Like other Latine-focused entertainment of the era, from “Taina” to “The Brothers Garcia,” I gravitated toward “Gotta Kick It Up!” because it was one of the few visible examples I had of other Latina girls and families simply going about their day-to-day lives. At some point or another, the plot veers away from the marginalized characters - the ones whose stories should be centered to begin with - and winds up focusing on the white savior because hey, they have a sob story, too! It’s a nice sentiment, I suppose, but it only further underscores the problem with these white savior narratives.
Bartlett acknowledges that holding back the girls from competing really had more to do with her own baggage and trauma than with them. It turns out they might not need her as much as she thinks.īy the end of the film, Ms. Bartlett’s ego is wounded when the team does well and comes in third place. Bartlett tells the team they’re not ready to compete following a disastrous debut, the entire group demonstrates their savviness and enters the competition anyway, behind their coach’s back. These are young women with talent, intelligence, responsibility, and passion. But she’s the most naturally gifted dancer, and when she’s on, she’s on. Bartlett’s classroom, and in lieu of detention, signs up for the dance team instead. The film’s lead, Daisy, is arguably the least mature of the group she got in trouble for dancing in Ms. Bartlett (Susan Egan), just so happens to have a background in dance - and even attended Julliard, the sleuthing Esmeralda Reyna ( Sabrina Wiener) discovers. But as luck would have it, the school’s newest biology teacher, Ms. When the teacher who was volunteering as the school’s dance team coach retires, the future of the team is called into question. Starring America Ferrera as Yolanda “Yoli” Vargas, Camille Guaty as Daisy Salinas, and a mostly Latine cast, the film follows a group of Latina students at an under-resourced middle school in Southern California. For countless Latine kids of the ‘90s and 2000s, one such classic is “ Gotta Kick It Up!,” which premiered 20 years ago on July 26, 2002.
#Gotta kick it up series#
Social media as we know it doesn’t exist yet, so naturally, in between mall hangs and chatting with friends (via AIM or your family’s household landline), you plop onto your neon-hued inflatable chair, grab some ‘00s-era snacks (Pop-Tarts and Trix yogurt, anyone?), and press play on your favorite network: the Disney Channel.Īlthough the Disney Channel has been around since 1983, in the early 2000s, it was arguably in its heyday, releasing a string of TV series and original movies that are now cherished classics for many millennials. Imagine, for a second, that it’s summer 2002.
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