Dirty Dancing Remake

Hot on the heels of Footloose, Dirty Dancing has become the next '80s dance movie to be remade for the big screen. Entertainment group, Lionsgate, confirmed on August 8 it was remaking the 1987 film classic. The original movie starred Jennifer Grey as "Baby" Houseman, a teenager who falls for her holiday camp dance instructor, Johnny Castle played by Patrick Swayze, and becomes his student in dance and love. The film won Oscars for Best Music and Best Original Song. Kenny Ortega who choreographed the original movie was set to direct and produce the remake.

Ortega said: "The opportunity to direct Dirty Dancing is like returning home for me. Growing up in the '60s on the dance floor helped defined me as a person and as an artiste. I am looking forward to assemblying a great creative team and an exciting cast to bring Dirty Dancing to the screen for a new generation. Patrick Swayze set the bar for men dancing in the movies as Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire did before him. I believe everywhere you look, there is evidence that the talent is out there and I can't wait to begin the process of discovering the next breakout triple threat".

What is a triple threat? According to searches on the internet, a triple threat is a person who is adept in three different fields or in three different skills in the same field. In American football it refers to a player skilled in running, kicking and passing. In entertaintment, it relates to an artiste who can act, sing and dance well; for example Jennifer Lopez. In the movie Shall We Dance?, starring Jennifer Lopez as a dance teacher and Richard Gere as her student, she did dance the waltz and tango quite admirably. That cannot be said of Richard Gere who looked like he had two left feet.

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The Cuban Connection

My article of July 9 entitled "Should Dance Figures Be Named After Persons?" in which I mentioned the Aida and Kiki Walks has elicited quite a few responses from my visitors via comments, emails and phone calls. Thankfully, all the responses have been positive. One regular visitor, Alan Liew called me to say that he found the article interesting and informative. Alan however pointed out that the picture that accompanied the article shows the dancers doing the Spiral Turn and not the Aida. Yes, Alan, the picture taken circa 1950 is that of Pepe Llorenz executing a Spiral Turn with his regular partner Suzy Riviera. Llorenz and Riviera were very well known dancers in Cuba back then. I was unable to find a picture of Llorenz dancing the Aida with Aida (his wife, after which the figure is named).

Speaking of Cuba, it is worthwhile to note that Cuba's contribution to the world of social and competitive dancing has been immense. The popular dances like the Rumba, Cha Cha Cha, Mambo and Salsa have their roots in Cuba. These dances, except maybe for the Mambo have caught on around the world. The Mambo remains a popular dance in the United States of America. In the US, there is a classification of dances known as the American Rhythm dances which consists of the Rumba, Cha Cha Cha, Mambo, East Coast Swing and Bolero. American Rhythm dance competitions are regularly held there. The Mambo has a catchy rhythm and fun character, and songs like Mambo Number 5 by Lou Bega or Mambo Italiano by Bette Midler really gets you in the mood for dancing the Mambo.

The Mambo dance was first introduced by Perez Prado at the La Tropicana Night Club in Havana, Cuba in 1943. The dance appeared in the United States during the mid-1940s in New York's Park Plaza Ballroom and it soon became a craze there. Interest in the Mambo however fizzled out in the 1950s, but the dance is now enjoying a resurgence in popularity in the US due to a number of movies featuring the Mambo as well as the efforts of a man named Eddie Torres (picture above). Known as the "Mambo King of Latin Dance", Torres created the modern version of the Mambo in the 1970s. The modern version that Americans today call Mambo or 'breaking on 2' is completely different from the Mambo that was created by Prado. The original style of the dance contains no breaking steps, whether on 1 or 2.


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> Should Dance Figures Be Named After Persons?

> Swing, American Smooth & American Rhythm Dances