Vamos Todos Dançar

At first, I told my wife I didn't want to go. I thought it was yet another movie of McDonalds generation 11-year-olds, snotty and attitudinal, populated with stupid, bumbling adults trying to please them. I was very, very wrong. It was one of the best movies I've seen in years. It had meaning, warmth, humor, pathos--you name it. It had real adults, and real kids. Real teachers who were not afraid to be clear, loud and firm with kids, but with a great deal of love for them--and vice-versa. Plus, it makes you fall in love with NYC. I want to see the film again, and I can't recommend it enough. Hey, it's appropriate for everyone, too. (By the way, look for the lady who played Oliver Warbucks' assistant Grace in the movie "Annie"--she's a real dancer and one of the judges at the end.) In sum: don't miss this magic film.

I loved this movie. I laughed and cried. These children made me want to embrace them. They were such a joy to watch, their determination was astonishing. They had so much courage. I commend them. I looked on the internet the next day and searched for a dance school for my friend and I and we're starting next week. I just hope we're as good as those kids. Excellent movie. All children should see this movie to show them that you don't have to have money to enjoy life. Most of these children were living at or below poverty level and they prevailed. They have more heart then most adults I know. I'm going to go see it again and I can't start advocating to others to see it as well.

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 Serena Williams, a 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.

This is a heart warming and amusing documentary about a ballroom dancing competition between 11 year old students at several New York public schools where ballroom dancing is taught. The kids are taught to dance the merengue, tango, foxtrot and other steps. To merely say it was cute is an understatement.

It begins as the kids start to learn to dance, at first sometimes awkward and bashful, but by the end of the course the kids are transformed into "ladies and gentlemen" (as the teachers refer to them), miniature versions of accomplished ballroom dancers. The children take on many of the aspects of professional adult dancers, moving to the beat of the music, always smiling and making eye contact with their partners while they dance like pros.

This film is likely to cause parents who see it to want their kids to learn too. It will not be surprising if ballroom dancing courses begin to spread in schools through the country.

Mad Hot Ballroom is a terrific, fun documentary that you must see. You will be smiling coming out of the theater, looking for the nearest ballroom dance studio to learn Tango, Swing or Merengue.

"Mad Hot Ballroom" documents a New York City Public Schools program in which 5th graders learn ballroom dancing and then take part in a city wide competition. The film focuses on the kids and teachers from three schools from different ethnic and economic strata. Drama builds as the competition moves from Quarterfinals to the Championship. You will be engaged, excited and enchanted by the kids, the teachers and the dancing.

One part "Strictly Ballroom", one part "Spellbound", "Mad Hot Ballroom" rates a gold medal!