Dirty dancing how long was the vacation
Uncertainty About the Dates of the Housemans' Vacation
In August 2015, I published in this blog an article titled The Housemans Stayed at the Resort Three Weeks. There I explained my calculation that their vacation lasted from August 10 through September 2, 1963. Since I published that article two years ago, I have used that time-frame in many other articles.
This morning, however, I woke up from a nightmare in which I realized that my calculation might be wrong. I was dreaming about Baby Houseman, after her family vacation, showing up at Mount Holyoke College to begin her school year. My nightmare was like a David Lynch movie.
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In this morning's nightmare, Satan himself announced gleefully to me:
Baby Houseman was supposed
to arrive at Mount Holyoke College
before the Labor Day weekend !!!
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My worst fear was confirmed quickly by an Internet search. According to Mount Holyoke College's current academic calendar, new students are supposed to arrive on campus on the Friday before the Labor Day weekend.
| In 2017, new students are supposed to arrive at Mount Holyoke College on the Friday before Labor Day Weekend |
If that was the rule in 1963, then Baby was supposed to arrive at Mount Holyoke on Friday, August 30, 1963. If so, then the Houseman's family three-week vacation must be shifted a week earlier to August 3-25.
| The shift of the three-week vacation that would enable Baby Houseman to arrive at Mount Holyoke on August 30, the Friday before Labor Day of 1963. |
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This Satanic revelation was a crisis for me and my blog.
I sure did not want to re-write all the articles that mentioned dates within that framework. For example, I have published an article The Beatles' Activities During the Housemans' Vacation that detailed the Beatles' activities from August 10 to September 2, 1963.
I already have written much of a future article about Lee Harvey Oswald's activities during that same period as he prepared to assassinate President Kennedy.
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Then I re-read my 2015 article and found that my calculation might be correct after all. That article includes the following passage:
Right before Johnny almost punches the waiter outside a cabin, someone remarks: "Well, cousin, it's almost over. Labor Day weekend is here."
(I don't know who said the remark, because it is missing from my TV recording, which has been cut for TV commercials. I use a dialogue transcript that does not identify the speakers.)
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There is one other consideration about the vacation's dates.
In a blog article titled The Undertones to Dirty Dancing, I wrote about a video in which scriptwriter Eleanor Bergstein herself in an interview remarked that the Houseman parents scheduled their vacation to prevent Baby from attending the March on Washington, which took place on August 28, 1963.
If the Housemans had returned home on August 25, then Baby should have been able to travel to Washington DC by August 28. Therefore, the Housemans must have been at Kellerman's through the last week of August.
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I decided to stick to my original calculation that the vacation lasted from August 10 through September 2, 1963. I remained puzzled, however, about when Baby was supposed to show up at Mount Holyoke.
Searching in the website Newspapers, I found the following article in the Berkshire Eagle newspaper, published in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on September 5, 1963, reporting that classes would begin no earlier than September 23.
Classes in 1963 began no earlier than September 23. |
I found also this article in the Berkshire Eagle, in the issue dated September 19, 1963. Although the article does not mention Mount Holyoke College, it does indicate that many colleges in the region began classes in the second half of September.
| On September 19, a newspaper article reports that many students are beginning college classes. |
Things About Dirty Dancing You Only Notice As An Adult
By Julie Sprankles/Updated: Aug. 14, 2019 4:34 pm EDT
Who didn't love Dirty Dancing? If you spent the better part of your childhood pretending to do the iconic lift scene from Dirty Dancing, you're definitely not alone. At the lake, in the pool, off the sofa — countless '90s kids (and even younger generations) have risked limbs and collected bruises in pursuit of perfecting the classic moment between Baby Houseman and Johnny Castle.
Nostalgia reigns supreme where this 1987 flick is concerned.
A lot has happened since the film's debut, though. Society has changed; you've changed; the actors who brought those seminal characters to the big screen have changed. If you were to re-watch the movie, would it still strike you the same? Or would your added life perspective lead you to look at the movie in a new light? Lean into the latter by considering the following things you only notice about Dirty Dancing as an adult.
Wait, is that Newman from Seinfeld in Dirty Dancing?
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Can you even put a face to Stan, the resort greeter-slash-emcee? If it's been a minute since you watched Dirty Dancing, the answer is probably a hard no. But in re-watching, you might just yell out, "Hey, that's Wayne Knight!" Although Stan's role is minor with just a few scenes throughout the movie, Knight's face is easily recognizable to anyone who watched TV or movies in the '90s.
Knight was just starting out when he snagged this bit part in Dirty Dancing, so of course we wouldn't know him yet. But in 1993, he was the bad guy in Jurassic Park (apologies in advance if that classically annoying "ah, ah, ah, you didn't say the magic word" computer hack is now stuck in your head). Then, from 1992 to 1998, Knight went on to star as the annoying mailman Newman in Seinfeld.
Watching as an adult, with the context of his future iconic roles, you half expect Dirty Dancing's Stan to break out a can of shaving cream and start sneaking out the DNA of rich people or for Jerry Seinfeld to pop out and say, "Hello, Newman."
Billy stares at Lisa in Dirty Dancing like he wants to eat her soul
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The funniest part of Dirty Dancing happens to be unintentional. The moment takes place when the Houseman family first arrives at Kellerman's.
The owner, Max Kellerman, approaches the family with staff member Billy, who presumably came along to carry the luggage. And then it happens.
There's a solid few minutes where Billy is staring at Lisa with the strangest look on his face. It's so awkward to watch you may not be able to stifle your laughter. Since these characters have very little interaction in the movie, it makes you wonder if there wasn't some tension between the actors.
After all, Patrick Swayze admitted he was legitimately annoyed with Jennifer Grey during filming, revealing in his autobiography The Time of My Life (via The Telegraph), "She seemed particularly emotional, sometimes bursting into tears if someone criticized her. Other times, she slipped into silly moods, forcing us to do scenes over and over again after she'd start laughing."
Why didn't Baby pick Billy in Dirty Dancing?
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It's obviously hard to hold a candle to Patrick Swayze, and nobody envies the guy who has to stand next to him and try to seem cool, too.
But Billy — the cousin of Swayze's Johnny Castle character in Dirty Dancing— didn't get the credit he deserves. This has little to do with his looks — though, to be clear, he was very handsome. The real reason Billy deserves more attention is because of how nice he was to Baby. In fact, they seemed to have natural chemistry from the moment they meet, when she helps him get luggage out of the car and sparks fly.
Billy never treats Baby like, well, a baby. He is honest with her, always keeping her in the loop about what is going on. The movie even hints that perhaps Billy harbored some feelings for her, since he tells Johnny in the memorable "I carried a watermelon" scene that "she's with me." On the flip side, Swayze's Johnny Castle was a jerk to Baby for roughly half of the movie.
The older you get, the more you appreciate the truly decent romantic interests over the dark and dangerous ones — thus being more prone to flights of fancy about Baby and Billy (they even sound good together).
That Dirty Dancing vacation cabin must have cost a small fortune
When you think of a getaway at a lake retreat, quaint images of log cabins and rustic accommodations usually come to mind. Unless, apparently, you're the Housemans. Granted, they were a wealthy family and would arguably have had a more luxurious definition of the standard family vacation. But, c'mon, they really Marie Antoinette'd the whole rustic cabin getaway vibe.
Dirty Dancing makes it seem as though their cabin is the size of a moderate-sized family home in the suburbs, and they have it all to themselves. Did everyone have their own cabin? If so, who stayed in the palatial main house? How much do these digs cost? So many questions!
While there's no way to know those answers with 100 percent certainty, this much is known: The resort where the movie was filmed is called Mountain Lake Lodge in Pembroke, Virginia. The actual cabin Baby's family stayed in is called the Virginia Cottage and, yes, you can totally book it — but it'll set you back a cool $329 per night during the summer season.
They chose the most unsightly spot ever to hang the staff quarters sign in Dirty Dancing
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This is an upscale resort, right? And ol' man Max Kellerman in Dirty Dancing is obviously pretty persnickety about appearances. He explicitly states throughout the movie how important it is to keep the guests happy, the water glasses clean and, in general, the guise of perfection. So why on Earth is there a gigantic red dumpster on the premises? In the scene when Baby goes wandering one evening and runs into Billy carrying the watermelons, she walks right past a massive construction-debris-style dumpster. On that dumpster is a simple black and white sign that reads "STAFF QUARTERS NO GUESTS PLEASE."
Since there is no reference in the movie to any remodeling, construction, or the like being done on the premises, it seems like a jerk move for Kellerman to place the dumpster right outside the staff cabins and, especially, to hang the staff quarters sign there.
What kind of person just tosses expensive outerwear on the floor?
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Dirty Dancing establishes upfront that Johnny is part of the dance crew. However, you don't learn until later that he offers private dance lessons — a fact that becomes evident when the Housemans watch Johnny dancing with a woman named Vivian. Mr. Kellerman explains that the staff call women like her "bungalow bunnies," because they tend to book a lot of *ahem* private lessons when their husbands are busy playing poker.
As if all of that wasn't shocking enough, Vivian the cougar shrugs off her fur stole mid-dance and tosses it on the floor. The floor. What kind of fresh privileged nonsense is this? That's, like, a down payment on a Toyota Corolla. Coupled with the fact that Vivian later gets Johnny fired, you spend most of the movie hoping she gets her karmic comeuppance in the next life.
TBH, Dirty Dancing's Johnny and Penny make it impossible not to 'ship them
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Just as Baby seems better suited to Billy in Dirty Dancing, Johnny seems better suited to his ex-turned-BFF, Penny.
You can't watch the movie and not secretly hope these two will wind up together in the end. Johnny is just so tender and sweet with Penny, always taking care of her. Naturally, the affection is mutual, with Penny being fiercely protective of Johnny. Billy tells Baby the two haven't been together romantically since they were all kids, but does anyone really buy that? For the record, no one dances with their ex like that — unless it is closely followed by sex with an ex.
Patrick Swayze himself admitted in his memoir, The Time of My Life, that he, too, felt strongly about these characters' connection. "I felt all along that Johnny should ultimately end up with Penny, as they were so much alike and a more realistic couple than Johnny and Baby," Swayze said (via Entertainment Weekly).
Dirty Dancing's Johnny owes his sweet ride a serious apology
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Vivian the cougar isn't the only character to make a move that displays a blatant disregard for valuable items in Dirty Dancing.
Our jaws dropped when Vivian threw her fur stole to the floor, but we quickly realize it actually isn't that surprising — she is exorbitantly wealthy and entitled, so making such a potentially costly move doesn't faze her. However, Johnny Castle hasn't lived a life of privilege. He knows what it means to struggle for a dollar, which makes it particularly baffling when he busts out his car window without so much as a second thought.
Really, what reasonable person decides that's the best course of action upon locking your keys in the car? Johnny, man, c'mon! If you're enterprising enough to get women to drop their room keys in your pocket multiple times a day, you can troubleshoot a locked car door.
They clearly didn't think through the whole log-dancing thing in Dirty Dancing
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After hours upon hours of frustrating dance rehearsals in Johnny Castle's studio — or sweat lodge, judging by the pair's visible perspiration — Johnny finally springs Baby for a bit of fresh air.
Yet, instead of taking her somewhere easy to practice like, say, an open field, Johnny drags her to a remote part of the forest.
Baby was a beginner at this point, so of course Johnny would take her to dance on a narrow log precariously balanced high above what appears to be shallow water filled with big rocks and other deadly instruments of Mother Nature. Yep, that's completely responsible.
Patrick Swayze, who played Johnny, knew better than anyone the perils of such endeavors. According to Time, the Dirty Dancing log-balance dance scene aggravated a previous knee injury to the point it almost derailed the iconic lift scene. Stick to the dance studio, kids!
This is why Baby's mom in Dirty Dancing looks so familiar
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The first thing you notice about Baby's mother, Marjorie Houseman, is an overwhelming sense of deja vu. Where have you seen her before? Why does her face look so familiar? Spoiler alert: There's a good reason.
It takes a minute to register since she was so much younger in Dirty Dancing, but the actress playing Baby's mom is none other than Kelly Bishop. Ringing any bells? 'Cause it should be. Bishop brought to life the inimitable (and equally rich and privileged — she wears that look well) character Emily Gilmore on Gilmore Girls.
In addition to Gilmore Girls, Bishop's post-Dirty Dancing days include work on One Life to Live, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Bunheads and The Good Wife.
Dirty Dancing star Patrick Swayze is gone but not forgotten
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After watching Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing (or Point Break, Fatherhood, Ghost, and every other role after that), it's difficult to imagine a world without him in it. Johnny Castle will forever be the effortlessly cool guy you dreamed of delivering you from the proverbial corner.
Sadly, though, Swayze passed away in 2009 after a waging a heroic effort in his 20-month-long fight against pancreatic cancer. Among the countless people who lamented his death and offered support to Swayze's widow, Lisa Niemi, was his Dirty Dancing co-star Jennifer Grey. Speaking to People, she fondly described Swayze as "a real cowboy with a tender heart," adding, "it was not surprising to me that the war he waged on cancer was so courageous and dignified."
Even as the years continue to creep by, seeing Swayze dance onscreen and hearing his voice singing "She's Like the Wind" (I'm not crying; you are), the actor's legacy clearly lives on.
Dirty Dancing: Dance to the Heartbeat
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 cult American melodrama starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. social dances.
This is how sparingly and uncomplicatedly Wikipedia describes the film, after which the name of Patrick Swayze became the catalyst for red cheeks and stupid giggles among young ladies.
Watched it in the late 80s and early 90's only in the circle of close friends and friends, hiding from their parents as far as possible. Now times have changed, but the goosebumps from Dirty Dancing continue to tickle your back.
Baby and Johnny are in the center of the audience's attention. Baby is a girl from a wealthy family of a doctor who personifies the American dream. Johnny is just Johnny. A free dancer who earns a living by entertaining the public.
What is Dirty Dancing?
Dirty dances in the film are dances performed at a service staff party in a small American boarding house where the main character is resting. There, Baby is faced with the other side of her own life: people who plow until they pass out during the day, and in the evening splash out emotions in dances. Half-naked, tart, very intimate. There she meets Johnny, who will become her partner, first in dancing, and then in life.
“Yes, I am afraid of everything, I am afraid that I will leave this room and not feel what I feel now.
Dance with Me.
— Here?
- Yes.
In fact, classic dirty dancing is shown in only one scene - just at the very party in the boarding house. They are not tied to any of the styles, although they have much in common with Latin American genres. They were performed spontaneously, many movements were invented directly in front of the camera.
Everything that starts after the party - training and performance - is a Cuban mambo with a splash of salsa and other Latin American revelations.
Mambo in Dirty Dancing
Mambo is a Latin American dance brought to the New World by African-American black slaves. It was performed in stuffy rooms to rhythmic music (4 by 4) after a hard day's work. In the middle of the 20th century, it also spread among the white population, but until the end of the era of racism in America, it was customary to hide its social origin.
The name of the dance comes from the name of the militant deity "mambo", and some of the movements are references to the ancient ritual dance.
Dirty Dancing staging
Baby and Johnny's performances were choreographed by Kenny Ortego, the most famous Hollywood choreographer, who became famous not only for Dirty Dancing, but also for staging Michael Jackson's show tours.
The film's final dance, which is especially complex and especially intimate, used unique supports that are used in modern. These supports became the highlights of the production. The frame is rhythmic steps, rotations, hugs, characteristic of mambo, rumba, salsa.
Today the final dance was dismantled every second and put together again to be staged at weddings, festivals, dance studios. It is complex, but its beauty is worth working on yourself and your movements.
However, it is easy to create your own "dirty dance": it is enough to get acquainted with Latin American programs a little and memorize a couple of movements. Dirty Dancing is only possible when it comes from the heart.
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Movie Dirty Dancing: photo, video, list of actors
American romantic melodrama about dancing and love.
Directed by Emile Ardolino , the film starred Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach (Jerry Orbach), Kelly Bishop (Kelly Bishop), Jane Brooker (Jane Brucker) and Cynthia Rhodes (Cynthia Rhodes).
The plot of the film "Dirty Dancing"
In the summer of 1963, seventeen-year-old Frances Houseman (Jennifer Grey) nicknamed Baby, a naive girl from a wealthy family, spends her holidays with her parents and 's older sister Lisa (Jane Brooker) at a resort family hotel. Everything seems rather boring to her: family breakfasts, lunches and dinners, endless bingo games, classes with the elderly. But in the evening, a couple of dancers perform in the common room. Baby can't take his eyes off them, they are so graceful and beautiful. Baby does not know how to dance at all, so he watches the couple with great interest.
One evening the girl decides to take a walk around the boarding house.
She hears music in the distance and follows its sounds. So she accidentally enters the staff area and sees a waiter serving their table. He asks her to help her carry the watermelons, and together they go inside the servants' house. Everyone is dancing "dirty dances" there, the movements of young people are quite frank and sexy. Among the dancers, Baby also recognizes the couple she saw at the evening in the boarding house. She is very attracted to a young and handsome dancer Johnny (Patrick Swayze) . Noticing her gaze, he invites Baby to dance. Johnny shows her some fairly simple moves and completely fascinates her.
Johnny's dance partner Penny (Cynthia Rhodes) got pregnant by waiter Robbie, who refuses to help her in any way. Abortion is banned in the USA, but Penny has no other choice, because next week they will be performing at another hotel, the only way they earn their living. Baby asks his father Jake (Jerry Orbach) to lend her a large sum of money.
Baby gives everything to Penny so she can have an illegal abortion. After the operation, Penny becomes ill, and Baby has to turn to her father for help. After learning where his money went, he forbids Baby from dating Johnny.
Johnny is already in trouble: he needs to perform at another hotel, otherwise he and Penny will lose money this year and will not be offered a job next year. None of the dancers can replace Penny, then Baby proposes her candidacy. Johnny only has a few days to teach Baby how to dance professionally.
Interesting facts about the film "Dirty Dancing"
Patrick Swayze both dances and sings in this film.
30-year-old Jennifer Gray convinced casting producers to cast her in a film by transforming herself into a naive 15-year-old in just 10 minutes.
Cynthia Rhodes , who played the partner of Johnny Penny, the wife of American singer Richard Marks a, known for his romantic songs.
The book that Robbie recommended to Baby - "Source" Ayn Rand .
Abortion was only allowed in the USA in 1973. Thousands of women die or become ill every year as a result of illegal abortions in America. Many people who performed clandestine abortions were often not doctors at all.
Max Cantor , who played Robbie, shared an apartment with John Lennon for a while. Max entered Harvard University but died of a heroin overdose at the age of 32.
Billy Zane and Sarah Jessica Parker auditioned for Dirty Dancing .
In December 2008, screenwriter Eleanor Bergsten admitted that the characters of Baby and Johnny are based on her own biography. Like Baby Houseman, Eleanor comes from a liberal Jewish family. Throughout the 1960s, she, her father, mother, and older sister visited the Catskills Family Resort. Her father was a doctor, and until the age of 22 everyone called her Baby. She got her name in honor of a woman with a strong character.0053 Eleanor Roosevelt .
