Pierre Dulaine (Antonio Banderas) is ballroom dance teacher with his own NYC studio. One night, he comes across Rock (Rob Brown) vandalizing his school principal Augustine James (Alfre Woodard)'s car. So he goes to the school to offer his services to Augustine. She finds his offer ridiculous and stuffs him in with the detention kids.

For a movie based on a real person, this is a very unrealistic story. These kids are strictly PG. They are all misunderstood with hearts of gold. Not to mention the fact that these kids are selected from every race and color. It's the Fame kids doing Breakfast Club. The group is fun and Antonio Banderas has a good touch. Everybody is likable. It's all very corny, but enjoyable. Sometimes there's a need for that.

In New York, the polite dance instructor Pierre Dulaine (Antonio Banderas) sees a black teenager vandalizing the car of the director of a public school and on the next day he volunteers to teach dance to students to give respect, dignity, self-confidence, trust and teamwork. The reluctant director Augustine James (Alfre Woodard) offers the troublemakers that are in detention expecting Pierre to give-up of his intentions. Pierre struggles against the prejudice and ignorance of the students, parents and other teachers, but wins his battle when the group accepts to compete in a ballroom dance contest.

Movies of dance are usually attractive, and the entertaining "Take the Lead" is no exception. However, this feature is more important because it is based on a true story of a man that has decided to make a difference, helping poor students to see life with another perspective. Antonio Banderas shows again that he is a "complete" actor, capable of performing the most different roles. The real Pierre Dulaine deserves this homage for the importance of his gesture and action. Jenna Dewan, from "Step-up" and the sexy Katya Virshilas are stunning dancers and the actors and actresses present wonderful choreographic dances. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Vem Dançar" ("Come to Dance")

I remember liking the dance film starring Julia Stiles, Save the Last Dance, so I thought with a good leading actor and a recognisable title here, I might as well give it a try. Based on a true story, polite dance instructor/teacher Pierre Dulaine (Antonio Banderas) is determined to help a bunch of troubled kids (most often in detention) get a second chance, learning to dance. It takes a while for them to get enthusiastic in doing ballroom dances, e.g. samba, tango, waltz, etc, as they don't agree with Pierre's music and dance tastes, liking hip hop and rap, but he eventually catches their attention with a tango dance, and they soon commit, even creating a few new dance moves in routines. Pierre believes they could compete in a big dance contest coming up, with a big cash prize, and the last few dance scenes make the good ending. Also starring Rob Brown as Rock, Yaya DaCosta as LaRhette, Dante Basco as Ramos, John Ortiz as Mr. Temple, Laura Benanti as Tina, Marcus T. Paulk as Eddie, Jenna Dewan as Sasha and Alfre Woodard as Augustine James. Banderas obviously struts his stuff, the supporting cast all get their moments too, but the film is mostly interesting of course for the energetic and exciting dance sequences, backed up with a good soundtrack, including Black Eyed Peas. Worth watching!