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Dancer Ms. Prissy
Photo: David LaChapelle

RIZE
Directed by: David LaChapelle.
Produced by: David LaChapelle, Marc Hawker, Ellen Jacobson-Clarke, Richmond Talauega & Tone Talauega.
Director of Photography: Morgan Susser.
Edited by: Fernando Villena.
Music by: Amy Marie Beauchamp, Jose Cancella & Red Ronin Productions.
Released by: Lions Gate.
Country of Origin: USA. 85 min. Rated: PG-13.

Thomas ("Tommy the Clown") Johnson's hip-hop clown academy gives children and youth a forum to dance. Set in South-Central Los Angeles, which one mother describes as "the lion's den, the pit of snakes," many of Johnson's students were children during the 1992 Rodney King riots. There are now over 50 clown groups and a splinter movement of krumpers, who combine clowning with the stripper dance - both legs wide open, upper body bent forward and a lot of bounce in the hips. The movements are fast, aggressive and egocentric. According to the opening disclaimer, no footage has been sped up in any way. These competing dance styles face-off in a "battle zone with make-up" with Johnson officiating and the audience deciding the victor.

The film's free form mirrors the choreography. Making his feature documentary debut, fashion photographer David LaChapelle profiles a few of these high schoolers/young adults and effectively captures the threat of gangs and random street violence, as well as the role religion plays in their lives. After the first hour, much of the information is repetitive. However, what is remarkable is the vulnerability and the bond between two male youths - teenager Tight Eyez, who was once shot by his grandfather, and his protégé, Baby Tight Eyez, whose mother has been imprisoned. While the exuberant dance sequences dominate, left unexplored are the future goals and desires of these dancers, many of whom are already in their twenties, or any mention of masculine identity issues.

Rize is a grittier, less upbeat companion to this summer's other dance competition documentary, Mad Hot Ballroom. The 2003 documentary, OT: Our Town, in which students from a South-Central LA high school struggle to mount a production of Thornton Wilder's play, covers much of the same ground and offers the suspense of opening night. Kent Turner
June 24, 2005

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