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Nose to nose with Baby in the Catskills
Politically, I prefer a no spin zone. Spinning is fine on the dance floor, however, or on an exercise bike and while doing laundry. Sadly, for many fans, friends and family members, the world spun a little more slowly, this week, at word that Patrick Swayze passed away.
I believe his energy is still spinning in orbit somewhere in the heavens as the star he always was, long before his breakout in 1987’s low budget hit Dirty Dancing as a dance instructor at Kellerman’s in the Catskills.
Here’s the big finale with Baby and Johnny Castle as all the stunned parents in the audience watch while their kids cut a rug in the sensuous, smoldering style of Kenny Ortega, choreographer for the film.
Watch as Baby lets go of her fears and learns to fly in Johnny’s hands to the film’s smash hit (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Golden Globe and a Grammy, that year.
My youngest son, Matt, is a dancer and though I never pursued the craft, I am pleased at his ambition and dedication to this among his many other paths. Where they take him is not for me to know, but I watch and wonder what it takes to go from not knowing to knowing to being so others take notice.
Everyone wants to have their moment in the limelight, their moment to soar and reach for the stars while the whole world watches, holding its breath, and wondering if you’ll fall, fail or fly into fame and fortune.
Not everyone has the courage to step out onto the stage, however, or the grit and determination to make it happen, especially when the odds are against you, your parents aren’t supportive or your friends think you’re crazy.
It is precisely these factors that can rub you the right way, though abrasive at times, shaping your soul into a vessel destined to weather the perfect storms and roll with the waves of doubt that capsize most wayfarers who struggle to follow the stars, losing them to the sea, forever.
We tend to focus on the big finale when it all gels before an appreciative audience, but gloss over the years of hard work, practice and dedication to craft that can take its toll, yet reward you greatly for all the blood, sweat and tears you shed in the lifelong process of becoming who you really are.
Sometimes, the only difference between flying and falling is sheer determination to persevere, no matter what. The best and brightest do not always excel. The most talented one does not always win. Lady Luck will smile, at times, in the opposite direction of the cool kids, the haves and those who think they own the world.
Usually, the one that refuses to quit is the only one left standing when the music stops, the dust settles and the onlookers finally realize that the star they seek has forever been spinning in their midst, but they were just too blind to see.
Are you the one onstage, spinning, or are you tucked away safely in the audience at the back of the room, dumbstruck by a scene or a world moving too quickly, too intensely or too out of control for you to follow the beat?
Don’t be a baby about it. Be like Baby and learn to trust your instincts. Listen to the music. Feel your way through it. Lean on that inexplicable energy that burns brightly in the eyes and heart of someone you just met or in the strong arms that now hold you. Maybe they know a secret you don’t.
Maybe you just need to learn to let go and dance like nobody’s watching, and see where it takes you. Now, what’s so dirty about that?
The Kat
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