Baila Conmigo (1998)

It's not exactly Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, but this 1998 entry, starring Vanessa Williams and newcomer Chayanne offers its own terpsichorean pleasures. The story centers on Rafael Infante (Chayanne), a Cuban émigré to Texas, where he takes a menial job at a local dance studio run by John Burnett (Kris Kristofferson). There, he falls for Ruby Sinclair (Vanessa Williams), a one-time ballroom championship contender looking for the opportunity to compete for the title once more. The romance seems a foregone conclusion but has some snap thanks to a crisp performance by Williams and a sunny (if limited) one by Chayanne, a singing star in Puerto Rico. Best of all is the dancing itself. In terms of both energy, exuberance, and style, this film's dance sequences rank with the best of the decade's limited celebration of the kinetic art, such as Strictly Ballroom and Shall We Dance. Though the movie's central plot secret seems obvious from the first downbeat, the film takes off every time the dance music kicks in. --Marshall Fine Amazon.com

Great dance movie

Loved this movie. Vanessa Williams is extremely talented and beautiful to watch. She looks as good as any professional I've ever seen. Cheyanne is also very talented and makes the movie that much better to watch as he's easy to look at. Great dance scenes throughout and not a bad story line at all. We really liked this movie from beginning to end and it's very inspiring. September 11, 2008

DANCE WITH ME

YES I LIKED THIS FLIM VERY MUCH. VANESSA WILLIAMS IS GREAT IN THIS FLIM THE WAY SHE MOVES GREAT. I ALSO LIKED CHAYANNE HE VERY CUTE AND HANDSOME. GREAT FLIM September 1, 2008

DANCE WITH ME ON DVD

I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR DANCE WITH ME ON DVD, HAD VHS TAPE, BUT HOW THEY GET AFTER AWHILE.
LOVE THIS MOVIE. LOVE THE CAST, THE PLOT. I RECOMMEND THIS TO BUY , AT AMAZON.COM OF COURSE. IF YOU WANT IT AMAZON CAN FIND IT!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0767812387/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_img September 1, 2008

The best of the ballroom dance films

As a heavy-duty ballroom dance fan, I found this the best of all the ballroom dance films - for sheer talent. I had no idea Vanessa Williams was that good a ballroom dancer, let alone such a fine actress and a stunning woman. Chayenne, not the best actor around, is nevertheless somewhat sweet and charming but he cannot hold a candle to the firepower of the professional ballroom dancers. The scenes where the competitions take place are fabulous, using real ballroom dance champions, doing real, not bastardized, ballroom dancing.

The story-line behind the dancing (and it *is* behind the dancing) is a nice one but predictable. Chayenne is a Cuban immigrant on a trip to meet his American father (Chris Christofferson), who doesn't know Chayenne is his son, fathered by him in an old love affair aboard a cruise ship. Chayenne arrives to do handyman work at Christofferson's dance studio and the latter soon realizes Chayenne is his son, which creates tension between them. To me, that aspect of the film was padding and could easily have been omitted in favor of more dancing.

The better parts have to do with a clash in dance style between Vanessa Williams' character and Chayenne's but they work it out and it becomes great fun to watch the two free-form dancing together, and dancing with others at small night clubs.

Truth to tell, I wish there were far more ballroom dance movies of high quality like this one. The other ballroom dance movies are built more around love stories, such as "Strictly Ballroom". "Shall We Dance", with Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez is also good but doesn't have the professional spark that "Dance With Me" reveals.

(Not that this has much to do with ballroom dance, but I am still waiting for some hugely talented person to release a high-quality DVD of just Fred Astaire's dances. JUST the dances with dates, partners, name of film; no interviews, no talking, just his dances, with and without partners. If anyone knows of such a DVD, I'd sacrifice my firstborn for it!)

June 29, 2008

Dance With Me

Chayanne & Vanessa Williams did a great job. I never knew that Vanessa Williams could do salsa until I watched this movie. Great movie! June 18, 2008

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