• Rating:
• Genre: Drama
• Movie Type: Dance Film, Biography
• Themes: Teachers and Students, Underdogs, Dancer's Life
• Director: Liz Friedlander
• Main Cast: Antonio Banderas, Rob Brown, Yaya DeCosta, Lauren Collins
• Release Year: 2006
• Country: US
• Run Time: 117 minutes
• MPAA Rating: PG13

Plot

A teacher and his students open up new worlds for one another in this urban drama inspired by a true story. Pierre Dulaine (Antonio Banderas) is a prize-winning ballroom dancer and instructor from Manhattan who volunteers his services to a high school in one of the roughest neighborhoods in the Bronx. Principal Augustine James (Alfre Woodard) in turn gives Dulaine a tough assignment -- a detention class with some of the biggest troublemakers on campus. When the kids learn that Dulaine intends to teach them how to dance in the classic style, they're incredulous at best and dismissive at worst -- until Dulaine demonstrates his moves for the class. While Dulaine's charges -- including Rock (Rob Brown), LaRhette (Yaya DaCosta), Ramos (Dante Basco), Eddie (Marcus T. Paulk), and Sasha (Jenna Dewan) -- respect his talent, they have their own way of dancing, and as they mix hip-hop moves with ballroom discipline, they create an exciting new style. Dulaine also strives to instill self-confidence and a work ethic in his kids, insisting they can make their way out of the ghetto if they're willing to try. Screenwriter Dianne Houston based Take the Lead on the real-life story of Pierre Dulaine, who taught dance as a volunteer to at-risk students at New York elementary schools. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cast

• Antonio Banderas - Pierre Dulaine
• Rob Brown - Rock
• Yaya DeCosta - LaRhette
• Lauren Collins - Caitlin

Brandon D. Andrews - Monster; Anna Demitrie Melamed; Jenna Dewan - Sasha; Alfre Woodard - Augustine James; Katya Virshilas - Morgan; Dante Basco - Ramos; Marcus T. Paulk - Eddie; Elijah Kelley; John Ortiz - Mr. Temple; Laura Benanti - Tina

Credit

Ray Liotta - Executive Producer; Bonnie Greenberg - Executive Music Producer; Diane Nabatoff - Producer; Alex Nepomniaschy - Cinematographer; Gordon Sim - Set Decorator; John Stoneham - Stunts Coordinator; Pacific Title - Visual Effects; Avy Kaufman - Casting; Armand Leo - Unit Production Manager; Christopher Godsick - Producer; Joann Fregalette Jansen - Choreography; Melissa Toth - Costume Designer; Paul Denham Austerberry - Production Designer; Walter Gasparovic - First Assistant Director; Jude Gorjanc - First Assistant Director; Michelle Grace - Producer; Toby Emmerich - Executive Producer; Swizz Beatz - Composer (Music Score); Mathew Hart - Executive Producer; Aaron Zigman - Composer (Music Score); Matt Moore - Executive Producer; Mark Freund - Visual Effects Supervisor; Nigel Churcher - Art Director; Dianne Houston - Screenwriter; Mark Kaufman - Executive Producer; Robert Ivison - Editor; John Ross - Sound/Sound Designer; Liz Friedlander - Director; Welles Hackett - Second Unit Director Of Photography

Similar Movies

Step Up; Dangerous Minds; Stand and Deliver; Lambada; Save the Last Dance; Stomp the Yard

take the lead