The sight of a room full of modern New York City fifth graders gracefully gliding through lessons of traditional ballroom dancing, foxtrot, rumba , even the sensual tango has a certain inconsistency. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay, especially with their 97% poverty rate in those schools. Yet the dances, with their old-fashioned Astaire and Rogers urbanity, are strangely suited to the lithe bodies and cross-dressing urban attitudes of American schoolchildren of the time. Additionally, thanks to a program hosted by the American Ballroom Theatre, students in 60 New York elementary schools not only learn the steps and postures, but also demonstrate them in an annual tournament. Their competition is the subject of "Mad Hot Ballroom," a light and charming documentary directed by Marilyn Agrelo.Ms. Agrelo and his co-producer, Amy Sewell, first-time filmmakers, went to three public schools in different parts of New York and followed their students through the stages of the competition leading up to the final event at the World Financial Center. The prize was a trophy higher than most competitors, and also the kind of glory that fuels the dreams of many young people. These kids show extraordinary courage and discipline, as well as a sometimes overwhelming desire to win. Not everyone can win. , of course, which is one of the hard lessons the competition teaches. And not every documentary on a fascinating topic is completely successful. The suspense built into the path to the final tournament (and the fortuitous development that at least one of the three schools made it there) gives "Mad Hot Ballroom" its entirety. The young dancers from TriBeCa, Washington Heights and Bensonhurst, Brooklyn give it panache and personality, but it lacks the opportunity to present them in their full individuality. The interviews with them are fascinating beyond the dance, they talk about school, the street and the state of relationships between girls and boys but they are also superficial. Yet the dance itself is fun to watch, both comical and genuinely touching, and any film that captures some of the flawless and magical process by which people learn is bound to be inspiring. There's also a look at the ways class and ethnicity affect the lives of the city's children. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay TriBeCa's sophisticated young people appear not only materially better off than their uptown or Brooklyn counterparts, but also confident in their own superiority. Despite their teachers' concerns that they are imposing too much competition on them, they expect to win. The children of Washington Heights, however, or at least their passionate and dynamic teacher, feel the need to win. Their school district is one of the poorest in Manhattan, made up largely of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, and the students' aspirations are overshadowed by the realities of crime, poverty and broken families..