I'm excited to see that this week's reading is so popular. I, too, have been inspired to write a blog about it. While reading the first few pages of Professor Hutchinson's work, all I could think about was a scene from the movie Dirty Dancing. It kept playing over and over through my mind as I was reading, so finally, I had enough and decided to write about it.
Dirty Dancing is, by far, my favorite dance movie (and one of my favorite movies in general). I love the dance routines in the movie and many of them have a Mambo/Pachanga/Salsa influence, so I decided to relate it to the article.
One scene in particular is, in my opinion, similar to "Mambo on 2." The scene in Dirty Dancing is referred to as "Johnny's Mambo" (appropriate, isn't it?) and can be found here (with an advertisement to start it):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkqA_jj4Flk
Dirty Dancing is set in 1963, which was the turning point of the 1st generation to 2nd generation of Mambo dancers. It was also roughly ten years after the Mambo became a dance craze in New York City. It was definitely a popular dance in the time period that Dirty Dancing takes place in.
The footwork of the routine isn't entirely accurate compared to On 2 Mambo, but Mambo dancers synchronized their dance to the music that they danced to, which is shown in the movie. Also, there were "flashy" moves that made Johnny and Penny stand out. There were some moments with large arm movements, faster turns and dramatic poses which is also similar to New York Mambo. As an added fun fact, the location that Dirty Dancing is set in is in the Catskills, which just so happens to be where Joe Piro took some of his Mambo dancers to perform, as we learned in the reading.
Overall, it seems there are quite a few similarities between Dirty Dancing and actual Mambo dancing. I think it's a good representation of Mambo. What do you guys think? In your opinion, do you think Dirty Dancing is similar to or different from the reading?
I am in love with the original dirty dancing, and after reading this article and talking about the similarities in the dancing in both dirty dancing movies, I'm glad you put this up.
ReplyDeleteDirty Dancing definitely showed the masses a lot of different styles of dance outside the realm of race. Especially since the dancers were working people who danced in their little community while the people vacationing didn't know how to handle their very sentual type of dancing. It kind of demonstrates how these places went beyond racial lines and just allowed people to dance and appreciate what others were doing.
I think that for a long time now some people want to participate in some kinds of dancing precisely because they can allow contact between people of different backgrounds, different communities. But does the sense of togetherness on the dance floor carry off the dance floor into everyday life? Does it help to create greater equality?
ReplyDeleteAlso, has anyone seen Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights? I confess I've been avoiding it because I thought I would find it annoying, but maybe it's time to break down and watch it. I'd like to hear others' opinions on it, though.
I saw Dirty Dancing 2 when it first came out. It's set before Dirty Dancing and has Patrick Swayze reprise his role as a dance instructor (in Cuba). That really didn't make much sense to me and was rather annoying. As much as I love Patrick Swayze, he shouldn't have been in this movie. Anyways...
ReplyDeleteHavana Nights has a similar storyline to Dirty Dancing, a little bit more extreme though considering the tense relationship between the U.S. and Cuba. The dancing is mostly mambo and salsa, with the "big dance moments" taking place during a dance contest and at the end, in a club. The dancing isn't as impressive as the dancing in the first one was. It wasn't as attention-grabbing and some of the moves were copied from Dirty Dancing. Overall, I didn't really like it. I probably won't watch it again but that's just me.
Also, in reply to your first set of questions, I think that dance is a great way to bring people together and allow them to get comfortable with each other. I think dancing with someone is a step toward breaking down the barrier between different groups and cultures and really allows us to connect with people of different backgrounds and such. By being able to connect with someone on the dance floor, I think it helps us understand them and feel more equal to them off the dance floor. It's like what we've learned from Rize and From Mambo to Hip Hop, dancing together is a way to form a community with each other and integrate. To bring people together.