Bryony Whitfield stars as Baby with Gareth Bailey as Johnny in Dirty Dancing. Photos provided to China Daily

Dirty Dancing sashays into Hong Kong with its classic coming-of-age story performed by an international cast to get everyone dancing in the aisles. Rebecca Lo reports.

I first saw Dirty Dancing on VHS alongside a group of girls all in our late teens in my dorm's common room. It was my first year in university and I had no expectations for the 1987 film starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, dismissing it as yet another sentimental chick flick.

About half an hour into the movie, most of us were on our feet dancing along to the infectious '60s and '60s-inspired songs.

We swooned over the sexy grinding of Swayze's Johnny Castle bad boy mambo instructor, and envisioned it was us being taught all the right moves instead of Grey's Baby Houseman.

When Eleanor Bergstein adapted her screenplay into a musical sensation staged internationally in Australia, Germany and England, it topped my checklist on a London trip a few years ago.

The sold-out audience in the Aldwych Theater was comprised mostly of women with their mothers, daughters or girlfriends who watched their first love enacted before them: the bittersweet memories, the passion and the way it made them get up and dance.

Hong Kong audiences can find out for themselves what the all hoopla is about with an extended four week run of Dirty Dancing, directed by Alan Swerdlow and starring Bryony Whitfield in the role of Baby. Produced by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, it features a live orchestra and an international cast.

The tour was previously in Cape Town, with a total of 178 props, more than 300 costumes, 15 kilometers of cable and 5 kilograms of hairpins all being shipped by cargo vessel to Hong Kong's Cultural Center.

"It is a big show," nods Swerdlow. "Part of my job is to make sure that the show is absolutely up to standard and exactly the way it was first rehearsed and performed so that the local audience will have the same experience they would if they were watching the show in London's West End."

Swerdlow believes that one of the reasons Dirty Dancing remains such a massive hit is because the story resonates with people deeply.

"I think everyone remembers his or her first real love affair, with all of its joys and all of its embarrassments and pain in detail," he says. "Right from the very start, there was immediate audience identification with the film.

"This same identification happens with the stage show, but it is made even more intense by the immediacy of a live performance. A young woman, coming of age and experiencing both love and independence for the first time is a universal occurrence, transcending any cultural differences."

Whitfield knew that she had big shoes to fill: Grey's depiction of Baby defined the role for a generation.

"During the auditions, I admit to watching the film several times," she says. "I wanted to have a good understanding of Baby's journey. Every girl dreams of being Baby. She has such an exciting story to tell. I believe that we can all relate to her in some way: That feeling of first love, falling in love or wanting to fall in love.

"But it's impossible to be a copy of someone. You want to play the character honestly and the only way to do that is to get to know and explore it yourself. It's trusting the script, directions and the feelings behind the words and dancing," she says.

It is the South African's first time performing in Hong Kong and she is keen to dance her favorite number: Time of My Life, the showstopper Grammy-winning duet sung by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes.

"Gareth (Bailey, who plays Johnny Castle), Mila (De Biaggi, who plays Penny Johnson) and I were in Hong Kong for three days in March and we were greeted with such a wonderful welcome," she says. "Much of this show relies on audience reaction and response. I am looking forward to seeing how the people of Hong Kong react."

Contact the writer at sundayed@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 04/21/2013 page15)