Doubletime is a documentary film about the sport of modern-day jump roping and Double Dutch. The film follows two disparate teams—one suburban white and one inner-city black—as they train to compete against each other for the very first time.

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Doubletime
Festival poster
Directed by	Stephanie Johnes
Produced by	Alexandra Johnes Stephanie Johnes Andrea Meditch
Cinematography	Stephanie Johnes
Edited by	Miki Milmore
Music by	Pete Miser Jonathan Zalben Joel Goodman
Distributed by	Discovery Films
Release date	March 10, 2007 (2007-03-10) (South by Southwest)
Running time	82 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Plot

In the last 30 years, jump roping has moved off the sidewalks and onto the stage. It now features astounding acrobatics, lightning speed and international competition. Doubletime follows the top two American teams: The Bouncing Bulldogs of Chapel Hill, North Carolina and The Double Dutch Forces of Columbia, South Carolina. Although they train in neighboring states, the Bulldogs and the Forces scarcely cross paths as they belong to separate leagues that do not compete against one another.

The Bulldogs represent the best of gymnastic freestyle jumping found mostly in white suburbia while the Forces belong to the inner-city African American tradition of Double Dutch. For the first time, both the Bulldogs and the Forces decide to enter a competition at the world-famous Apollo Theater called the Holiday Classic. The film features four young athletes (age 11 to 18) who display courage, skills and charisma as they passionately prepare for the event. Doubletime culminates on stage in Harlem with this rowdy crowd-pleasing contest which features “fusion” routines where Double Dutch is blended with hip-hop dance and music.

Cast

• Ray Fredrick, coach of the Bouncing Bulldogs
• Joseph Edney, a member of the Bouncing Bulldogs
• Timothy Martin, a member of the Bouncing Bulldogs
• Erica Zenn, a member of the Bouncing Bulldogs
• Joy Holman, coach of the Double Dutch Forces
• Lacie Doolittle, a member of the Double Dutch Forces
• Antoine Cutner, a member of the Double Dutch Forces
• Tia Rankin, a member of the Double Dutch Forces
• Mike Peterson, an assistant coach of the Double Dutch Forces
• David Walker, the founder of the American Double Dutch League
• Richard Cendali, the founder of U.S.A. Jump Rope League

Awards and festivals

• Seattle Film Festival, Best Documentary
• “Best Sports Documentary” Newsday, 2007
• Heartland Film Festival, Crystal Heart Award
• South by Southwest Film Festival, Audience Award Finalist
• Tribeca Film Festival, Audience Award Nominee
• AFI/ Silverdocs
• Mill Valley Film Festival
• Edinburgh International Film Festival

See also

• Spellbound (2002 film)
• Mad Hot Ballroom

External links

• Official website
• Doubletime at IMDb
• Doubletime Variety Magazine Review.
• Doubletime Austin Chronicle Review.
• Doubletime Film Threat Review.
• Bested by Japan, A Jump-Rope Team Plots a Comeback Wall Street Journal.
• Fierce Competition, In Double Time CBS News.
• / Double Dutch Is Back NPR.
• Doubletime North Carolina Public Radio.