Customer Reviews

Mad Hot Ballroom

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'll be back to give 5 stars to the DVD of the film when it's released. The movie is terrific, and my 7-year-old and I were mesmerized. But we're not as positive about this soundtrack. It's great if you want a recap of the music in the movie. Also great if you're unfamiliar with jazz and dance music of the last century and need a sampler. But if you want to just sit and listen, this may not be the album for you. The leaps from big band to salsa to tango to whatever are startling; you might prefer recordings that stick to a single genre. I also don't think the sound engineering on this album was that crisp; the music is sometimes pretty muddy. Follow the names of the performers you see here and explore their other recordings. There's a ton of great stuff out there.

Mad, Hot Ballroom is a documentary film in limited release about the ballroom dance program started in the New York Public School system. The soundtrack was released by Bulletproof/Rykodisc. The 15 track compilation includes a smorgasborg of different music. The CD opens up with the early 90's classic "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)." According to the track listing this is a song to "stomp" to. Each song has a suggested dance. Peggy Lee's "Fever" is suggested as a "foxtrot" song. It's a great CD for people who have seen the film and would like the music from the film to institute their own ballroom dance program. It is also a cool CD for people who just like many different types of music on one CD.

A couple reviewers have mentioned that "Corazon de Acero" is missing (by Lucia Mendez; she has a CD on Amazon you could buy that has this song on it, and perhaps you could burn it onto a new CD incorporating it and the music from this soundtrack CD) Not having that music is a major gap. Also missing, though, is "The Way You Look Tonight" (Sinatra, of course), and that's a shame as well. The other missing music isn't as much of a loss. Even with these limitations, it's a good CD for practicing the steps that watching the movie motivated you to dust off or learn.

The soundtrack is decent however as one of the reviewers said, this cd has left out one of the best songs - "Corazon de Acero." This is the wonderful dancing duo - Wilson and Elsamey's song for the Rhumba.

What a great combination of music to dance to or just or listen to. It will lift your spirits if they are down.

This CD has it all Fox Trot, Meringue, Rumba, oldies, latin....
The music like the movie is wonderful.

Mad Hot Ballroom soundtrack gets things hopping. A soundtrack CD that provides a good compilation of tracks for good dancing. maybe excellent download for DJs

Absolutly love this CD, we can't stop playing it at our office, all the songs are great fun and remind me so much of the movie.

Great and fun music. Almost every track makes me wanna dance!

I would also recommend the documentary. I LOVED it. I remember I had to DRAG my friend to the theater to watch it with me and he ended up loving it as much as I did. We've both recommended it to friends and the feed back is always positive. The last time I watched it, I couldn't help wondering what became of these children and their teachers. I would love to see a follow up.

I love it!!!!! I used it for my student's performance at the end of the year!