David Alvarez Is A Cuban-Canadian Billy Elliot

David Alvarez, a 14-year-old dancer, is playing the part of Billy Elliot on Broadway. We’ve mentioned him briefly before but apparently he’s been garnering a lot of attention for his performance, which is very typical of people named Alvarez.

David wanted to pursue dance from a very young age, despite encouragement to become involved in gross things like football:

“David had muscles that were very well-defined, and he was very athletic,” says his dad, also named David, “so everyone wanted him to play a sport like football, hockey or soccer.”

But the family didn’t listen to anyone else and enrolled their son in ballet classes as he wished.

“My parents are very supportive, unlike Billy’s,” the younger David says. “His brother and dad aren’t supportive at all. That’s one lucky thing I have.”

He’s also lucky because his parents are Cuban, and he was born in Montreal. When David was nine, his father, a professor, moved the family to California. Eventually David obtained a scholarship to attend the American Ballet Theater school, prompting another family move to New York. After getting the part of Billy Elliot, the biggest challenge David has had to face is perfecting a convincing British accent:

“English is my third language, and I didn’t speak it very well,” says David, who speaks fluent Spanish and French.

We’re sure he’ll do just fine. He’s going to have to. Because when we call our “primito” to congratulate him and take him out to dinner, we’re going to “forget our wallet” at home.

David Álvarez, 14, goes Broadway in ‘Billy Elliot’