Mad Hot

Mad hot pimping for one of the best documentaries I've seen (hell, one of best movies I've seen, period) in quite a long time:

Mad Hot Ballroom features three NYC public schools taking part in a 10-week ballroom dancing program for fifth graders (about 60 NYC schools participate in the this program, which started 10 years ago with just two schools). I went to see the movie because I love ballroom dancing, and I expected to be entertained and perhaps even amused by the kids and their teachers as they trained to compete in the culminating city-wide competition. What I didn't expect was to be blown away by the wit, intelligence, and enthusiasm of the kids and their incredible dedication to what basically amounts to a required phys. ed./arts course. It would already have been a good film because the kids were great and the concept was interesting, but it was a great film because it was exceptionally put-together, providing an insight into the children's lives without seeming overbearing (as the classes are very multi-cultural and many of the kids, particularily from one of the schools, are from working-class families). No voice-over, no (visible) interviewers, just teriffic dance footage (boy, these kids can dance--and, mind you, some of them had never even heard of ballroom dancing before) and shots of the kids and teachers at school and at home learning and talking about dancing and their lives.

It's so obvious how important the dance program is for many of the kids that the film could probably serve as a very persuasive tool for folks lobbying for the continuation of arts programming. Hell, I even wanted to teach public school in New York City after watching the film and that's no small feat!

http://www.paramountclassics.com/madhot/