Billy Elliot (Jamie Bell) is 11-years-old and the son of a coal miner in Northern England during the 1980's. Billy's mother is dead, and both his father and older brother are taking part in the massive coal miners strike of 1984 and 1985. Billy also goes to boxing lessons, a family tradition, but Billy is a lousy boxer. One day he stumbles into the ballet class which uses the same gym and soon finds he prefers ballet. Billy joins the class using the money he has for boxing class, but keeps his ballet lessons a secret from his family. When his father does find out he has to quit the class, but his teacher recognizes his talent and offers to continue to teach him privately at no charge and arranges for him to audition for the Royal Ballet School. All does not go as planned, but finally Billy stands up to his father and convinces his father that he has both the talent and determination to be a dancer. His father, upon reversing his position and supporting Billy's efforts to attend the Royal Ballet School, must then stands up to his union to get the money he needs to send Billy to the school.
 From the trailers I had seen I did not think this would be a movie I would enjoy, but after reading several reviews I decided to give it a try. It is in fact a charming and interesting story. The DVD also contains some interesting background in the bonus materials, which includes interviews with director Stephen Daldry (in his directorial debut of a movie) and Jamie Bell who played Billy. (There are also other interviews.) Jamie is himself a boy from Billingham, England who had struggled with being a dancer in a small, conservative town. Billy Elliot won Best Picture at the 2000 British Independent Film Awards, Stephen Daldry received Best Director, Jamie Bell won Best Newcomer, and Lee Hall won Best Screenplay.
 One final note, if you liked the theme of this movie you might also enjoy the documentary Chippendiddys which also discusses the idea that dancing isn't just for girl, it's for boys too.