The absence of Betty Applewhite from many of the recent episodes of Desperate Housewives allowed actress Alfre Woodard to return to the big screen for a role in Take The Lead, a story about real-life dance instructor Pierre Dulaine.

"He fought long and hard to get ballroom dancing into the public schools," Woodard told CBS News. "And there are 120 schools that now have the program, and they've seen tremendous success in terms of the esteem of the students involved."

In the film, Woodard plays a fictionalized school principal Augustine James. "Educators don't have a lot of resources, and not a lot of support or honor in our society now," she said. "So they take what they have, and you're lucky if you get a woman like Augustine to stand up for you, and to try to have you pass through her school with something other than an attitude."

She also spoke briefly about Desperate Housewives, and promised things were going to heat up. "Wisteria Lane is an equal opportunity dysfunctional place. And, so, it's just about to get really, really capital D dysfunctional."

Take The Lead also stars Antonio Banderas as Dulaine and Ray Liotta and opens today in the US. Other countries' release dates include the UK on 14 April, Italy on 21 April and the Netherlands on 1 June.

More from Woodard, including a video of her interview, can be found at CBS News.

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