Amanda Lemos

Literature and Film

FINAL PAPER
MAD HOT BALLROOM

Documentaries are films that inform and persuade the audience, capturing real life

events in actual time. Some documentaries are historical, using interviews to those

involved or those educated on it, bringing a story to life. Documentaries in general are

associated with some sort of scandal, grand historical event or tragedy, people in third

world countries; issues and stories people are eager to document and recount. However,

one film Mad Hot Ballroom, presents a different genre of documentaries. This fun, light-

hearted film, directed by Marilyn Agrelo, follows a group of fifth graders in New York

City who are training to compete in a ballroom dance program. The film follows three

schools, which contrast significantly and allow the viewer to experience three sides of

New York City Life. While all different mediums are used to portray a message in a

documentary, Agrelo utilizes the media of interviews and live footage. Through the

interviews and footage, Agrelo makes a successful film, bringing back a sense of

childhood innocence back into this hectic world.

Marilyn Argelo, a new filmmaker, is only really known for her highly acclaimed

documentary, Mad Hot Ballroom. Mad Hot Ballroom was a breakout film when released

in 2005. It was popular and well received by the masses. The film was inspired by a

newspaper article written by Amy Sewell, Agrelo’s co-producer. The director never

imagined she would make a film of fifth graders competing in a 10-week dance program.

However, after reading the article written by Sewell and viewing Sewell’s enthusiasm on

this topic, Agrelo changed her mind. After all, Being a Latina, Argelo’s family and culture
had deep roots into the art of dancing. Agrelo connected to the film, for she is a native

Cuban who moved and grew up in New York City. Argelo mentions that many of her

Cuban relatives would dance meringue at family get-togethers. Most importantly, Agrelo

wanted to show the lives of the young 10 and 11 year olds in the New York City Public

Schools. The director wanted to show the diversity of three distinct areas of New York

City, and to present a story of that awkward time in a child’s life where one begins to

ponder about the opposite sex (Svete).

The film, Mad Hot Ballroom, introduces the audience to three different schools in

New York City that are all enrolled into the ballroom dance program. Agrelo documents

their progress throughout the scheduled ten weeks of practice. One of the schools is set

place in Tribeca. Located in Lower Manhattan, Tribeca is a chic, quaint little city,

popular, and a nice place to live. The other school that the film focuses on is in Brooklyn

where most of the school’s students are asian-american. Lastly, are the students from

Washington Heights. This school differs significantly from the other two for it is the

school in an area with the poorest living environments. The majority of the families that

live in Washington Heights live below or at the poverty level. The students are also

predominantly from the Dominican Republic and speak very little English. However, out

of the three schools, the students at Washington Heights are the most proficient in their

dancing (Svete).

The film focuses on these three schools throughout the entire ten-week process.

From learning each dance, each step, the placement of their arms, their posture, etc.

During this process, Agrelo is able to successfully educate, and present a different view to

the audience. While the audience engrosses into the children’s process, the film is
accompanied by candid interviews of the fifth grade students. Most of the interviews are

conducted while the children are in their leisure time. Either at recess, at their homes

hanging out with friends, or at their classes discussing with their peers. Agrelo educates

the viewer by bringing the audience along for the experience. The film gives an

opportunity to familiarize with the basic dances, the importance of one’s posture, and the

importance of eye contact. Although, the film does not enrich the viewers by teaching

each step of each dance, the movie provides a basic understanding of the types of

ballroom dances. The dances that the students learn are the foxtrot, the rumba, and the

tango. The director also makes certain that the view of the children is presented, apart

from all the dancing. Agrelo wanted to showcase the children and their reactions to the

dance classes (Kaufman). How the children interact and think about their partners, and

their regards on the opposite sex. Of course girls think they’re the more intelligent and

advanced sex, while the boys find the girls annoying and troublesome. It is a comical

journey to see the young fifth graders in all their honesty and innocence (Scott).

What is really engaging of this film, is the films point of view and the classic

narrative device of the children’s “head to the big game.” Essentially the film is about

the experiences of the children, and their feeling of triumph, their feeling of defeat. They

are competing, and despite their young age level, any human being can relate to the

anxiousness, eagerness, and excitement they are experiencing. The point of view that

Agrelo utilizes is through the instructors, the teachers, and the children’s experiences.

Since the film is shown in actual time, the story enfolds itsel, making the viewer feel as

an innocent bystander, watching through a peephole into the children’s lives (Scott).
 The type of media that was used in the film was that of real time footage and

casual interviews. The media that Agrelo uses in the film, is able to effectively hint at the

harder issues faced by the children, but not necessarily pinpoint it. For example, the

children in Washington Heights as previously mentioned, live in an impoverished area.

Washington Heights also has a record of more drug abuse and violence. Although the

students at Washington Heights filmed or only around 11 or 10 years old, through the

interviews it is clear these children have experience more then their dancing counterparts.

One particular discussion in the film reveals this reality. Two of the female students are

discussing what they hope to have in a “future boyfriend.” In their discussion they make

it clear they wouldn’t want their boyfriend to sell drugs, but be educated and hard-

working. From this short clip, the audience can make assumptions and rightly so. Agrelo

tried to address these issues faced by these young girls without ruining the light-hearted

feeling of the film (Mad Hot Ballroom).

The audience experiences the ups and downs of the competition in the Ballroom

Dance Competition. One of the most memorable scenes shows the students from Tribeca

who do not pass the quarterfinals. The children are upset and break down to tears. The

teacher comforts them, but seeing the children in their pain joins them in their sobbing.

This moment, so real and raw, reveals a tender, heart-breaking moment in the story.

However, not all is at loss. Washington Heights, the school that came second last year,

have more of a promising outcome. It is clear to the audience the children at Washington

Heights have dancing skills much more advanced than the other two schools. They make

it to the finals, and much to everyone’s surprise they end up winning the competition. The

viewers feel this triumphant victory, the joy that comes from winning the “big game.”
The audience just may find themselves, jumping and cheering for them in the end. It

certainly makes one want to break out of one’s seat in delight (Mad Hot Ballroom).

When I first viewed this documentary, I really was absorbed into the students’

characters, their funny personalities, and their off-the-wall comments. What really

captured me in this film, was the way it was presented. Mad Hot Ballroom is not an

ordinary documentary, and plays out more like a film. It would be very possible to make

a film like this with scripts and an arranged cast. It could be successful, but it would lose

the magic that Mad Hot Ballroom instills. The honesty and the innocence that the

children present are all too entertaining. I found myself grinning throughout the whole

film. Agrelo certainly made a treasure of a film, and I highly recommend it.

Mad Hot Ballroom may not be a groundbreaking, controversial, or revolutionary

documentary, however it is pleasant and real. In this world of overpaid actors, run-down

and indifferent directors, Mad Hot Ballroom is like a breath of fresh air. It proves that to

make a great film, you don’t need a glamorous set, a tremendous budget, or beautiful

actors. All you need is three classes of fifth-graders and a passionate director. Blunt and

naive children, dancing and competing for one goal competing in one mad, hot ballroom.