dancing shoes

Award-winning teen dancer brings his happy feet to Austin in lead Billy Elliotrole

Noah Parets (Billy) in “Billy Elliot the Musical."
Photo by Doug Blemker
Kylend Hetherington (Billy), Leah Hocking (Mrs. Wilkerson), Samantha Blair Cutler (Debbie) and the cast of "Billy Elliot the Musical."
Photo by Kyle Froman
Kylend Hetherington (Billy) in “Billy Elliot the Musical.”
Photo by Kyle Froman

Dreams can be inspired by unexpected things, including dancing penguins. Noah Parets says seeing the animated movie Happy Feet eventually led him to a lead role in the Broadway musical Billy Elliot, about a boy who inspires a whole community after trading his boxing gloves for ballet slippers. "I saw Happy Feet... and I found it very inspirational. I followed the tap steps and eventually my mom signed me up for a tap class when I was seven.”

Parets, now 13-years-old, will be one of five young men playing the lead role in Billy Elliot during its week-long run at Bass Concert Hall, beginning December 11. Parets landed one of the leading roles after falling in love with the musical and attending an open audition in New York City.

The Tony Award winning Broadway production is based on the 2000 film by the same name. Parets explains the gist of the plot. "Billy's this boy in England and his father wants him to go to boxing class because it's manly, and his dad really encourages that sort of thing. But he stumbles into a ballet class and loves it and wants to continue, but his family doesn't approve."

"My family has always been very supportive of me, and I'm so fortunate. I've never really been bullied for being a dancer, but I've definitely not been accepted into the group of cool kids." - Noah Parets

Unlike the character he portrays, Parets says his family supported his passion for dance from the beginning. "My family has always been very supportive of me, and I'm so fortunate. I've never really been bullied for being a dancer, but I've definitely not been accepted into the group of cool kids. But I just kind of shrugged it off because I have my own group of friends that I think are amazing."

Those friends include 17 other children who are part of the cast, including the other Billys. The lead role is so intense, it is typically shared by three or four boys, giving them all time to balance performing with schoolwork and dance training.

"We rotate the role, so one night it will be me, the next night it will be someone else and then the next night the other one and then it repeats. The role is just so demanding of our bodies, we need a couple days of rest between each show."

Parets says the story of Billy Elliot, set during the 1980s U.K. miners' strike, has universal appeal. "It's just so touching and amazing, and it really applies to anybody to not stop reaching for your dreams and being who you want to be in life — and not letting anyone stop you from doing that."

Parets, who won American Dance Awards’ Junior Male Dancer of the Year in 2011, has been with the production for about 5 months. He says he hopes to be on the tour for at least one year, at which time he'll explore other options to express his dancing prowess. "I definitely want to keep doing musicals and be on stage because I love performing."

Years of intense training took Noah Parets all the way from mimicking dancing penguins to a Broadway tour. He says he's living his dream and hopes he inspires others to do the same.

"Dancing transforms me into another person, I almost feel. I just feel so free and it's something I love doing so much and nobody can take that passion away from me. It's just the most incredible feeling that I can dance on a big stage and be myself."

---

You can see Parets and his castmates pirouette and plié at Bass Concert Hall December 11-16.

unspecified

New

Historic Austin museum will close for more than a year for restoration

Photo courtesy of the City of Austin

The Elisabet Ney Museum will close at the end of 2024 and reopen in mid-2026.

Every building needs some maintenance here or there, and the historic Elisabet Ney Museum needs some extra-special care. Formerly the art studio and residence of its namesake, it's been standing since 1892. It'll spend 2025 in relative solitude, as it undergoes renovation for a year and a half with no visitors allowed.

The museum will close to the public December 30, 2024, and open again in the summer of 2026 if all goes according to plan, a news release from the City of Austin shares. It'll be a quiet period compared to the 21,000 people visiting from around the world each year.

According to a museum overview on the city's website, Elisabet Ney, a European portrait sculptor, bought the property and called her new studio Formosa. She worked on sculptures depicting important Texans like Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston, and collected works of European contemporaries.

The building at 304 East 44th St. includes 3,700 square feet of museum space, which was converted by Ney's friends after her death in 1907. It retains its unique look that juxtaposes a Neo-Classical main studio from 1892 with a later addition from 1902 including a tower for her husband, Edmund, to write in. It is also on 2.5 acres of land, which has largely been restored to its natural state with native species.

A press release lists these tasks (verbatim) within the scope of the new work, referred to as the Capital Improvement Project (CIP):

Restoration of original exterior wood doors and windows
Upgrades and replacement of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system
Replacement of the exhibit and general lighting systems
Repairs to the roof, masonry, plumbing, and interior finishes.

There will also be work to do outside of the building. Workers will replace the pedestrian bridge across Waller Creek, stabilize a 20,000-square-foot portion of the bank, and make the grounds more accessible by adding new pathways.

Funding comes from several sources, according to a release: "the 2012 Bond, Proposition 14, the Parkland Dedication Fund, the Historic Preservation Fund, Partners in Preservation through the National Trust, and contributions from the Friends of the Elisabet Ney Museum."

museums galleries history texas