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	...	Sasha
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 with Me

Filming Locations:

Lower Bay Station, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,051,277, 9 April 2006, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$34,742,066, 1 June 2006

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$65,742,529

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

The youthful members of cast worked with the real Pierre Dulaine to get their dance moves correct for the movie.

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Goofs

At the dance competition Dulaine lets Rock borrow his Tux coat. Dulaine is much smaller than Rock however, the coat looks over sized on Rock when he's on the dance floor.

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Quotes

Pierre Dulaine: Do you love to dance?
Caitlin: Yeah
Pierre Dulaine: Then you're meant to dance.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood's Top Ten: Antonio Banderas Movies (2011)

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Soundtracks

Looky Looky
Written by Tammar Chin, Tessanne Chin, Tyrone Jackson, Conroy Forte and Kwame Kandekore
Performed by Tami Chynn
Courtesy of Universal Records a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.

User Reviews

Editing is excellent

Saw this movie at River Run Film Festival. The editing is incredible. Liz constantly inter-cuts between several stories at the same time, all in beat with the background music. Her background in music videos really shows in this film. Bandaras does a good job in this role. But the really significant aspect of this movie is the realistic portrayal of the lives of the high school students. I've never seen a movie with such believable gritty realism. At first, I was put off by not being able to understand every word of dialog but realized I didn't need to. This was another aspect of the realism of the film. Very creative storytelling.