Mad Hot Ballroom

American independent film producer Marilyn Agrelo decided to choose for her directorial debut a ten year old New York Public School project, where the children could visit a free ten–week course in social dance which culminates in a large competition. From the awkward first lesson up to the dramatic final, the director chose a screenplay similar to a sports film, which gives the children's efforts more importance and the viewers are galvanized into cheering for their favorites. The film presents the rich spectrum of emotion accompanying the final competition. Nervousness and determination are alternated with the joy of victory and the great disappointment of those eliminated. The desire to win does not overshadow the more essential significance of participation in the course. Each side stresses different aspects: The director of the school mentions the possibility of creative joy and the feeling of asserting oneself for children from families in poor social situations. The teachers of dance say that it gives the timid self–confidence and those who are too "street–wise" learn discipline. For the children themselves it is one of their first experiences in forming friendships, which for many can lead to humorous contemplation about their own futures, and for others reveals the shortcomings of their families. The effort to make ladies and gentlemen out of the children through the teaching of standard dance shows the conservative nature of the project of integrating children of immigrants and the poor or uneducated into the majority society of successful citizens.