N.Y. tweens tango across social strata

By Luis Alonso Lugo
Associated Press

This is director/producer Marilyn Agrelo's first film, financed with contributions from relatives. It has been picked up by Paramount Classics and opens today in Honolulu. Julie Jacobson • Associated Press "Mad Hot Ballroom" PG, for adult themes 105 minutes Hot for 'Ballroom' Many film critics raved about "Mad Hot Ballroom" after its limited release several weeks ago. Here's a sample: Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: "Warm, funny and very difficult to resist, this engaging film combines the charm of 'Spellbound' with the kinetic energy of 'Strictly Ballroom' in a way that will make you want to laugh, cry and do a little dancing yourself, maybe all at the same time." Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: "The real joy of 'Mad Hot Ballroom' is watching kids who know almost nothing about the dances of a different era struggling to find poise and rhythm — and discovering the enjoyment in discipline. It is also in getting to know them as they find out more about themselves by learning to put one foot in front of the other." Roger Moore, Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel: "The kids are adorable, and so is the movie. You may not cha-cha your way out of the theater. But you will want to drop in on that next PTA meeting to see what it takes for your child's school to toss in a little ballroom in between bouts of dodgeball."

But the documentary "Mad Hot Ballroom," opening today in Honolulu, offers an unusual look into this drug-saturated Dominican neighborhood by focusing on fifth-graders taking part in a citywide ballroom dance competition.

"I like the chance of having made a documentary that shows Latino kids in a positive and inspiring light," said Marilyn Agrelo, the film's first-time director/producer.

"Mad Hot Ballroom" follows students from three New York City public schools with no formal training who compete against other schools, dancing the rhumba, tango, swing and fox trot.

During a recent interview conducted in Spanish, the Cuban-born filmmaker said: "These Dominican kids have the biggest challenge, because they do not have the connections and they see plenty of temptations around in the streets. I wanted them to feel capable to succeed and to enjoy a success.

"I did not want to deal too much with the social issues, but if you want to listen to them, they are right there. Especially when the girls say they do not want to have a drug dealer as a boyfriend," she said.

When Agrelo and her three-woman team pulled out their cameras in the Washington Heights streets, they were not welcomed at first. Residents harassed them several times, thinking they were police officers investigating drug dealing.

"The fact that we were only women and that I speak Spanish helped us," and after the initial scare, "many moms eventually brought us tons of food. They allowed us to film in their houses, very humble (houses). They are really generous people."

Agrelo decided to tell this story because it addresses "universal issues. It is a story about hope. About having a dream and following it. About anybody can succeed."

She also chose to show New York City diversity through the three schools featured in the film: P.S. 115 in Washington Heights; P.S. 150 in trendy Tribeca, where "the kids have a very sophisticated vocabulary"; and P.S. 112 in Brooklyn, where the children "come from working-class families, and they look more like the average American kid."

Agrelo, who came to the United States with her family when she was 3, next plans to complete a documentary about the gap between the members of her family here and those still in Cuba. She has already shot 20 hours of footage on the island, in 1999.

"Mad Hot Ballroom" made its world premiere in January 2005 as the opening night film at the 2005 Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, where it was bought by Paramount Classics.

Agrelo and her friend Amy Sewell, the film's producer/writer, raised $400,000 to make the movie.

"We applied for many grants, but nothing," Agrelo said. "We had to go to friends and relatives. They knew maybe they would lose it all, because the independent moviemaking is very risky."