{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox film | name = Gotta Dance |image = Gotta Dance (2008 film) poster.jpg | caption = Movie poster | director = Dori Berinstein | starring = The NJ NETSationals | music = Craig Sharmat | released = {{Film date|2008}} | runtime = 93 minutes | country = United States | language = English }} '''''Gotta Dance''''' is a 2008 documentary film and Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award Finalist directed by Dori Berinstein. The film "chronicles the debut of the New Jersey Nets' first-ever senior hip-hop dance team, 12 women and 1 man - all dance team newbies, from auditions through to performance.”<ref>{{cite web| title=The Story| url=http://www.gottadancethemovie.com/about-gotta-dance/the-story.html| publisher=Dramatic Forces| accessdate=10 December 2015}}</ref>
==Plot synopsis== Gotta Dance documents the creation of the New Jersey Nets basketball team's senior citizen dance troupe, The NJ NETSationals. The Nets franchise already employed a professional dance team, a cheerleading squad, and a kids dance team, but in 2007 they added the NJ NETSationals to their entertainment family. "Essentially, the New Jersey Nets basketball team came up with a PR stunt that includes forming a hip-hop dance crew made up entirely of senior citizens (or folks over the age of 60)."<ref>{{cite web| title=Gotta Dance| url=http://www.moviefone.com/search/gotta%20dance| publisher=Moviefone| accessdate=10 December 2015}}</ref>
Filmmaker Dori Berinstein<ref>{{cite web| title=Dori Berinstein| url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0075225/| publisher=Internet Movie Database| accessdate=10 December 2015}}</ref> followed and filmed as they recruited, auditioned, and trained the NETSationals. The team members range in age from 59 to 80 years old and come from varied backgrounds. The film documents not only the NETSationals rehearsals, but also includes personal information about each of the team members, as well as lively team dinners. During the film the NETSationals, debut at a halftime show to an ecstatic and astonished Meadowlands crowd.<ref>{{cite web| title=Gotta Dance| url=http://www.cinefilms.org/2009/06/gotta-dance.html| publisher=Cinefilms| date=12 June 2009| last=Levine| first=D.E.| accessdate=10 December 2015}}{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>
"Two of the oldest recruits have granddaughters on the Nets' professional dance team, and the interaction between the highly athletic younger women and their less flexible elders offers some particularly poignant moments, as does the final half-time show incorporating a cute faceoff with a kids' dancing troupe."<ref>{{cite news| title=Review: 'Gotta Dance'| url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117937032.html?categoryid=31&cs=1| last=Simon| first=Alissa| date= 6 May 2008| work=Variety| accessdate=10 December 2015}}</ref>
==Miscellaneous==
The film premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines sponsored a ''Gotta Dance'' program on some cruises which began with a screening of the film and the opportunity for guests to perform routines choreographed by a member of the New Jersey Nets Dance Coach.<ref>{{cite press release| title=Guests Have 'Gotta Dance' On A Royal Caribbean Vacation| url=http://www.royalcaribbean.com/ourCompany/pressCenter/pressReleases/info.do;jsessionid=0000aq1q_au_KUjLxpmR-QyGLrE:12hdhu93n?prDate=05-21-2009&prCode=A| date=21 May 2009| publisher=Royal Caribbean International| accessdate=10 December 2015}}</ref> It also spawned the Gotta Dance Slide,<ref>{{YouTube|MM7SUkujDEc}}</ref> and a social networking site for seniors, GottaDanceWithUs.com,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gottadancewithus.com/ |accessdate=June 29, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627024439/http://www.gottadancewithus.com/ |archivedate=June 27, 2009 |title=Gotta Dance with Us - Gotta Dance with Us – Home for Everyone Who Loves to Dance }}</ref> were all inspired by the film.
==Adaptation== A stage musical has been written, with the book by Chad Beguelin and Bob Martin, music by Matthew Sklar and lyrics by Nell Benjamin. Additional music is by Marvin Hamlisch. Directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, the cast featured Lillias White, André De Shields, Georgia Engel, Haven Burton, Lori Tan Chinn, Jonalyn Saxer and Stefanie Powers. The musical premiered at the Bank of America Theatre in Chicago on December 13, 2015, running through January 17, 2016. It had been expected to open on Broadway in the Fall of 2016.<ref>{{cite news| last=Viagas| first=Robert| url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/broadway-bound-gotta-dance-starring-lillias-white-andr-de-shields-and-georgia-engel-bows-in-chicago-375371#| title=Broadway-Bound 'Gotta Dance', Starring Lillias White, André De Shields and Georgia Engel, Bows in Chicago| work=Playbill| date=December 13, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Gans|first=Andrew| url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/gotta-dance-helmed-by-jerry-mitchell-extends-chicago-run-broadway-debut-set-for-fall-375512#| title=Gotta Dance, Helmed by Jerry Mitchell, Extends Chicago Run; Broadway Debut Set for Fall| work=Playbill| date=December 14, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last=McPhee| first=Ryan| url=http://www.broadway.com/buzz/179504/jerry-mitchell-to-helm-marvin-hamlischs-broadway-bound-gotta-dance-in-chicago/| title=Jerry Mitchell to Helm Marvin Hamlisch's Broadway-Bound 'Gotta Dance' in Chicago| website=Broadway.com| date=February 9, 2015}}</ref> However, the producers announced on July 13, 2016 that the musical would open on Broadway in the Spring of 2017, and that the musical has a new title, ''Half Time''. They further announced that Ester Dean has written a new finale with the composers.<ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/broadway-bound-gotta-dance-gets-a-new-title-and-music-collaborator# "Broadway-Bound 'Gotta Dance' Gets a New Title and Music Collaborator"] Playbill, July 13, 2016</ref> It was later announced the show, under the new title, will instead play a limited engagement at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey. Engel, De Shields and White return to the cast with new cast member Donna McKechnie, as well as director/choreographer Mitchell. The production opened on May 31, and is scheduled until July 1, 2018.<ref>Hetrick, Adam. [http://www.playbill.com/article/new-musical-half-time-starring-andre-de-shields-georgia-engel-donna-mckechnie-and-lillias-white-begins-paper-mill-run# "New Musical 'Half Time', Starring André De Shields, Georgia Engel, Donna McKechnie, and Lillias White, Begins Paper Mill Run"] Playbill, May 31, 2018</ref>
The co-producer of the musical, Dori Berinstein, said that the musical "is not intended to be a precise documentation of the NETSational Seniors, nor a staging of the film...The charge for the bookwriters, Chad Beguelin and Bob Martin, and the composer, Matthew Sklar, ... was to write a story inspired by the real NETSational Seniors, whose exploits have been copied by numerous other NBA teams." Co-producer Bill Damaschke added "the central charge involved understanding that the NETSational Seniors could become a collective metaphor 'for the idea that age does not matter.' "<ref>{{cite news| last=Jones| first=Chris| url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/ct-gotta-dance-preview-ae-1206-20151203-column.html#| title='Gotta Dance': Who decided a group of seniors had to dance hip-hop?| work=Chicago Tribune| date=December 4, 2015}}</ref>
==Awards== 2008 Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award Finalist<ref>{{cite web| title=Gotta Dance: Sassy Seniors Shake a Tailfeather| url=https://tribecafilm.com/filmguide/archive/512cfbe01c7d76e046002078-gotta-dance| last=Meltzer| first=Marisa| date=27 July 2009| publisher=Tribeca}}</ref> <br> 2009 Seattle International Film Festival Official Selection<br> 2009 Palm Beach Film Festival Audience Award Best Documentary Winner<ref>{{cite journal| title=It's a Tie In Palm Beach| last=Knegt| first=Peter| date=29 April 2009| url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/its_a_tie_in_palm_beach/| journal=Indewire}}</ref><br> 2009 Sarasota Film Festival Official Selection<ref>{{cite web|url=http://filmguide.sarasotafilmfestival.com/tixSYS/2009/filmguide/eventnote.php?EventNumber%3D1035 |accessdate=June 29, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704212109/http://filmguide.sarasotafilmfestival.com/tixSYS/2009/filmguide/eventnote.php?EventNumber=1035 |archivedate=July 4, 2009 |title=Gotta Dance - 2009 Sarasota Film Festival }}</ref><br>2008 The Floating Film Festival Best Documentary Winner<br> 2009 Cinequest Film Festival Official Selection<br> 2009 Phoenix Film Festival Official Selection<br> 2008 Williamstown Film Festival Official Selection<br> 2009 International Film Festival of Aging Official Selection
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090731012504/http://www.gottadancethemovie.com// Gotta Dance Official Website] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090627024439/http://www.gottadancewithus.com/ Gotta Dance With Us Social Networking Website] * {{IMDb title|1202566}}
Category:American documentary films Category:2008 films Category:2008 English-language films Category:2008 American films Category:English-language documentary films