Approved for 12+

Mad Hot Ballroom

Ballroom dancing goes from lame to cool for a group of New York City public school kids in this insightful documentary. The film follows a group of 11-year-olds as they learn to dance old-school styles including the merengue, rumba, tango, foxtrot and swing. Candid interviews capture the kids' initial reluctance at learning ballroom dance and their transformation into serious competitors determined to win a citywide competition.
7
Negative Rating
12345
SexLanguageViolenceDrugsNudityOther
0
Positive Rating
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FaithIntegrity

Dove Review

This documentary is thorough in its detail and documents several schools and their processes in teaching 11-year olds how to ballroom dance with such dances as the merengue, tango, swing, and foxtrot. You learn that this structured class makes a difference in some of the kids’ lives, especially the boys, as some of them were headed toward being street kids but their attitude and behavior changes to the point that they become leaders and even polite. These schools have a 97% poverty rate and are mainly made up of minorities and the dance program seems to offer hope to many of the kids and their parents.

This DVD is rated PG and is recommended for ages twelve plus, due to the fact that there are mature themes which are discussed among the children, including a father cheating on a mother, and kids referring to other kids as being “hot”. We believe, however, that the success rate of this program shows that an adult supervised dance program and training can keep kids off the streets and help promote learning and trying new experiences in life. We are all in favor of that. A principal in the DVD states she was thrilled with the outcome. The schools and teams compete against each other. One girl states she doesn’t mind dancing with a boy who is a bit chubby. We happily award our Dove Seal to this DVD. Cha cha cha!

Dove Rating Details

0
Faith

None

0
Integrity

None

2
Sex

A child speaks of her father cheating on her mother; a few kids refer to other kids as "hot"; a teacher kiddingly tells a girl her partner is "sexy".

1
Language

OMG-1

0
Violence

None

1
Drugs

Girls say they like boys who don't sell drugs.

1
Nudity

Cleavage.

2
Other

One boy says some of the girls are pretty and some are ugly; girls talk about becoming mothers one day; a boy kiddingly says if he does poorly in the competition he'll kill himself; a boy talks about puberty and growing hair in weird places; gay marriage is briefly discussed with two points of view with one kid being against it and another kid in favor; one boy makes the sign of the cross before a competition.

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