Mad Hot Ballroom

This enchanting documentary follows New York City public school children as they add ballroom dancing to their education and learn more than how to dazzle on the the dance floor. Their life lessons come courtesy of an unusual program, established by dance instructor Pierre Dulaine, in which 6000 middle-schoolers learn to trip the light fantastic in several New York boroughs. The film focuses on the progress of three schools prepping students for a city-wide competition: competitors: PS 115, in impoverished Washington Heights), PS 150 in trendy Tribeca, and PS 112 in working class Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Documentarian Marilyn Agrelo cannily provides thumbnail sketches...