Billy Elliot overcomes social expectations and gender stereotypes from the community and is faced by many challenges during his transition into the world of ballet

Billy Elliot overcomes social expectations and gender stereotypes from the community and is faced by many challenges during his transition into the world of ballet. Billy is passionate about dance and his passion helped him overcome his challenges. The love he has for dance is evident in the opening scene where Billy is jumping in enjoyment and glee with the song ‘Cosmic Dancer’ by T-Rex playing in the background. The diegetic sounds of the music represent his life and foreshadow his future with the lyrics of “I was dancing when I was twelve” and “I danced myself into the tomb”. These lyrics are symbolic to Billy as he continues his passion and interest of dance into a career at the end of the film. In addition, the close-up shot of Billy’s face and feet clearly displays he is enjoying his time as he is smiling and jumping with happiness. This facial expression and body language communicate to the audience that Billy truly finds joy in dance, with the musical lyrics emphasising passion with its repeated words of “dance”. Billy’s ever-growing love for dance pushed him to overcome the challenges during his transition into the ballet world.