Can you believe its been 20 years since Gotta Kick It Up! premiered on Disney Channel?! Keep reading to find out what the cast has been up to since the movie was released in July 2002.
Gotta Kick It Up!, starring America Ferrera as Yolanda “Yoli” Vargas and Camille Guaty as Daisy Salinas, was based on a true story! The dancing DCOM a group of Latina students at an under-resourced middle school in Southern California. When the teacher who was volunteering as the school’s dance team coach retires, the future of the team is called into question until the school’s newest biology teacher, Ms. Bartlett (Susan Egan), just so happens to have a background in dance — and even attended Julliard, as student Esmeralda Reyna (Sabrina Wiener) discovers.
In an August 2017 interview with Millennial Hallmarker, Nancy De Los Santos, the screenwriter of Gotta Kick It Up! talked about what the movie meant to her 15 years later. “I am proud of all my work. I’ve been so very fortunate to work on many varied and special projects but Gotta Kick It Up was my first major writing credit, and I will always hold this story dear to my heart. When it first aired, and for about five years after that first airing and subsequent airings over the year, I’ve had countless young girls – all Latinas – tell me that “Kick” is their favorite film or tell me who is their favorite characters.”
She continued, “Some have said that seeing the film made them out and try for their school’s dance team, or cheer team, or basketball team. I’m always pleased to know the film touched and moved them. I’m shocked that they read the credits! But they did! If one movie could move a young girl to believing she could be that person in the film, and do great things – that’s a wonderful accomplishment.”
Nancy also spoke about her thoughts on TV films in general. “It’s the story that is important, not the medium. Television movies may have once had the reputation that they are ‘less than’ feature films, but times have changed. Artists want to create. Directors who direct feature films, have also directed MOWs. Actors from theatre star in MOWs. Writers will write with their hearts for any and all mediums. It’s the story!”
Scroll to see what the cast of Gotta Kick It Up is up to now!
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