Take The Lead

Mixing elements of Mad Hot Ballroom, Strictly Ballroom and every inspirational teacher yarn ever committed to celluloid, Take The Lead is a well-choreographed drama of triumph over adversity that cannot resist frequent sashays into mawkish sentimentality.

The true story ticks all the right emotional boxes: Poor kids teaching the snobby rich brats a lesson in humility; commitment and dedication overcoming poverty and prejudice; inner-city kids discovering pride and self-belief on the dancefloor.

But for every plausible step forward, screenwriter Dianne Houston adds another two steps into the realms of fantasy, like the overweight rich girl who feels "more at home" in the ghetto than with her priggish chums, or the teacher's rousing speeches which should have the kids sniggering in disbelief, not nodding with heartfelt understanding.

Antonio Banderas cuts a fine figure in his dancing shoes, gliding his way through the foxtrot, but he's not the most charismatic of actors and lacks emotional depth.

Some of his dreary dialogue almost trips him up, but he rhumbas bravely on even enjoying a waltz with the high school principal (Woodard) to demonstrate to a room of angry parents the benefits of dance.

Take The Lead is set in an inner city New York high school, where Manhattan ballroom teacher Pierre Dulaine (Banderas) is assigned the unenviable task of teaching a group of rowdy wastrels the basics of ballroom dance as part of their detention.

At first, the unruly students - including underprivileged good girl LaRhette (DaCosta), moody gang member Rock (Brown), extrovert Ramos (Basco) and self-conscious Big Girl (McKenzie) - resist Pierre's efforts to tutor them in movement, precision and poise.

However, his unwavering commitment and inspiration gradually takes effect, inciting the pupils to combine traditional ballroom choreography with their own funky hip-hop sensibilities. In the process, Rock and his classmates acknowledge the power to lead in life as well as on the dancefloor.

Behind the scenes, hard-nosed headmistress Augustine James (Woodard) has to fight a rebel within he ranks from teacher Mr Temple (Ortiz), who opposes ballroom dancing for kids who should be learning English and algebra.

Take The Lead builds to the obligatory dance competition where Pierre and his students waltz into the rarified world of ballroom and teach the establishment a thing or two about self-expression.

The pacing, fittingly enough, is rather uneven (slow, slow, quick quick, slow) and romantic subplots involving the youngsters, and Pierre and his assistant, are grossly undernourished.

Choreographer Joann Jansen pulls out all the stops for the final dance, including an electrifying tango which flouts decency laws on so many different levels.