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Overlooked & Underrated Docs & Features
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Ballroom Confidential: Dancing for the Ageless
“Ballroom Confidential” is Brian Lilla’s surprising follow-up to his classic environmental documentary, “Patagonia Rising”. He’s travelled from the beautiful, exotic, sparsely populated lands of southern South America, to the concrete, asphalted, landscaped, and carpeted State of Florida for a story that’s as touching and poignant as his Patagonia story is alarming.
Caleb Young owns, manages, and teaches at Absolutely Ballroom (http://www.absolutelyballroom.net/), a dance studio in Ormond Beach, Florida. Some of studio’s clientele are women of a certain age—say, for instance, in their 80s. The studio puts on a couple shows a year, but nothing like their one-of-kind performance, ‘In Search Of The Daytona Diamond’, an ambitious, spy-themed dance performance choreographed by dance instructor Joe Mounts, and featuring these ladies.
Directed by Lilla and produced by his mother, JoAnn Lilla, who suggested the project to Lilla—and who is, of course, one of the dancers—“Ballroom Confidential” tells its story of this dance production without narration. The Lillas let the dancers, and the dancing, and their two inspired and inspiring teachers tell the story. We hear and see the dancers, and their teachers, speaking of their lives before and after discovering Absolutely Ballroom, we see their lessons and rehearsals, the support volunteers at hectic work, and, of course, we see the well-attended show’s performances.
As a gentleman of a certain age I was immediately intrigued when I heard one of Lilla’s interviewees speak of scientific evidence regarding the powerful therapeutic effect of ballroom dancing for those with Alzheimer’s. After viewing the film I went right to Google, searched on ‘alzheimers and ballroom dancing,’ and came up with 241,000 results in .28 seconds. I’m thinking about salsa.
Treat yourself to this terpsichorean assault on the perceived limits of aging! D. Schwartz October 29, 2013