Billy Elliot is a Story of a Young Boy's Journey to Become a Professional Dancer

The opening scene where close up is used showing the trembling fingers whilst placing the record onto the player leading into the tilting shot of Billy jumping up and down showing his excitement emphasises Billy’s love for dancing and symbolises the way in which it embodies him. Long shot of Billy making him look much smaller on the screen is used to foreshadow the harm and prejudices Billy might get from the society as he pursues his dancing career. The swinging door at the gym symbolises a barrier as well as an opportunity of his dream. Panning of the camera,close up and the low angle shots passing ballerinas feet before focusing on Billy’s reinforces that he is different as well as emphasising his preparedness to take risks for him to be able to pursue his dream. Shifts on the expressions of Billy and Jackie while they were arguing about ballet as well as the close up shot of Jackie grabbing Billy and holds him against the door highlighted Jackie as both physical and psychological obstacle of Billy’s

Dance began as a form of communication and storytelling. Thousands of years ago dancing served as a way for people to tell a story and helped distract themselves of the hardships they faced. Furthermore, dance was a form of storytelling through communication, which then turned into using storytelling through dance as entertainment. According to the History World, many dancers during the BC time danced in front of only a few people to get a story across. That later turned into hundreds of thousands of people as dance was used by many. Today, dance is also a form of entertainment and storytelling, but in a modern sense. However, today perfection and technique are stressed more than they were in the past. Yet, the passion for dance has not changed. Many dancers who share this passion also have many of the same qualities. Among a discourse community of trained dancers, one expects to find individuals who are healthy and active athletes, expect perfection from themselves through competition, and religiously attend dance performances.

All through Billy’s life he ran into obstacles that obstructed his free will. As a child Billy’s father lets Billy sink in the deep end of a pool so he could learn how to swim “because his

It’s a year later and Leah loves ballet. She’s even trying to get some dance classes at her school. All of her football friends took some classes of ballet and loved it as much as Leah so now they’re in ballet too! Leah overall learned how the knowledge that her mom had versus her ignorance that knowledge is always going to win over

Her first challenge comes when Billy himself does not want to do ballet because of his preconceived ideas that only girls and gay boys do it. The teacher pursues her objective by being stern and demanding. This gets Billy to take dancing seriously and she furthers her goal. However, trouble comes when Billy’s father finds out that he is not doing his boxing lessons. The teacher tackles this with her stern tactics from before but intermixes an appeal of sympathy for Billy’s talent. Unfortunately, she is unsuccessful and has to result to being secretive in order for Billy’s father not to find out. The conflict between the two characters was very intense due to conflicting objectives and strong tactics; it raised the stakes and grabbed the attention of the audience. This makes the viewer root for Billy to succeed despite his

The use of doors is a reoccuring symbol representing new worlds or barriers between worlds and used throughout the film. Billy’s initial glimpse of the ballet class through the door, and the way he enters the class hesitantly symbolises a new world opening up to Billy. Billy’s determination is one the key elements involved in his eventual transition into a different world. Realising that his father would not allow him to pursue ballet, he attends lessons in secret and practices extensively in his bedroom, the bathroom and wherever else he can have some privacy. The door motif is again prominent with Billy’s father physically holding Billy back from pursing his pathway into a new world. Many of the doors are shut and he must fight to break these barriers down. For Billy, dance becomes a means of escape from his surroundings, a refuge, a form of self-expression and, ultimately, a way out of his closed community and into the larger world. The limited use of colour reminds us that the family world is collapsing just as new horizons are opening up for Billy. Billy is determined to go against the rules and traditions of his family and forge his way into a new world.

hands. When Billy does this, it gives us a feeling that his Nan is in

Growing up was never easy for me, but I did not let that stop me from pursuing my ballet career. I didn’t grow up doing ballet, and taking my first ballet class at the Boys and Girls Club at age 13 gave me a setback compared to others who may have been dancing since they were 3. My teacher put me into many positions,

Billy Elliot explores the concept of identity and how it can shaped and changed through life experiences. It tells the story of an 11-year-old boy named Billy, and his father, Jackie, amidst a mining strike in a town in Northern England during the mid-1980s. Billy creates his personal identity through dance as it is a means of expressing himself. In Billy’s world, strict stereotypes dealing with gender and sexual identity are enforced, which created not only an internal personal battle for Billy, but also an external conflict between him and his family. As a result, he was ashamed of and forced to hide his talent and passion for dance, shown in the quote, “I feel like a right sissy”. The song “Town called Malice” was played in Billy’s main

I have danced every year of my life since. I am humbled to say, that through long days and nights in the studio, sacrificing time with my friends and family, all of the blood, sweat, and tears, I have accomplished what I have been working for since I was a little girl waddling around swallowed in a big pink tutu. I was chosen for the lead role of Cinderella in the Danscompany of Gainesville’s “Cinderella Ballet.” This accomplishment is a reflection of my consistent and sustained work ethic. This tenacity is reflected in other areas of my life and will be a defining characteristic that I carry to

James King is a 15 year old girl who appears to be healthy, though painfully thin for her age. Her parents are divorced and she lives with her mother in Weston, MA. The two of them travel together a great deal to New York City where James trains as a ballerina at the famous School of American Ballet. James sees her father in the summer time when she trains with Boston Ballet or at the ballet program at the North Carolina School of the Arts. James leads an incredibly structured life with set hours for school work and training, and has little time to just hang out with her friends. Her goals revolve entirely around the dance world and all of her ambitions are set high on eventually being accepted into the New York City Ballet.

Growing up in a tight knit community means Billy is constrained to follow the traditions upheld by the men in his family, these include stereotypical male activities like boxing and mining. Due to Jackie, Billy’s fathers, status in the community people look up to him as a masculine figurehead, this role is soon jeopardised by Billy’s new-found passion for Ballet. One scene shows Billy coming home after ballet and running straight to his room in an attempt to hide his ballet shoes under his bed, his father walks past and asks what he is doing, Billy then hides his shoes and says he has lost his boxing gloves to which Billy’s father replies “They were my dad's gloves. You better take better care of them, okay?” This suggests Jackie wishes for Billy to continue the boxing tradition. The traditional violence of boxing is carried across into Jackie and his eldest son’s, Tony, activities. The two are seen as trailblazers for the frenzied

Hence, by looking back to the beginning of ballet, it is safe to say that ballet has come a long way from being a foreign art to a dance embraced and loved by Americans. It began with only a few companies in New York, but today there are more than “65 professional, million-dollar-budget ballet companies” in the United States (Legro). Many American girls as young as three years old are taking ballet lessons and dreaming of one day becoming a ballerina in the nation’s top ballet companies. As to why these little girls are deciding to learn this art, a 14 year from California replies, “ I just think it is fun and my mom and my sister also danced ballet when she was younger, so I guess it is just part our family ” (C. Chen, personal communication,

“Billy initiates the music in his life. He has the potential to triumph over his environment. The lyrics of the soundtrack are also noteworthy, as they imply that Billy is a born dancer.” (Lancioni, 2006, 718)

Socialization is very important in society and in the development of a child’s personality. Socialization is very vital to the success that a person hopes to accomplish in life. One must learn how to work with others and effectively communicate with others. This characteristics are very essential in life. Through sports many find that these concepts can be learn. It is preferred that these skills are acquired at a young age. If these skills can be learned through sport it makes sense that a parent would put a child in these at such a young age. Sports also give the very important benefit of better health. I will closely examine both the pros and cons of socialization of children through sport at a young age from a functionalist and