for a few months. Is this even the start of a professional dance career for the young Frauenfelder? Leo wouldn't mind, but immediately pushes these dreams aside and doesn't let them drive him crazy. Because first he wants to bring out the best in himself on the Maag stage at three performances a week and wow the big audience... especially his proud mum and his grandad, who had told him about this audition.
Text: Martin Zinser / Pictures Roman Schneuwly
