Mad Hot Ballroom and Luke-Warm Hiking

So, to celebrate Canada Day, Aviva and I decided to go out for dinner and a movie at Rochester's best spot for seeing new, independent (mostly) flicks--The Little Theatre. Actually, we had already planned the outing when I realized that it was my country's official "birthday." Even so, it seemed like a fine way to celebrate. After eating stuffed peppers and panini at the theatre's cafe, we went to see Mad Hot Ballroom, which we both enjoyed very much. The film showcases a program organized by the American Ballroom Theater, which teaches students in sixty New York elementary schools the steps for several traditional ballroom dances. After ten weeks, they perform dances like the fox trot and the jive in an annual city-wide tournament Although it uses a pretty common documentary narrative thread--struggling group or individual finds the "road to success"--I couldn't help but be taken in by the students' distinctive personalities, their often-humorous commentary, and their plucky spirits. I particularly enjoyed the interviews with the students, which often had little or nothing to do with dancing. They talked about school, violence, drug use, the state of their communities, and relations between girls and boys and these moments are what really made the film for me. Unfortunately, a lot must be left unsaid in this film. For example, the principle of the winning school tells us about how the program has changed some students' behavior in very substantial ways. And yet, we only get the slightest glimpses of these transformations. It's hinted at by the students' impressive dancing abilities, their determination to win, and their commitment to practicing, even during recess. But perhaps those transformations should be no more than subtext. This is, after all, a film about students learning to ballroom dance. The rest is the narrative for some other film, but it's a film I'm dying to see.

Tomorrow, to celebrate July 4th, we're going to Letchworth National Park to hike the "grand canyon of the East." Those are the official New York tourism site's words, not mine. In any case, it is a spectacular place. I bought a guide book today that outlines many hiking trails in Western New York and we're going to use it to choose our route. We've bought a bunch of picnic items so we can pack a tasty lunch to bring along with us. Fargo will, of course, join us. And we'll try to return home in time to fire up the grill for dinner. And if the weather report proves to be true, we'll have warm temperatures in the low 80s with low humidity. Sounds perfect for hiking.