Take the Lead (2006)

The real story of a dance teacher who believed in the talent of a group of problem kids.

Director:

Liz Friedlander

Writer:

Dianne Houston

Stars:

Antonio Banderas, Rob Brown, Yaya DaCosta

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Antonio Banderas	...	Pierre Dulaine
Rob Brown	...	Rock
Yaya DaCosta	...	LaRhette
Alfre Woodard	...	Augustine James
John Ortiz	...	Mr. Temple
Laura Benanti	...	Tina
Jonathan Malen	...	Kurd
Jasika Nicole	...	Egypt
Shawand McKenzie	...	Big Girl
Dante Basco	...	Ramos
Elijah Kelley	...	Danjou
Jenna Dewan Tatum	...	Sasha (as Jenna Dewan)
Marcus T. Paulk	...	Eddie
Brandon D. Andrews	...	Monster
Lauren Collins	...	Caitlin

Storyline

In New York, the polite dance instructor Pierre Dulaine sees a black teenager vandalizing the car of the director of a public school and on the next day he volunteers to teach dance to students to give respect, dignity, self-confidence, trust and teamwork. The reluctant director Augustine James offers the troublemakers that are in detention expecting Pierre to give-up of his intentions. Pierre struggles against the prejudice and ignorance of the students, parents and other teachers, but wins his battle when the group accepts to compete in a ballroom dance contest.

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Plot Keywords:

dance | student | teacher | dance teacher | ballroom | 

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Taglines:

Never Follow.

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic material, language and some violence

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Films [France] Official site [Taiwan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 April 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dance!

Filming Locations:

Lower Bay Station, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$12,051,277 (USA) (7 April 2006)

Gross:

$34,703,228 (USA) (26 May 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Tiara Blu Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally, Antonio Banderas turned down the part of Pierre when he looked at the script and realized the whole film was about ballroom dancing. The producers begged him for a few minutes for them to explain the story. After hearing this, viewing a documentary on and meeting the real Pierre Dulaine, Banderas signed on.

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Goofs

In a lot of the scenes in the cellar in which they keep the bad students, a microphone that appears to be on a track shows in most of the shots.

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Quotes

Eddie: Yo son, who died?
Pierre Dulaine: Apparently your manners...

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Connections

Featured in Dancing with the Stars: Series 4 Grand Final (2006)

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Soundtracks

I Like That
Written by Jae Millz (as Jarvis Mills), Andre Lyons and Marcello Valenzano
Performed by Jae Millz
Courtesy of SRC/Universal Records a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.

User Reviews

Great Movie

This movie I will applaud for it's use of the art of montage. Every montage had a purpose - and they were edited together with the music super well. Not only were images from two different worlds combined in the montages - but music from two different worlds as well.

Growing up in East Los Angeles I could relate at a lot of different points. My family didn't have it bad, but the people around me did. I can see how the dance programs would boost self-esteem and add culture to kids who didn't have chances at culture.

The characters are well fleshed out (which is amazing for most recent movies) and Antonio Banderas gets to be his uber-suave, ultra-rich self. Dulaine opens doors and stands for ladies - moves that one kid in the movie calls "punk-@ss".

It's a familiar story line for anyone who has seen the typical teacher movie, but there's enough intrigue in the characters, the dance and the music to keep in highly entertaining. The theater audience with us was cheering, laughing and cat-calling at different points and the lady next to me kept saying how she couldn't wait for this to come out on DVD.