“KICKING IT UP A NOTCH”
Starring: Peggy–70, Deanna – 64, Jeri-59, Pat–73, Edie-64, Betty/Betsy–61, Marge–83, Claire–62, Janice–72, Fanny–81, Willa–71, Joe B–62 and Audrey-60
Directed by: Dori Berinstein
MPAA Rating:Â Unrated
Genre: Documentary
Release Date: October 2009
By John Delia
It’s campy and self-serving, but Gotta Dance is a must see for documentary lovers that want to enjoy a good laugh and ponder over ageing. And, if you are a New Jersey Nets basketball fan, you’ll enjoy it even more.
Needing a way to get some of the older fans in Nets seats and also providing some different halftime fun the Entertainment Manger of the New Jersey Nets basketball team Kimberlee Garris came up with a very special idea. Why not put together a first-ever senior hip-hop dance team much like the younger version Net Dancers that entertain at the games. To do this, a couple of the leaders of the professional Net dancers took on the challenge of forming the NETSational Seniors.
After a grueling audition the coaches Marla and Jaclyn chose 12 women and one man to become the senior counterparts of the Net Dancers. The documentary chronicles their personal lives and the rehearsals, exercises, choreography, and problems of getting the perfect routine acceptable to the New Jersey Net Management. When the time for the first game arrives, it’s touch-and-go on whether they will perform at all.
I liked the personalities of each of the eager seniors and their determination of making it to the professional arena on the Net’s court. Sometimes comical with a side of seriousness the participants, as old as 83, are moving and remarkable. I love how 81 year-old Fanny and 83 year-old Marge team up to show their lighter side while working hard on the routine.
The film is a little self-serving as it is based of marketing and promotion, but in the end it is excusable since it depicts some of the lives of our valuable seniors. It should be also noted that the NETSational Seniors were brought back to perform another year.
Gotta Dance shows the strength and fortitude of our senior citizens, something that we don’t often see in a public performance. Let’s hope that other sporting programs pick up on Gotta Dance so we can enjoy more senior entertainment opportunities.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A great chance to applaud our seniors. ( 4 of 5 Palm Trees)
PARTING SHOT: Director Dori Berinstein documents every move of the lively group.
