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2. Compare Yomaira's exhortation to "find something you do well and give it everything you have" to the command in 1 Corinthians 10:31 to do whatever you do to the glory of God. Is it possible to glorify God through ballroom dancing? Through sports or spelling bees or art? How do you best glorify God? Can you say that in all you do, you seek to glorify God, or do you tend to divide your life into "sacred" and "secular" categories?
   
   
3. What do you remember most about fifth grade? What advice would you most want to give a boy or girl on the brink of adolescence? Is there a child in your life who might benefit from your presence or mentoring?
   
   

The Family Corner

Mad Hot Ballroom is rated PG for mild thematic elements. Many of the children live in high-crime areas, a fact that is neither denied nor glorified. The presence of drug dealers is mentioned more than once, and one girl warns her friends that once they get their "woman shape" they should be careful around drunk men. In another scene, one boy is made to apologize to another for calling him "gay." All of this subject matter is treated responsibly and the movie never lingers on this material. We would take our seven-year-old son to see the movie as long as we were present and able to discuss it with him afterward. There is no cursing and much of the film would lead to terrific family discussion.

Photos © Copyright Paramount Classics

Mad Hot Ballroom follows some New York 11-year-olds as they learn the steps of ballroom dancing, tell their own stories, and work their way toward a citywide competition. You'll see them do the merengue, rumba, tango, the foxtrot and the swing, and you'll see them learn and grow as well.

Annabelle Robertson (Crosswalk) writes, "When you see the way these kids swing, tango, rumba, and merengue, you just may want to join in on the fun. I know I did. … What's amazing is that the kids not only learn to dance like professionals—and boy, do they—but how very much their lives are transformed in the process."

Mainstream critics are almost unanimous in their praise. Ty Burr (Boston Globe) raves, "Take the kids. The 10-year-old I had the pleasure to watch the movie with was transfixed, racked with suspense, and mirroring the moves before it was half over."

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) calls it "a generally appealing documentary. The film feels a bit long. … But the joy of the transforming experience and the music … transcend the physical drabness of the urban public school setting."

© Carolyn Arends 2005, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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