It's 1984 in England, and eleven-year-old Billy is going through his daily routine with his family.
His widowed father Jackie and his older brother Tony are both coal miners out on strike with their
union, from which Tony is a delegate. Billy often takes care of his Grandma by cooking her breakfast
and bringing her back into the house whenever she wanders out because of her Alzheimer's. When
he's alone in the house, Billy likes listening to Tony's records, jumping, and dancing on the bed.
Dancing is his real passion, but whenever Tony discovers Billy has been playing his records,
Billy gets scolded for it. Another thing Billy likes is the sound of his late mother's piano,
but Jackie's bothered by the sound most of the time and wants Billy to concentrate on his boxing
classes. Billy's best friend Michael is also sent to those classes, but he refuses to go in because
he hates the sport. It's not like Billy likes it either, in fact, he isn't even good at it,
but he wants to please his dad. Starting today, the gym will be sharing the space with Sandra's
ballet classes, and Billy can't help getting curious about it before he's called to the ring.
His movements are more similar to a dancer than to a boxer, and as usual, he ends up losing his
fight, to Jackie's disappointment. The teacher sends Billy to practice at the punching bag,
telling him he isn't leaving until he does it right - he also gives him the keys so he can
deliver them to Sandra when they're done. Billy can't help hearing the piano music
and Sandra's dancing indications, which helps him concentrate on the bag and actually move smoothly.
When he realizes this, Billy decides to take a closer look under the excuse of bringing the keys,
and Sandra's daughter Debbie invites him to join. Billy is hesitant at first but it only takes him
a few seconds to change his mind, and soon he's enjoying the class with the rest of the girls.
Sandra even lends him a pair of ballet shoes and gives him specific pointers to improve his form.
After class is over, Sandra tells Billy he can pay her next week. Billy turns down the idea of
joining them again, claiming he has boxing to attend, but Sandra leaves him thinking when she
points out he clearly had enjoyed himself. Later, Billy takes Grandma to visit his mother's grave.
On their way to the cemetery, Grandma keeps chatting about her favorite dancers and how she
could've been a professional. At school, Debbie tries to make Billy come back to ballet classes,
explaining plenty of boys like dancing and that doesn't mean they like men.
Billy is still hesitant, but when the time for boxing class comes,
he decides to hide in the changing room, wait for the other boxers to leave and join ballet.
From now on, he uses the money his father gives him for boxing to pay Sandra instead.
Now that he promises to return every week, Sandra allows Billy to take the shoes with him,
and he hides them under his mattress. During gym class at school, Billy and Michael get separated
from their class on purpose so they can take a shortcut because they aren't good runners.
Taking advantage of this privacy, Billy tells Michael about the ballet classes, but Michael
doesn't judge him for it. In fact, he asks about tutus, because he thinks Billy would look good in
one. Growing to love the experience, Billy begins putting all his energy into ballet. He takes out a
book about it from the library, and practices hard at home, sometimes in the bedroom when Tony isn't
around, other times in the bathroom. It takes him many weeks, but eventually, hard work pays off
and Billy manages to pull off a pirouette. Having progressed this much makes Billy incredibly happy,
and now he dances through the streets every time he comes and goes to his classes.
Sadly, his father and brother aren't as successful in their own affairs - no matter how much they
protest, they're still not being heard by their employees. Things are tense around town too,
because most families depend on the mines and are trying to stick together for the strike.
But there are still a few men that go to work, and their relationship with the union workers
isn't good; sometimes this even causes arguments to begin in the middle of the grocery store.
One afternoon, the boxing teacher tells Jackie that Billy hasn't come to class for a while.
Jackie tries to talk to Billy, but on the days he has ballet, Billy quickly leaves the house
without even having breakfast to avoid being questioned by his father. Tired of this game,
Jackie shows up at the gym and finds Billy red-handed. He yells at his son,
intending to take him away, so Sandra tries to defend him, but Billy asks her not to interfere.
When they return home, Jackie spends a long while yelling at Billy for spending the little
money they have on "girly activities" instead of sports, expressing his worry about his son
being called slurs for liking guys. Billy tries to explain there's nothing wrong with boys doing
ballet and Grandma tries to back him up, but it's pointless: Jackie forbids Billy from doing both
ballet and boxing. From now on, he'll stay home looking after Grandma. Furious, Billy calls his
father a bastard and tells him he hates him, which makes Jackie react aggressively. Before
things can escalate, Billy runs out of the house and throws a tantrum in the middle of the road,
hitting a sign to release his anger. The next day, Billy visits Sandra and Debbie at their home.
Sandra feels bad when she hears Billy won't be coming to class anymore and invites him to stay
for dinner, although she also thinks Billy should stand up to his father. After hearing Sandra's
husband rant against the miner strike, Billy spends some time with Debbie in her room. The
kids start a pillow fight, and Billy accidentally ends up on top of Debbie, almost kissing her.
Before anything can happen though, Sandra calls Billy's name, telling him it's time to
go home. Sandra drives Billy back to his house and confesses it's a pity about the classes because
she's been thinking he could be good enough for the Royal Ballet School. They'll be holding
auditions soon and Sandra wouldn't want Billy to miss it, so she offers to teach him in private for
free. Billy is hesitant because he worries about his father, but Sandra convinces him to accept.
Later, Billy visits Michael and is shocked to find him wearing his sister's clothes and make-up, but
Michael explains he saw his dad do the same when he thought he was alone and also wanted to try.
After Michael shares the lipstick, Billy tells him about the audition, and Michael confesses
that if Billy goes away to a boarding school, he'll miss him. For the first private class,
Sandra asks Billy to bring objects that hold a special meaning to him to get ideas for a dance.
He brings a letter from his mom that he was supposed to read at eighteen but he's already
opened it. Sandra reads the letter while Billy recites it from memory, remembering every word
of his mother's saying she loves him and reminding him to be himself. Billy has also brought a boogie
tape of Tony's, so Sandra spends the day teaching him to combine different types of dancing and
having fun. One night, Billy notices Tony trying to leave at four a.m., taking a hammer with him.
Jackie finds him and tries to stop him, so an argument ensues about how far the union
is willing to go and where the line is when it comes to defending your own rights as a worker.
Tony tells Jackie he's been nothing but a useless twat since his mother die, and Jackie hits him for
it, but Tony leaves anyway. The tension at home causes a lot of stress for Billy, who hasn't been
practicing enough, and Sandra scolds him for his lack of concentration. When she tries to correct
his form, Billy snaps, refuses to do the next exercise, and runs to hide in the changing room.
Sandra goes to check on him and a very frustrated Billy begins yelling at her, saying she's like the
others telling him what to do, that she only wants him to go to the audition for the sake of her own
broken dreams and that she picks on him because her life sucks. This earns him a slap from Sandra,
but they both quickly regret their actions made in the heat of the moment and hug before going
back to practice. At the end of the day, when they return home, Sandra tells Billy the story of "Swan
Lake", but it only annoys Billy to hear it ends badly. Billy continues to work hard with Sandra,
and the day before the audition, Debbie comes to tell him she'll miss him when he's gone.
She also wants to know if Billy likes her, but he says he hasn't really thought about it and turns
down her offer to see her without clothes. Meanwhile, the tension between the police
and the union finally explodes, so now cops are chasing the workers through town. They're
particularly concentrating on Tony because he's the leader and has been evading him for a while,
and today they finally catch him. Billy tries to help him but it's too late, and he can only watch
while his brother is beaten up by the police. With Tony in jail, Billy can't go to the audition
and he calls Sandra's house to let him know. It's Debbie that picks up the phone but she hangs up on
him without saying a word. Jackie and Billy spend a long time in court until they can release Tony,
and since Debbie didn't give her mom the message, Sandra waits for Billy in vain. Frustrated but
unwilling to give up, Sandra goes to Billy's house and finds the family right as they're arriving.
Billy doesn't want her to get involved, but Jackie invites her in anyway. Sandra tells them about the
audition, and this time it's Tony she argues with. He gets furious when he learns about his
brother doing ballet and ignores Billy when he expresses his wishes because he thinks ballet
would ruin his childhood. Seeing as Sandra keeps on insisting Billy is really good, Tony grabs
him and puts him on top of the table, asking him to dance. But with everyone arguing around him,
Billy doesn't particularly feel inspired to dance, so he runs out of the house to throw
another tantrum that he mixes with dance moves to take care of the opposing ideas in his head.
Weeks later, on a snowy Christmas eve, Billy is devastated to see Jackie destroy his mother's
piano for wood for their chimney. Jackie tries to act tough, but later during Christmas dinner,
he breaks down in tears. After dinner, Billy meets with Michael to play in the snow,
and Michael shares some alcohol he stole from his dad. Billy's hands are freezing so Michael
puts them inside his own jacket to warm them up, using the chance to kiss Billy on the cheek. Billy
explains he isn't into guys, but he promises not to tell anyone about Michael and stays supportive.
Afterward, Billy takes Michael to the gym and lends him a tutu to teach him some ballet.
Meanwhile, Jackie and his friends are wandering through town, drinking,
and one of the men hears the music coming from the gym. He tells Jackie about it, who comes
just in time to see Billy playing around with Michael. Instead of getting intimidated though,
this time Billy decides to show how important this is to him by dancing his heart out.
Michael claps but Jackie leaves the building, ignoring his son's pleas.
However, Jackie isn't angry: he's finally seen how good Billy is and wants to support him,
thus he goes to see Sandra. She explains how much it costs and even offers to pay for it herself,
but Jackie refuses to be a charity case because it's his duty to provide for his son.
The next time they go to the mines, Jackie joins the small group of people that want to continue to
work instead of the protesters in order to earn the money for the audition. Tony sees him and
rushes out of the protest to jump over the fence to stop his father. Jackie breaks down in tears,
suffering because he wants Billy to have a chance, so Tony hugs him and cries as well,
explaining that there's no point in throwing out everything they've worked this hard for.
If Billy needs the money, they'll find it somewhere else. When Tony returns home,
he tells Billy that Jackie is right: their mother would've wanted Billy to dance.
The miner and the neighbors raise some money to help Billy, but it isn't enough,
so Jackie decides to pawn his late wife's jewelry. A few days later, Billy travels to London with
Jackie, who admits he's never been to the big city thus this is quite an adventure for him as well.
In the academy, Billy finally gets to meet other boys that do ballet. After a medical examination,
Billy starts having second thoughts, but Jackie tells him to get back there and do his thing.
The judges ask him to first present the basic ballet positions, then to show him the dance he's
prepared. Billy does well with the stances, but he gets nervous when he shows the mixed
choreography he prepared with Sandra, and from the judges' faces, he doesn't think he did well. Once
he's done, Billy's feeling upset and anxious, so when one of the other boys tries to comfort him,
Billy snaps and hits him. The final part of the audition is an interview that Billy
must attend with his dad. After reminding them that violence isn't acceptable in the school,
the judges ask them some questions, but neither Billy nor Jackie give very deep answers. Jackie
admits he doesn't know anything about ballet but swears he wants his son to succeed. Billy says
he likes ballet because he likes dancing, not offering any particular thoughts on it however,
he shines when the last question comes. He's asked why he feels like when he dances, and Billy offers
some beautiful words from the heart, saying that he forgets everything and he just disappears.
For him, dancing feels like flying, fire, and pure electricity. The next few weeks, Billy
is very distracted, even in class, while waiting for the letter from the academy. Everyone around
town is crossing their fingers for him, which only adds more pressure to the whole deal. The day the
letter finally arrives, Billy opens it in private and after reading it, he can only hug his pillow
in shock. Imagining the worst outcome, Jackie goes to check on him, but it turns out it's good news:
Billy has been accepted. Bursting with happiness, Jackie rushes to tell his friends, but the news
waiting for him there isn't as good: the union has caved in so they're going back to work under the
same conditions. Before leaving, Billy visits Sandra to tell her he'll miss her, and Sandra
wishes her the best of luck. Grandma hugs Billy on his way out, and when Michael comes over to
say goodbye as well, Billy gives him a kiss on the cheek. At the station, Jackie hugs Billy tightly
before the boy boards the bus. But by the time Tony finally accepts to drop the macho attitude,
it's too late: Billy can't hear him say "I'll miss you" through the window. Fourteen years later,
Jackie and Tony travel to the city to attend a big play at the theatre. Michael is there as well,
presenting as a woman now. On the stage, a twenty-five-year-old Billy gets ready
to perform the Swan role in the critically acclaimed contemporary ballet, the Swan Lake.