Marilyn Agrelo/USA/2005; R4
Warner Bros, NZ$29.95 | Reviewed by Caleb Starrenburg

GROWING UP in West Auckland, the only dance I was ever exposed to was a subtle nodding of the head to AC/DC or Guns N’ Roses, which is why I find the achievements of the children featured in Mad Hot Ballroom that much more remarkable. Mad Hot Ballroom, the award winning documentary by Amy Sewell and Marilyn Agrelo, follows a group of ten-year-old New York school kids as they journey into the world of dance.

Apparently, in 1994 New York City launched a 10-week ballroom dancing course – including meringue, rumba, tango, foxtrot and swing – to build student’s self-confidence and celebrate diversity. Today, over 60 schools participate in the programme, which culminates in a citywide competition. Agrelo’s film follows three of these schools, as they move from classroom to the main event.

The inner-city children featured in the film are mostly from working class, immigrant families. The documentary’s joy is watching these kids develop from their awkward and clumsy starts (one of the film’s most humorous moments is when dancing partners are asked to gaze into each others eyes), to capable and proud dancers. Equally inspiring are the teachers, whose enthusiasm for their students is palpable, even as they are forced to admit that some of their pupils will inevitably be lost to gang violence.

Of course, unavoidable comparisons are to be made between Mad Hot Ballroom and Spellbound, though Mad Hot Ballroom lacks the crushing suspense of the spelling-bee documentary. In many ways, this film plays out as Spellbound’s jubilant companion piece.

If a criticism is to be made of the film, then it is that it is focused to narrowly on the dancing. Despite a generous running time, we are given only a cursory examination of the lives and circumstances of the dancers Though the children are given some opportunity to speak frankly on their families, and social issues including motherhood, drug-use and poverty, these glimpses are fleeting, and are inevitably lost in a swirl of motion.

Regardless, it is difficult not to get swept up in the emotion of this infectiously joyous and uplifting documentary.


THOUGH a commentary track would have not been amiss, the DVD’s only special feature is the film’s theatrical trailer.