Wonkette Movie Night: Mad Hot Ballroom

'Anyone can make it if they learn how to shake it.'

"Dance is the movement of the universe concentrated in an individual."

-Isadora Duncan.

"Learn the craft of knowing how to open your heart and to turn on your creativity. There's a light inside of you."

-Judith Jamison

“Get up offa that thing,
And dance 'till you feel better,”

-James Brown

In 1994, fifth graders from two New York City public schools were given the opportunity to learn ballroom dancing. Ten years later and 6,000 students from 60 schools were participating in the free dance program. This documentary focuses on three schools, PS 112 in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, PS 115 in Tribeca in lower Manhattan, and PS 115 in Washington Heights in upper Manhattan, with each school representing different economic statuses of the families who call these schools their own.

As the 10- and 11-year-old boys and girls learn dance steps, they also discover things about themselves and life. The movie centers on a competition to find the best dancers in the program from across New York City. Over 10 weeks, the students practice and develop their skills, as the films shows them in their day to day lives.

Out of the mouths of babes, these kids speak with a surprising wisdom. But they’re still 10 and 11 years old, so the silliness of youth is never far away.

Tara, interviewed about any crushes she might have, relates with a grin that boys do think about girls because her guy friends certainly do. But a later discussion between another group of girls shows how real world dangers still exist in the minds of children. They see the issues of drug abuse, gangs and the need for parents who love each other that can give them a strong foundation for life.

The dance teams must get past the quarterfinals where there will be joy, tears, and lessons learned. Those selected for the finals appreciate how far they’ve come and prepare themselves for the big day with their nerves and excitement bringing the teams closer together. And yes as cheesy as it sounds, the true victory was the friends made along the way!

Although this film is nominally about a competition in the art of dancing swing, merengue, tango and foxtrot, the true heart of it exists in the voices of the children whose stories are told in their own words. A few months in the life of an 11 year old that I think most of us can relate to as steps on our own path to adulthood.

Mad Hot Ballroom is a 2005 documentary directed by Marilyn Agrelo and written by Amy Sewell.

Mad Hot Ballroom is available with a library card on Kanopy and Hoopla. $3.99 in the usual places.

To make requests and see the movie lists and schedules, go to WonkMovie.

Our cartoon is from École des Nouvelles Images titled Code Rose. Directed by Romain Seisson, Julie Groux, Manuarii Morel, Sandra Leydier, Taye Cimon, and Pierre Coëz.

Join me tomorrow on ziggy’s stack for Firefly Sundays at 4 p.m. ET.

We’ll be here Monday for a special holiday Labor Day Wonkette Movie Matinee featuring Clerks. 4 p.m. ET.