Renowned world champion ballroom dancer Pierre Dulaine returns to his home town of Jaffa for the very first time since his family fled when he was just 4 years old. At that time when the state of Israel was established the majority of the Arab population were pushed out, and those that remained became Palestinian Israelis. Sixty years on it is still a deeply divided city and Dulaine believes that through his program of teaching children to dance he can break through some of the political and cultural differences and bring a moment of unity that hopefully may even endure.
Enlisting the support of six local schools, all but one segregated by religion, he realises early on that his task will not be an easy one. What he is asking them is literally that they dance with the ‘enemy’ which both the parents and the children themselves have deep reservations about, especially as it doesn’t just involve close social interactions but physical touching between the children.
At the beginning Dulaine struggles to hide his sheer frustration that despite all his charm and elegance he seems to simply fail to convince many of the reluctant children of how much they would enjoy learning to dance if they would just at least try it. Things start to improve when his ex dancing partner Yvonne Marceau flies in for a visit so that she can help demonstrate all the dances he is trying to teach them. The children are entranced by the elegant Marceau and in response to their questions about his 35 year old professional relationship with her, Dulaine tells the children that ‘you don’t have to marry everyone you dance with!’
As the weeks pass, the camera follows a handful of the children around so we can see how this new activity will impact on their particular lives. They include Noor a slightly chubby Palestinian girl who seems to have no friends and who lives alone with her unemployed mother. Her unhappiness with her lot is carried through to school where she is often in trouble for being a disruptive influence and a bully. She is not initially keen on the dancing lessons especially as none of the boys want to be her partner, but when Dulaine selects her to be part of the team to represent her school in the Competition they have been working towards, she somehow remarkably transforms into a totally different, and rather charming, young lady.
It is actually a reflection of Dulaine’s success that by the time it comes to naming the children that will make up the teams, some of the unlucky ones who are so upset that they didn’t make the cut, round on him demanding explanations.
The day of the Competition in the packed local Community Hall the atmosphere is rife with excitement. Palestinian mothers sit next to Jewish parents to watch their children dance with other children from other schools and other faiths. And somehow the patient Dulaine with his irrepressible good humor has turned these once reluctant and clumsy ugly ducklings into graceful swans that just glide around the dance floor. It is a rather sensational success and one that we could have never have forecasted after watching Dulaine struggle to break the children’s initial deep rooted resistance. The main pay-off was not who won medals of the gold cup, but the scenes in the days after when Arab children and playing with their new Jewish friends, something that no-one would have ever deemed feasible just a few weeks ago.
This enchanting documentary from prolific filmmaker Hilla Medalia (also has just released the excellent ‘Web Junkie’) cannot avoid being compared to ‘Mad Hot Ballroom’ an highly emotional roller-coaster story of kids in New York Public Schools getting addicted to a mean tango too. Both movies so beautifully prove their point that dancing like this not only crosses the divide but is a great eye-opener as to how it affects the children’s social behaviour and attitudes.
This is a heartwarming tale beautifully told that makes one feel so greatly encouraged that one man’s vision of putting something back into society could pay off so handsomely.
Unmissable.
★★★★★★★★★
Labels: 2013, dance, documentary
