What struck me the most about the film “Billy Elliot” was Billy’s
devotion to dancing. It seems like what motivated Billy to dance was
himself. Billy’s father didn’t motivate him to dance at first, and the
dance teacher didn’t even know how much Billy wanted to dance. Billy’s
devotion to dancing is what made Billy improve on his dancing skills in
such as short period of time.
Billy’s father certainly realized how devoted his son was to dancing.
Billy’s father didn’t want Billy to dance because he didn’t think
dancing was for boys. He was completely against the idea of Billy going
to dance classes. Then later in the film he allows Billy to attend a
dance school. What changed Billy’s father mind about how he felt about
Billy dancing was devotion. Billy’s father realized how devoted to
dancing Billy was when he caught Billy teaching his friend to dance.
Billy’s father scolds Billy because Billy knew his dad didn’t want him
dancing, plus he felt embarrassed in front of his friends. Billy’s
response was not in words, but in dance. Billy’s dance showed how
devoted he was and how much he cares about the art of dancing. Billy
put emotions into the dance, weather it was his expression on his face
or how loud his tapped his feet. It seemed like Billy’s father was in
shock after he saw him dance and he eventually realized that he should
continue dancing because of his devotion for dancing.
Billy kept his devotion to dancing even though his family had to go
through many hardships. Billy’s father has to be strong because he has
to take care of two boys on his own, because his wife is deceased. It
seems like Billy doesn’t have many opportunities due to his family
being lower class. The miners’ strike caused Billy’s father and brother
to have a rough and poor 6 months, which felt even longer for them.
Billy’s poverty didn’t stop him from dancing at all because of his
devotion. Dancing is very convenient for Billy, because dancing is
free. Billy can also dance anywhere, which means that there is a lot of
room to practice. You can really see the devotion in Billy’s eyes when
he is practicing in the mirror. Even though he doesn’t dance perfect
his first few times, he doesn’t give up and keeps practicing.
I can relate this to my own life because I am devoted to play the
piano. It hasn’t been easy for me because I have such a strict teacher.
Every note has to sound perfect, and on beat. I can’t press the keys
too hard or too soft. I have to maintain perfect posture by keeping my
back strait. I know many people who have had the exact same teacher as
me and they quit because it demanded hard work. I have to practice at
least 20 minutes every single night, sometimes even just perfecting
scales. I will not give up playing the piano, because I really enjoy
the feeling of playing such wonderful sounds and it takes me into a
different world. I might be having a bad week and I will just sit down
and play a relaxing song on the piano. I feel like Billy was so devoted
to dancing because when he danced he was able to get into his own
world. He was able to escape from the world of poverty and sadness.