A message from Dean of Education Dr. Dee Hopkins

Can you remember the last time you were at a film where the whole audience burst into spontaneous applause at the end? Over Labor Day I traveled to Denver to visit a friend, and she insisted that we go see Mad Hot Ballroom. It was her third time. Don’t be fooled by the title. If it were playing in Corpus Christi, I would go again and take all of you with me—it was that good. Filmed in New York, this documentary shows fifth-grade students in a ten-week ballroom dancing program. Remember how obnoxious fifth-grade boys can be around girls? And how disgusted fifth-grade girls can be near boys—fifth-graders anyway? The children’s facial expressions are enough to make it worth your time.

The realistic portrayal includes several inner city schools.

The media often focuses on the sensational.

While there have been superhero principals who have changed schools single-handedly, and mean-spirited teachers who should never have taught, they are rare. Most educators are like those in Mad Hot Ballroom—good people doing their best to teach children.

Parents are visible in the film. Several are struggling, and most show signs of a hard life, but when the bell rings, they are at school waiting to take their children home. And when the children perform, moms and dads are in the audience cheering.

Given the chance, see Mad Hot Ballroom. You’ll be tapping your toe and clapping at its close. I’d bet a bag of popcorn on it.