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Mad hot ballroom - Marilyn Agrelo

Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

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

Eleven-year-old New York City public school kids journey into the world of ballroom dancing and reveal pieces of themselves and their world along the way. Told from their candid, sometimes hilarious perspectives, these kids are transformed, from reluctant participants to determined competitors, from typical urban kids to "ladies and gentlemen", on their way to try to compete in the final city-wide competition.

Providing unique insight into the incredible cultural diversity that is New York City, this film profiles several kids from three schools (out of 60) at this dynamic age, when becoming that "cool" teenager vies for position with familiar innocence, while they learn the Merengue, Rumba, Tango, Foxtrot and Swing.

Theatrical propaganda posters

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

Film documentary dance children school competition ballroom

Persons of interest

Amy Sewell .... Screenwriter
Marilyn Agrelo .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Mad hot ballroom official movie site
Mad hot ballroom film production notes
Mad hot ballroom QuickTime movie trailers
Awards and film festivals:

Edinburgh International Film Festival 2005: Official selection
Slamdance Film Festival 2005: Opening Night, World Première
Sydney Film Festival 2005: Won: Audience Awards: Best Documentary, Side Bar Program: Best Documentary

See also Razzle dazzle: A journey into dance, Shall we dance?, Take the lead
Studios and distributors:

Icon Entertainment

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

When you think of documentaries about kids you always have the worry that Walt Disney is lurking in the wings, waiting to cover everything in fairy dust. Mad hot ballroom has plenty of fairies but they are, fortunately, not the winged kind and Marilyn Agrelo leaves Walt in the dust. [Slight over-use of metaphor and repetition, Special Agent Matti - Director of Intelligence.] Like Rock School, Mad hot ballroom is structured around kids struggling to get a grip on the skills they are being taught, going through trials and tribulations then coming good in the end.

It's warm, it's funny, it's even true. Enjoy.