Ask your students to write about a time when they were in a competition. How did they prepare? Were they nervous? What was the outcome? How did they feel about their performance? If they were part of a team, did they feel a responsibility to other team members?
Allow each student to choose a character in “Mad Hot Ballroom” and to write the story of what comes next for that character. Ask students to imagine what their characters might be like in five or 10 years. What sort of people do they become? Do they stay in New York City? Do they continue to dance?
“Mad Hot Ballroom” follows students from the Tribeca, Bensonhurst and Washington Heights neighborhoods of New York City. On a map of the city, help students find and mark each neighborhood. Work with your school’s librarian to help students research the history of each neighborhood. What nationalities, religions and languages are represented? Help students identify similarities and differences among the neighborhoods. Lead a discussion among students about the message that “Mad Hot Ballroom” delivers about learning about the traditions of other cultures.
Talk to students about the elements of a documentary and how it is the same as and different from a fictional narrative. Review the elements of narrative such as setting, character, plot, conflict and resolution. Allow students to work in groups to identify these elements in “Mad Hot Ballroom.”
Go back to the library to research filmmaking techniques such as closeup, medium shot, wide shot, quick cut, fade and pan. Identify an example of each from the film. Allow the student groups to work together to write a 15-minute documentary on a school-related subject, including narrative elements and filmmaking techniques in the film.
Students in “Mad Hot Ballroom” learn the foxtrot, meringue, rumba, tango and swing dancing. Help students become familiar with each dance by highlighting them while watching the film. As you discuss the dances, talk about the origin of each dance and the music that goes with it.
Invite dance teachers from the community to come in and demonstrate the dances to your students. Focusing on one dance, pair off students to work together with the dance teachers to learn the basic steps of the dance.