By Ed Koch
Volume 74, Number 2 | June 1- 7, 2005
Koch On Film
“Mad Hot Ballroom” (+)
This delightful movie should be shown in every American school auditorium, particularly in New York City’s public schools. It will make every student feel good and every parent feel proud. The people who conceived the idea of putting ballroom dancing into the elementary school curriculum at the fifth-grade level are geniuses.
The schools covered in the documentary are located in Tribeca and Washington Heights in Manhattan and another in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. The students are overwhelmingly Hispanic but include whites, blacks and Asians. They are uninhibited, smart beyond belief, and witty and knowledgeable in their comments on life, which appear to be unrehearsed. The dances, which include the Fox Trot, Rumba, Merengue, Tango and Swing, are wonderful to behold. One movement referred to as “slinky” is performed gracefully and sensually without carnality or smirk by a young member of the Indigo team. He, with his wonderful smile, is priceless to watch. The various dance teams, distinguished by their different colored sashes, are made up of both clunky and masterful dancers. One street-smart Dominican girl yells to her classmates, “Remember, it’s attitude.” Proper carriage, presence and aplomb are definitely needed to win.
The theater audience, myself included, gave the film a roar of applause when it ended, and we were all beaming when we left the theater. Never have I felt more secure about the future of our children and the success of the public schools than I did after seeing this movie. Give the kids a chance and they will make it. It is also nice that the test results showing great advancement in the fourth grade throughout the public schools were announced within two weeks of the opening of the movie.
Let’s not shed crocodile tears for the children by moaning and groaning and simply standing by wringing our hands. Instead, pitch in and find a way to get involved. Everyone feels protective about the children they know. We have to view all children regardless of race or nationality as part of our own lives and give them the chance they need to succeed.
When I read last week that pre-kindergarten children were being expelled for inappropriate actions, I believe mostly from private schools, I wanted to revoke the licenses of those schools. You don’t expel the child. Administrators must find a way to prevent a child from acting out and learn how to deal with it when it occurs. As the child gets older, other ways must be developed to reach that child. Ballroom dancing is one such way, and there must be 50 or more suggestions not yet employed. Go see this wonderful film and take your children with you. Hats off to the director, Marilyn Agrelo, the writer Amy Sewell, and the director of photography, Claudia Raschke-Robinson.
