User Reviews

"Mad Hot Ballroom"is a valentine to New York City public school kids.

As a parent of such kids, I immediately fell in love with the film and that was even before three-quarters through "some school in Queens" in the ballroom dancing competition turned out to be my neighborhood school five blocks away (though my younger son only attended it for three kindergarten days 16 years ago before I switched him to a school where he wasn't the only kid in his class speaking English) -- no wonder the film has played at my neighborhood art house for six weeks.

In a school system starved for arts education, particularly music and dance--whereas in my NJ suburban school our winter gym classes were traditional square dancing, my older son's school only had an annual dance festival consisting of a couple of mostly simplified folk dance routines-- the film also salutes the young and the experienced, dedicated teachers and principals who get swept up in their students' progress and the competition (though their self-serving claims of how the dancing transformed specific "at-risk" kids has to be taken with some grains of salt as we see only tiny evocations and parent reactions to back-up such dramatic changes).

What the film does beautifully is demonstrate the glorious diversity of our public schools, by race--with all shades of white, black, Asian, and Hispanic-- class, national origin and language, with the schools serving now as the melting pot cauldron they did for immigrants and native-born kids a hundred years ago. The specific ballroom dances selected for the competition that have entered the American popular culture pantheon for social occasions dovetail nicely with the kids' sense of national pride as well -- the merengue from the Dominican Republic; the rhumba from Cuba; the pop-based foxtrot; and swing that grew out of African-American traditions. The sexualized aspect of moving their bodies "downstairs" is certainly far less than they get from MTV and is presented as a formal choreography.

While the kids comfortably express their thoughts in front of the cameras --they are just at the age before embarrassment and insecurities take over--about the opposite sex, their families, their futures and their neighborhoods, most of the social and political issues about public education are inferred indirectly. At the Washington Heights school where most of the kids are from the Dominican Republic, the case for bilingual education and the importance of having role models from the same culture is reinforced as the principal and the male dance teacher move easily back and forth between Spanish and English like the kids, which is particularly helpful for drawing out more recent immigrants (or because, as a friend of mine who teaches in the neighborhood says local tradition has the kids going back and forth to the island frequently).

The film spends most of its time in this Upper Manhattan neighborhood (pulling your heart strings to root for them over all the other teams), from the visuals of the housing, families, merchants, statistics about poverty and casual commentary on drug dealing, much more than the school in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn that we quickly have to perceive as working class, and Tribeca in Lower Manhattan, with its scarily articulate middle class kids (though we are told for some sympathy that the program started in that school partly as a morale booster after they were finally able to return to their school post-9/11 and we see them move on to band practice). All three schools, as well as my Forest Hills, Queens school which is included even more superficially, are shown as racially diverse. The lack of more context would probably be confusing for non-New Yorkers or long-time expatriates who aren't up on the current diversity of the city's neighborhoods.

In addition to the usual bromides about discipline and etiquette as a justification for the program, the class and gender issues about dance education as an expression for talent and opening up horizons vs. as a competition are dealt with very well. As the parent of two very active public school debaters, which also is structured as individual achievement within a mutually reinforcing team format, I do see that competition keeps boys involved in a non-athletic activity focused.

For all the sturm und drang from the losers ("We did everything we were told to do!") and their emotional teacher, it is useful that the film carries through to the finals, as it is striking when we see the best kids, to let talent and hard work shine (we saw the winners put in hours of extra after-school practice time). While there's another fleeting touching moment as we see them come out of the subway to walk past Ground Zero to get to the World Financial Center, the filmmakers wisely resist interviewing the noted judges there, including choreographers Ann Reinking and Graciela Daniele, for what would probably be platitudes.

Stay through the final credits and cute song, as not only do the filmmakers graciously acknowledge everyone involved in the program and on screen, the kids' discussions charmingly continue.

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!

There's not many documentaries where you can barely keep a dry eye throughout, but this is one of them. A New York dance project for kids gives them a ten week course in ballroom dancing. We follow especially children (ten-year olds) in Washington Heights, disadvantaged kids that would mostly grow up to be on the street, unsuccessful or criminals.

What is uplifting and so beautiful to watch is not so much what they learn about dancing (though some of them become almost awesome), but what they learn about themselves and each other. "I see them turning into ladies and gentlemen" remarks one of the teachers.

As someone with a passion for dance, I would enjoy it anyway, but the box office success of this film proves that it moves non-dancers and dancers alike. Watching the kids prepare and enter the competition, we see the euphoria of winning and the pain of losing, and coping with it. We see them develop a positive and objective self-image of themselves, and develop a dialogue with their classmates that was absent at the beginning. Teachers show how their behaviour records in some cases have been turned around as they are able to achieve a higher opinion of themselves and see qualities in each other that they didn't see before.

Swayze used to say that dance is a communication, one that existed before language. My own experience mirrors that, and so does the interaction of the children in this film.

Go and watch it - better still go and watch it with your kids if you have some.

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 sunny documentary on a rainy and gloomy afternoon was the perfect movie to watch. "Mad Hot Ballroom" directed by Marilyn Agrelo, who is working with her collaborator, Amy Sewell, will put anyone into a good mood because it's a disarming view at inner city children who have benefited a lot from this experience.

What comes across in the documentary is the tenacity in which the teachers keep these children involved as they are exposed to another world many of them don't even know exists. The teachers one sees in the film are clearly people that ought to be commended for motivating children that otherwise would probably be in the streets hanging out and getting in trouble.

Yomaira Reynoso and Allison Sheniak are seen openly crying when describing what they are trying to give these youngsters. It shows their devotion to the children that comes from their hearts. It's a rare thing to find men and women whose lives are given to the cause of shaping these youngsters under their care. The other teachers also have to be singled out for their dedication, especially Rodney Lopez and Alex Tchassov.

Three public schools are shown preparing for the competition, but only three are singled out, one in Tribeca, one in Brooklyn and one in Washington Heights. The children featured in the different segments are caught being themselves. There seems to be an air of improvisation in the way Ms. Agrelo points the camera to whatever is going on. The kids come out so natural in being themselves, no small achievement for this, or any other director.

It is to Ms. Reynoso's credit to dress all the six couples of her team in such a colorful, yet modest, way they have a dignified and professional look. These children of Washington Heights are poor, but they clearly show they are there to win, despite of competing with other, more affluent, schools. In a way, Ms. Reynoso has achieved in showing by her example how to be a better person.

The dancing in all the different categories at the finals show all teams in great form. Some of the dancers show a grace and a joy for whatever they are dancing at the moment. This is reflected in some of the judges, especially Ann Reinking, who seems happily surprised by some of the kids on stage.

The reaction of the audience at the session we attended couldn't have been more positive. The energy of the music and the dancing make a perfect combination. Ms. Agrelo is to be congratulated for capturing these New York school kids that show an amazing group of young and talented people that are a delight to watch.

It's been two glorious weeks for us award-winning teachers. Last week I reviewed the documentary Rock School, a raucous romp with teens from Philly grooving Zappa all the way to Germany. This week's Mad Hot Ballroom shows the NYC public schools competing for top honors in ballroom dancing, a required course that lets students and teachers, supplied by the American Ballroom Theater, strut their best stuff in the tango, rumba, meringue, and foxtrot.

Like last year's Spellbound, everyone gets to show competitive spirit with low-level anguish at losing and testosterone-fueled joy at winning. The strength of Ballroom is the enthusiasm of teachers who have little to gain but the biggest prize of all—the success of their charges. Fairly absent is the dominance of stage-door parents in the spelling competition. Ballroom better captures the harmony that pervades a group project where the human body gracefully expresses its glory and young people experience perhaps for the first time the wonder of collective activity that ties them to peers and teachers and effaces their natural youthful loneliness, delinquent temptations, and fear of losing.

Some will criticize Ballroom for showing too many contestants and thereby losing the intimacy documentaries thrive on. Yet, the eventual winners stand out from the first moment they appear, almost exonerating director Agrelo from the intimacy requirement; also, that communal experience is better explained through the roving camera and long shots of their dancing. Although Ballroom may be too long by as much as 15 minutes, I admit I would have liked to linger more with some of the children to see how their lives have been changed by the experience; Agrelo lets the voice over take care of a couple of histories.

Cinematographer Claudia Raschke's camera, held level with the children's faces, does its own winning dance with us as viewing partners. You'll want to put on your dancing shoes after this film.

Not nearly as good as the documentary, "Spellbound"also about school children , but still worth recommending. This documentary did keep my attention throughout and had some very charming moments. Many of the kids spotlighted were adorable and fun to watch. But overall, I had a difficult time keeping track of the different schools and children. Spellbound was able to focus on only a few children and document their lives from more angles. I felt a connection with every single one of the kids.

Mad Hot Ballroom on the other hand documented many children from three different schools and focused on the children's teachers, schools and dance classes more than their families and individual struggles. Still, it was a delight to see the sweetness that these kids have at that age. But in the end, I wasn't absorbed enough with the children from the winning team to have that same warm and uplifting feeling that I had from Spellbound. The only scenes I seem to be able to recall clearly now are of a silly teacher crying (her scenes got the biggest laughs from the audience) and the poor look on these kids faces when they didn't win a contest round. That says it for me.

I am one of the judges for the Heartland Film Festival that screens films for their Truly Moving Picture Award. A Truly Moving Picture "...explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life." Heartland gave that award to this film.

This is a documentary that plays out like a story. Three fifth grade classes of different schools in diverse NYC learn ballroom dancing in order to compete in a citywide dance contest in downtown Manhatten. You watch the kids evolve from clumsy to close-to-graceful and from hesitant to confident.

The best part was that the kids ignored the camera. They didn't play to the camera at all. And ten year old kids are beautiful as they bounce back-and-forth from juvenile to young adult and back to juvenile in a matter of seconds.

The camera work and directing are interesting because you don't notice them. You feel you are the observer and not the camera. The movie simply looks honest and truthful.

FYI - There is a Truly Moving Picture web site where there is a listing of past winners going back 70 years.

The first half of this documentary is charming and interesting as it focuses on adolescents learning new skills, both on the dance floor and in life. But then it shifts to the coaches, teachers, etc., and becomes just another ballroom dance competition -- I expected commentary from Juiet Prowse to begin any minute. Hang around for the first couple of reels, then when they start picking and choosing for the competition teams, walk out and go dancing yourself somewhere. I don't know why the producer/director felt that empty platitudes from the adults ("little Johny used to be a trouble-maker, but now that he dances he's just so docile and amenable") were more interesting than the fresh, funny, slightly skewed world view that the kids so freely expressed. On a more technical note, the camera and operator become clearly intrusive during the final competition.

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.

I don't know what I expected, but in this pic I thought there'd be more interesting stuff. The hype is there just because documentaries are the "in" thing at the moment, but this was too repetitive. Still, it's so cool to see documentarians turn slight facial twitches, personality characteristics, gestures etc. into caricature-like real-life humor through the subtle art of creative shooting and editing. Some of the public schools produced dancers with real talent! Sooo cute. I suppose I liked 'Spellbound's personal interest stories, whereas MHB profiled entire schools rather than kids, shifting the focus and the hoo-hah onto the dancing teachers, judges, and school principles. That detracted from the kids' awesome levels o' dedication and some of their struggles/stumbling blocks.

A good movie, though.

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.

First off, my girlfriend looooved this movie. She's a dance fanatic (we met at a swing dance thing) and she thought it was wonderful and inspirational and all that.

As for me, I thought it was cute. But I felt it relied on the cuteness of the kids too much. Young kids dancing are funny because they look a little clunky dancing, and interviews with them are amusing because they have this weird half adult/half kid view of the world, but that in itself isn't enough to make something a great movie.

I felt the film lacked a real flow. The best documentaries structure a story, but Ballroom is all incident instead. Some incidents are amusing, as when a boy is partnered with a girl who looked to be two fee taller than him, but other incidents suffer from a lack of context. One argumentative boy is once forced to apologize and once refuses to dance with a particular girl, but we have no idea why in either case. The movie tells us that the dance program can better these kids lives but it doesn't really show that happening. The result is a movie that is generally entertaining but that has little real impact.

I am happy that kids are learning to ballroom dance, since that may help keep ballroom dancing alive and give me people to dance with in future. But in spite of that good message, the movie itself squanders a lot of its potential.

But then, my girlfriend ecstatically gives it a 9.5/10 (she gives it the extra .5 because she's taken classes with one of the teachers in the film). So we sat side by side and saw a different movie.

You can't help but smile throughout this movie... the filmmakers have beautifully showcased an amazing group of children and teachers, along with the struggles and triumphs in the competitive world of ballroom dancing. It's loads of fun for all ages...

In this age of reality television, I believe audiences will truly embrace this moving (yet funny!) documentary. It follows 4th & 5th graders at three public schools in New York City that have ballroom dance as part of their curriculum. We watch these diverse groups of kids learn the tango, merengue, rumba, foxtrot and swing and ultimately blossom into talented dancers while becoming little "ladies and gentlemen."

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.

(2005) Mad Hot Ballroom DOCUMENTARY

Co-produced and directed by Marilyn Agrelo documenting city school kids majority of them 5th graders from the point of view from three different schools in a neighborhood in Tribeca, NY trained to competing for ballroom dancing from the tango, the rumba to the swing.

I like the fact that the movie centers the story on regular city kids we see from public schools raised by blue collar families. The willingness to compete despite their not so great home life. My only problem is that their is not enough interviews on some of the children participating in Ballroom Dancing" I'd also like to see the aftermath of whether they stay with competing in other tournaments. Otherwise it is vague.

"Mad Hot Ballroom" is wonderful. It makes you laugh and cry. You are instantly drawn to the children in this movie and inspired by them. The movie makes you laugh - you can't help but love these kids (and root for them). The film takes the dance sequences and interweaves them with the children's lives outside of school but in a way that demonstrates why the dancing is so important. The movie never preaches. The movie shows NYC in a very positive life - it finds beauty in every neighborhood. And the comments by one of the principals while the dance competition appears on-screen embodies the significance of the arts in children's (and all our) lives. And the kids are kids - whether they are dancing or chatting. You will just love this movie!!!

In 1994, ballroom dancing was introduced to 5th graders in the New York area. There are thousands of public school kids trying to enter into the annual competition between the schools. These kids come from varying backgrounds. Some have heart-breaking stories as they find discipline and comfort in their new interest. The most compelling parts of this documentary are the snippets of personal opinions coming from the kids. The major problem is there are so many kids that it's hard to keep track of them. The film would do well to limit the number of kids and spend more time with them at home. The kids dancing is cute and compelling. Those little interviews are what make the film sings.

This documentary is shot in New York City. 10 and 11 year old students from different cultural backgrounds and families, represent their school in an annual ballroom dance competition. This competition includes the Merenge, Foxtrot, Swing and T-A-N-G-O.

Majority of the film takes us through their practicing for the competition where we get to see them on and off the dance floor.

On the dance floor, we see moments of what it's like to learn fancy awkward dance moves with the distraction of being awkwardly placed in front of the opposite sex for the first time. Results are transforming.

Off the dance floor, we gain comical insight on what it's like to be their age, but they also share views about life, careers, family... that are so beautifully expressed we can really see these young minds developing. It refreshes the knowledge that so many factors influence someone growing up.

As with all competitions, not all can win. In one part of the film, after learning their team did not make it to the semi-finals, one disappointed and confused student says behind crying and tears, "...we did everything they told us to do." It's visible to the audience the reality of some of life's lessons learned regarding competition but also how how teaching students to put in hard work in order to achieve success can have very positive results.

Charming, funny, ultimately moving, documentary about NYC public grade school kids in ballroom dancing competition.

It's inspiring to see these kids transformed by the program, where kids in thousands of NYC public schools learn ballroom dances in 5th, 6th and 7th grade, often giving them a discipline and self-respect they'd lacked before. We meet a fun, colorful array of characters (both teachers and students).

On the down side, we never really get to know any of the characters deeply, only bits and sound-bites, and some moments feel staged (a suspicion bolstered by the end credit 'writer', although there is no narration, and the film is done verite style).

Also, while we see how great the effect of winning is on these kids, the subject of losing, the hurt feelings, the possible damage to these same fragile egos is touched on, but never explored. We see kids crying, we hear one teacher voice concerns abut the intensity of competition at that age, but that's it. Even as an endorsement of what is clearly a terrific program for the kids, it feels like a it of a cheat to bring up such an arresting element, and then never really deal with it.

Certainly worth seeing, but I can't help feeling it could have gone deeper and still been just as entertaining.

This was truly one of the best movies I've seen in awhile. I laughed, cried, but mostly cheered these honest and hard working 5th graders. The teachers in the movie are inspiring individuals that put their heart and soul into teaching the kids to dance. It shows that there really are selfless people still in this world. I loved that even though the kids are from different backgrounds, not one of them commented on it. I think we could all learn a valuable lesson from seeing these kids work so hard to achieve something they probably would never have thought they could accomplish. These kids learned more than just how to dance. I went with my mother and 7 year old daughter and we all loved it. The entire theater clapped when the movie ended.

Was looking forward to seeing the pairing of Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell in "Bewitched" 2005. Alas, the direction by Nora Ephron and her co-written script with Delia Ephron seemed flat (made "Michael" 1996 not as bad). Do see "Mad Hot Ballroom" instead - it's an energizing, enervating, perceptive documentary of youngsters who learned to appreciate ballroom dancing in all earnestness.

As the film's intro noted, since 1994, a free curriculum in Ballroom Dancing is offered to public schools in New York City. It's a vehicle to helping 11 year old's to grow and transform into young ladies and gentlemen, experience art and humanity, build self-esteem and face facets of life along the way. What a brilliant idea and effective educational approach from the American Ballroom Theatre (AbrT) founders Pierre Dulaine and Yvonne Marceau.

"Mad Hot Ballroom" is absolutely worth seeing. Director and co-Producer Marilyn Agrelo delivered a film that is full of energy and kudos to the girls and boys featured (in the competition event held in 2004). We get to see the Dancing Classrooms training sessions, hear the students talking and expressing opinions (at times, rather shrewd observations at such a tender age) and the teachers and principals involved from the different schools.

It's encouraging to see these youngsters being so focused in developing their ballroom dancing techniques and enjoying their lessons even though with fears and tribulations for the competition to come (Colors of the Rainbow Team Match - explanation of how this free event works and the various dances: merengue, rumba, foxtrot, swing, 'T-A-N-G-O' can be found at the 'americanballroomtheatre.com' site). Besides showing us how these young participants fared, we are privy to the teachers aspirations and tireless efforts.

There is not a dull moment or lull in pacing. The editing for the visual and sound - the dance music pieces, songs, conversations of the kids, teachers, parents, organizers - all are well amalgamated - 110 minutes came through beautifully engrossing. The progression of the various scenes and inter-cut of talking heads or 'eavesdropping' on the kids chatting among themselves, are tightly delivered with the anticipated excitement of the quarterfinals, semifinals and grand final of the competition. Following the facial expressions of fellow participants watching their team mates dancing on the competition floor, the mix emotions of joy and dismay, cheer and anxiety we can equally share in suspense.

The thoughtful writing by co-producer Amy Sewell, effective film editing by Sabine Krayenbuehl, comprehensive (never miss a beat) cinematography by Claudia Raschke-Robinson, and the super sound design/editing efforts of Tammy Douglas, Margaret Crimmins, and Greg Smith, along with music selections like 'Histoire d'amour' during rumba, Glenn Miller's music swinging, 'o blue eyes' singing "The Way You Look Tonight" - all contributed to the remarkable debut film-making of this enjoyable documentary by Marilyn Agrelo. Whether a team gets 'bronze or silver level' vs. 'gold level', or rooting for a specific color team - absolute insightful delight guaranteed.