Banderas shows off his moves in ‘Take the Lead’

Erin Washington

“Take the Lead” 4 **** out of 4 — (New Line Cinema) Can a European ballroom dance master handle a group of hip-hop-loving underachievers? Apparently he can.

At first glance, it seems that “Take the Lead” tells the same old story. There is a class of misfits who only listen to rap and hip-hop music and have no respect for authority. Then a teacher, who has no experience with these types of students, comes in and saves the day, surprising those who gave the teacher little chance. It’s been done in “Dangerous Minds,” “Sister Act II” and “To Sir, With Love.”

Based on a true story, “Take the Lead” combines these movies with “Save the Last Dance,” where a ballerina learns hip-hop. The new film involves Pierre Dulaine, played by Antonio Banderas, who takes on the challenge of a detention hall in a New York inner-city high school. But he is not just a supervisor, he wants to teach them to dance — ballroom, that is.

Dulaine’s struggle is not only with students, but also with the other teachers. The principal herself, the tough Augustine James (Alfre Woodard) doubts his ability to convince the students of ballroom dancing’s value. “Everyone’s entitled to a little culture,” Dulaine remarks in one of their discussions. “To me, dance is like life.” James responds that “life for these kids is a fight to stay alive.”

But the biggest hurdle for Dulaine is the students. For the first few days they barely listen to him. He tries to jump right into the dance lessons but they object, claiming that whites are always making something seem better by saying it has “ties to Africa.” Really, these are the dances of “rich white folks and slaveholders,” they say.

How does Dulaine finally get through to them? He tells them that ballroom is “the dance of love,” and demonstrates this by doing a Tango with his sexy, elite student and Jessica Simpson look-alike, Morgan. This performance makes the girls in the class want to dance like her and the boys want to dance with her or someone like her.

The film is entertaining and funny, and also touches upon the issue of race. The subplot focuses on two students, Jason Rockwell (or “Rock”), played by Rob Brown, and Larhette Dudley, played by Yaya DaCosta. Both of them have difficult family situations and troubled pasts. Through these characters, the film suggests that by taking ballroom dance lessons, they can become more upstanding citizens and move beyond their families’ struggles. Dulaine says that the female dancer allows the man to lead her, signifying her trust in him. He suggests that a girl who trusts herself will not let men disrespect her in any way. But these children come from homes full of poverty, hunger, prostitution, alcoholism and shooting victims. Can such extreme family situations really be overcome by dancing? Does this truly represent society today? Dulaine says that he is only trying to find another way to help these students.

Aside from the comedy, dancing and a bit of social exploration, the film itself is beautifully shot. It begins with a montage, intercut between the elite world of ballroom dancing and a hip hop/break-dancing party. The soundtrack matches this perfectly, occasionally taking a jazzy Gershwin tune and adding a modern beat to it. The best mesh of the two worlds of dance is at the end, when the students break out into a ballroom-hip- hop jam circle. Dancing in pairs, they alternate and combine steps from both styles, still keeping the two styles recognizable. If only cross-cultural understanding could work this well in society.

“Take the Lead,” starring Antonio Banderas, successfully tells the story of a teacher who saves the day for a group of teenage misfits.