April '06 Movie Review—Take The Lead

Take The Lead

Take the Lead…never follow!!!
Production Companies: New Line Cinema presents A Tiara Blu Films Production.

Directed by: Liz Friedlander
Writer: Dianne Houston
Producers: Diane Nabatoff, Christopher Godsick, Michelle Grace
Executive Producers: Mathew Hart, Mark Kaufman, Ray Liotta, Matt Moore, Luke Ryan

Pierre Dulaine — Antonio Banderas
Rock — Rob Brown
Augustine James — Alfre Woodard
Ramos — Dante Basco
Easy — Lyriq Bent
Monster — Brandon Andrews
Tina — Laura Benanti
Gretchen — Jo Chim
Caitlin — Lauren Collins
LaRhette — Yaya DaCosta
Sasha — Jenna Dewan
Man in Street (extra) — Marc Gagne
Danjou — Elijah Kelley
Kurd — Jonathan Malen
Big Girl — Shawand Mckenzie
Dancer — Brianna Nagy
Egypt — Jasika Nicole
Eddie — Marcus T. Paulk

Choreographers: JoAnn Jansen, Rich and Tone Talauega
Executive Music Producer: Bonnie Greenberg
Original Music: Swizz Beatz, Aaron Zigman
Cinematographer: Alex Nepomniaschy
Editor: Robert Ivison

Rating: PG-13 (For thematic material, language, and some violence). Running time: 108 MIN.

Column Rating: Definitely See.
With Your Children? Yes, with your teens, possibly pre-teens; provides good socio-economic subjects for conversations. For all ages, see another film inspired by Dulaine's Dancing Classrooms program of the NYC school system. The delightful Mad, Hot Ballroom documents a school year with thirty 11-year-olds learning more than dancing, and yes, competing in a citywide dance contest as the finale.

ANTONIO BANDERAS MASTERFULLY portrayed a teacher similar to the real-life Pierre Dulaine, who in actuality was the dancer that volunteered to teach 30 New York City 5th graders back in '94. As homage, Bandaras' character was named Pierre Dulaine. Pierre Dulaine, himself, was a consultant on the crew for this fictionalized take off on his community work. In Take The Lead, Banderas' Dulaine tangoed his way under the tough skins of some inner city disadvantaged students—on detention, no less.

His character wanted these disaffected young people to 'get' the excitement and skill of ballroom dancing. He also began to have an effect on their perceptions of respect and dignity, as he explained to them how to interact in couples dancing. He believed in the benefits of mentoring, discipline and creativity. Tough going at first, he decided to provide an object lesson, bringing in a professional dancer (Katya Virshilas as "Morgan") to dance the tango with him for the class.

That was a dance to see! The students fell too after that demonstration. Their progress, dynamics and dreams filled out the script between dancing lessons, practice and the rather tempestuous finale competition performances.

Banderas, said in a location interview, he isn't 'a great dancer,' "Many people think I am, but it's because I have a facility for physicality." He felt choreographer JoAnn Jansen knew "how to make a person look like a dancer even if they don't dance at all. I know the tango because I learned it." Concluded Banderas, "It's about learning the fundamentals and then you can improvise. You start acting like a dancer—how to look at the girl, position your body, the movement of the head; these things can make the audience believe that you are a better dancer than you actually are."

This attitude was contagious. Antonio Banderas lead a talented ensemble cast, many of whom had no previous dance training: Rob Brown (Coach Carter, Finding Forrester), Yaya DaCosta (UPN's "Top Model"), Dante Basco (Biker Boyz), John Ortiz (Narc) Laura Benanti (Nine), Marcus T. Paulk (UPN's "Moesha"), Jenna Dewan (Tamara), and Alfre Woodard (Beauty Shop, ABC's "Desperate Housewives"). Alfre Woodard plays Augustine James, the principal who allows Pierre Dulaine to teach. The producers "wanted someone who could be a worthy opponent for Banderas' Pierre. Alfre has that presence."

(L to R, standing) Jonathan Malen as "Kurd," Dante Basco as "Ramos," Jenna Dewan as "Sasha," Elijah Kelley as "Danjou," Shawand McKenzie as "Big Girl," Rob Brown as "Rock," Yaya DaCosta as "LaRhette,"
(L to R, sitting) Lauren Collins as "Caitlin," Brandon Andrews as "Monster," Marcus T. Paulk as "Eddie," Jasika Nicole as "Egypt" are on the set of New Line Cinema's Take the Lead.
Photo: ©2006 Kerry Hayes / New Line Productions

DaCosta, trained in modern, ballet and jazz dance training, played LaRhette, the young student who had a good character arc, as did Rob Brown's Rock. Brandon Andrews snagged the role of Monster in his very first audition. As the producers couldn't find an actor to play Monster through the normal channels, calls to high school football coaches around the country. It was a tall order—he needed to be capable of moving as well on the dance floor as on the field. They found Andrews in LA's back yard, at a local high school. They had found their gentle giant. Andrew was a scene-stealer.

The producers made several decisions to "open up the possibilities" for their story. They felt aging the students to high school level made the cast more relatable, broadening its appeal. They "wanted to deal with more mature issues—issues that are magnified in high school. The give and take involved in the relationship between Pierre and his students was also magnified. As he taught them the classical dances, the students infused the ballroom dancing with their unfamiliar hip-hop forms, creating a fusion, a balance of both worlds."

They felt the tango, performed as a dance of passion, would be better suited to an older cast. They were right. An exploration of hip-hop also became a possibility. The resulting sound track includes a broad representation of today's music, as well as memorable tunes customarily used in ballroom dancing, such as Lena Horne's rendition of 'I've Got Rhythm' by George and Ira Gershwin (made possible through the cooperation of the Gershwin Estate and Warner Chappel publishing). The music crew forged some innovative pairings of yesterday and today, such as pairing rapper Q-Tip (from a Tribe Called Quest) over Lena Horne's, as well as having him rap on a modern recoding of the traditional tango "La Cumparsita."

All the work and determination learned while adopting ballroom dancing paid off for the students, who do get to go to the competition—and clean up very nicely. The movie 'turned Hollywood' at this point, but was tolerable, as I was attached enough to the characters by then. Great fun was had by all. The location, the historic Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto was transformed for the finale dance hall where the competition was depicted. Canada's Toronto, often dubbed 'Hollywood East' was where most of the film was shot.

The musicians, choreographers and director wound up with a fusion of both forms of music and dancing that seemed up-to-standard for the satisfied audience at the screening I attended. The Talauega Brothers, who collaborated with choreographer Jansen, are on the cutting edge of hip-hop dance, an ever-changing, very specific and exciting way of expressing movement. Though recognized as a trend-setting choreographer, Tone Talauega said that he "found that he, too, had a lot to learn from the rarefied, disciplined world of ballroom dancing. Partner dancing is definitely a challenge for people from the hip-hop world because hip-hop dance is about one's self. Ballroom is a totally different animal. You have to be one with your partner; you have to look like twins."

The resulting overall package was energetic, fun—and yes, inspirational. After all, that's what formulas are for, right? It's what the film crew does with the basic variables is what makes a stylish story. The life upon which this particular inspiration derives is one of a champion, world-class performer, compassionate teacher and community leader.

In addition to training with JoAnn Jansen, her assistant Allen Walls and Tone Talauega, the main group of dancers had the opportunity to work with Pierre Dulaine himself. The verdict was unanimous: Dulaine's charisma and his love of dance captivated them all.

A detour, if you will for a moment, to mention some interesting facts about Dulaine himself.
Dulaine's work inspired the story and suggested possibilities. Dulaine has lead an inspired life, albeit of a different sort than what is depicted for Take The Lead's Banadares protagonist. Pierre Dulaine, tagged the 'dancer and teacher extraordinaire' by the New York Times, apparently very much a passionate man, continues to change lives with his successful approach to mentoring and community involvement.

Dulaine began his career in England, won a number of titles there, and moved to the U.S. in 1971. He co-founded AbrT with partner, Marceau. Since 1976, he and Marceau have performed throughout the world and have won numerous awards and accolades, including the British Exhibition Championships; Dance Magazine's award for excellence; the National Dance Council of America award; and the Dance Educators of America Award. A faculty member of the School of American Ballet since 1986, Dulaine joined the faculty of the Juilliard School in 1992. Quite impressive, if I do say so myself.

Interesting bit of trivia—Canada's on the ball:
"Canadian broadcaster Chum Ltd. and independent movie distributor Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution unveiled an online sponsorship deal to rally filmgoers to the April 7 theatrical release of New Line Cinema's Take the Lead. The deal, which will see Alliance Atlantis rename a virtual disco on the Habbo Hotel online community Web site as the Take the Lead Dance Hall and to stage hip-hop/ballroom dance competitions, is the latest bid by a Canadian broadcaster to pursue consumers increasingly moving from their TV sets to the Internet and other emerging digital platforms. Heather Gordon, sales manager at Chum Interactive, which has handled ad sales for Habbo Hotel's Canadian Web site since 2004, said the virtual dance hall would target young moviegoers over the next four weeks."

The whole 'world' of theirs is quite unusual: www.habbohotel.ca/habbo/en.

If construction of their web site is finished in time, you can catch their virtual competition.
"The Grand Final of The 'Take The Lead' Dance Competition will take place on Thursday April 6th from 7pm to 8pm. The Grand Final will be broadcast live on a special edition of The dnD Power Hour with special guest judges and commentators."