Mad Hot Ballroom (2005)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Marilyn Agrelo

Writer:

Amy Sewell (writer)

Release Date:

13 May 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Family | Music

Tagline:

Anyone can make it if they know how to shake it.

Plot:

The students of several New York City elementary schools learn ballroom dancing and compete in a city wide dance competition.

Plot Keywords:

New York City | School | Ballroom Dancing | Dance | Tango

Awards:

8 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Heather Berman	...	Herself
Emma Therese Biegacki	...	Herself
Paul Daggett	...	Himself
Graciela Daniele	...	Herself - Judge
Pierre Dulaine	...	Himself - Organizer and MC of the Final Dance Competition
Tara Devon Gallagher	...	Herself
Madeleine Hackney	...	Herself
Charlotte Jorgensen	...	Final Competition Judge
Rodney Lopez	...	Himself
Victoria Malvagno	...	Herself
Stacee Mandeville	...	Herself
Daniel Ponickly	...	Himself
Ann Reinking	...	Herself
Yomaira Reynoso	...	Herself
Allison Sheniak	...	Herself
Solomon Singer	...	Himself
Alex Tchassov	...	Himself
Jatnna Toribio	...	Dancer
Vanessa Villalobos	...	Herself

MPAA:

Rated PG for some thematic elements.

Runtime:

USA:105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

UK:U | Ireland:PG | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | France:U | Brazil:Livre | USA:PG | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Just One Productions

Trivia:

Cinematographer Claudia Raschke held the camera at stomach level to keep it in line with the children's faces.

Quotes:

White chubby kid: My religion does not allow me to dance, and Mouhamed's does not allow him to dance either, so we have really enjoyed being DJs.
Mouhamed: Everybody has been very nice to me, although... I am... from another...
[hesitates]
Mouhamed: country.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Gilmore Girls: Always a Godmother, Never a God (#6.4)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

FEVER

Superb documentary about far, FAR more than dance

NYC has a 10 week Phys. Ed program that teaches ballroom dancing to 5th graders. Some of those kids can elect to join a team, similar to one in football, basketball, track, etc. -- of inter-school competition. This documentary follows the development, training, and competition of some of those teams.

While learning to dance and the competition is the overlying central theme of the narrative, the film is about far more.

Fifth graders will be typically six years old PLUS their grade level -- so most will be about eleven while some are 12 and a few are 10 years old. These students are at -- or a few degrees either side -- of the cusp of puberty. That stage is also graphically reflected in their heights --some are barely above 3 feet while others approach six. Many of the kids come from neighborhoods in which most are disadvantaged, crime ridden, and fractured families while some are from the reverse.

The film brings back to us what it was like to be a kid (and maybe wonder which of those we see here that we would have been most like?), the whole process of learning, of growing up, of the transition of thoughts and expectations kids have about what lies beyond puberty, the relation between caring adults (teachers) and children, the emotions teachers have about the ones they lose and the ones they win, etc.

I've often wondered if -- maybe -- many of us have a hidden, secret talent -- to be a Lance Armstrong, Yo Yo Mah, Carol King, W.H. Auden, Charles Eames, etc. -- but our hidden talent has never been discovered.

The NYC program filmed here discovers some of those talents that would otherwise remain hidden. And this documentary shows, through the lens of dancing, some of the process of a crucial stage in human development and our dependence on our peers and empathic teachers/mentors.

And all of this is done without a voice over narration. At times I was a little confused about which kids of which school we were watching. But I learned to relax -- it's the panorama that's most important.

Great film.

It takes "Spellbound" as a model and advances it.

I'd welcome seeing 50 films of this quality a year.