Movie recommendation (Georgie, Dananne, etc.)

[wondersofwine]

Saturday night I saw the documentary "Mad Hot Ballroom" at an independent theater in Fayetteville. It follows several classrooms of fifth graders in New York City public schools who take ten weeks of instruction in ballroom dancing and then compete at the regional (boroughs) and citywide level for a large trophy and bronze, silver, or gold level awards. Most of the teachers and principals really care about their charges and are trying to see that they don't end up on the streets as dropouts or selling drugs. The documentary makes an excellent argument for arts in the schools. Music instruction enhances math skills. Dance instruction led to improvement in social skills, etiquette, class behavior, teamwork, and self-esteem. The children are taught to rhumba, foxtrot, tango, swing and meringue. The children from the Dominican Republic where the meringue originated are really something to watch! Also loved the swing dance scenes. A touching film that I can recommend, especially to the teachers among you if you can stand all those fifth graders after hours!

[dananne]

Thanks for the rec. I'm off to Netflix now.

[Georgie]

That sounds excellent! Thanks for the recommendation!