Awesomely Awkward Documentary Features Dogs, Dancing and Kites [Video]

Diana Faria
by Diana Faria
It’s a real-life Best in Show – only better! Unleashed! A Dog Dancing Story follows a group of dog dancers on their journey to perform in a theatrical gala performance of a lifetime.


If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you combined Cirque Do Soleil and a dog show in one event, it would look a lot like Unleashed! A Dog Dancing Story. Equal parts hilarious, awkward and heartwarming, there’s no doubt you’ll be cheering for these underdogs by the end of the documentary.

Directed by Justin Turcotte, the film follows delightfully eccentric Ray Underwood, a former figure skater and competitive dancer, who is now a dog trainer with an idea and a dream. In 2000, Underwood decided to combine his two passions by creating Paws2Dance. At Paws2Dance, participants learn how to dance with their pooches, and dogs learn how to bust a move with their humans. When you put it all together, they create spectacular two- and four-legged combos that will to burn up, and then poop on, the dance floor. Oh, and there’s one more thing that’s added to their routines: kites.


Underwood is dead serious with this magnificent (and perhaps impossible) task of training and practicing with both dogs and humans to put on this brilliant performance. Going behind the scenes and unscripted, the doc follows Underwood and four Paws2Dance members for two years – the gestation period of his “dancing dogs with kites” idea creation to its edge-of-its-seat completion. You’ll get a front-row seat to watch it all unfold: Underwood writing scripts, building sets and rehearsing both humans and dogs to the brink of exhaustion, all to get them in tip-top shape for the show of a lifetime.


On the flip side, the documentary also focuses on the 15 dog owners (all of who are female) and how they dance with their dogs not to become rich or famous, but because they absolutely love doing it. This doc is just as much about dancing dogs, humans and kites as it is about the unique bond dogs and humans share when they put their minds together and dance in unison.


Unleashed! A Dog Dancing Story is an entertaining adventure as seen through the eyes of people you may have mocked in the past, but trust us when we say that you’ll big the group’s biggest fans and supporters by the end of the film. If awkward is the new cool, then these doggy dancers are the most fabulously cool people we’d ever want to hang out with.


PetGuide.com editor Amy Tokic had a chance to watch the screener and gives it two big paws up. If you love betting on the long-shot and have an off-beat sense of humor, Unleashed! A Dog Dancing Story will be the movie to watch this weekend. You can download the movie – the official movie website has links to Amazon, Google Play and iTunes. And watch the trailer below. Prepare to look like a crazy person if you’re watching at work – you’ll LOL!

Unleashed! A Dog Dancing Story – Trailer from Syndicado on Vimeo.

Diana Faria
Diana Faria

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