Mad Hot Ballroom
Following hot on the heels of 2002′s Spellbound (a documentary about kids competing in the National Spelling Bee) comes Mad Hot Ballroom, the most enjoyable movie I have seen this year.
This is an ebullient look at fifth graders in the New York City public school system learning ballroom dancing for a city-wide competition. Imagine yourself in the fifth grade. Now imagine yourself having to touch (and look in the eyes of! and smile!) someone from your class of the opposite sex for a ten-week session. It brought back so many memories of what that age was like, and it was just a really good-hearted film. So go Netflix it.
You’ll also find that it has a swinging soundtrack, too. Salsa, swing, merengue, tango, and jazz. You’ll be humming all night. Here is one of the best tracks:
“Fever” – Peggy Lee (mp3)
BONUS LAUGH: I saw this cross-posted on some other blogs and just tried to read it while drinking my coffee and almost sprayed coffee on my computer, I laughed so hard.
http://www.zug.com/pranks/credit/. My favorite is the heiroglyphics.
Name: Heather Browne
I am a fifth grade teacher myself, and a couple of teachers in my school showed their class “Mad Hot Ballroom”, it inspired them and their kids to give it a go. They got a local dance instructor to volunteer to come in once a week and teach them all to ballroom dance. It was a little weird and awkward for the kids at first but they are actually learning some moves and enjoying themselves.
JMH — December 21, 2005 @ 7:32 pm