Woman recreates famous dance from 'Dirty Dancing' for birthday.
You'd likely be hard pressed to find a woman born in the early '80s who hasn't memorized nearly every line from the iconic 1987 movie Dirty Dancing. Many spent hours in front of a mirror practicing every dance Baby had to learn so they could don their flowy dress that gave their spins the perfect amount of realism. An entire generation is transported when those famous words, "Now, I've had the time of my life..." croon over a speaker no matter where they are.
In the summer of 2024, a woman from Portugal decided she was going to become Baby for her 40th birthday party—and she was not messing around. The woman, Raquel, uploaded the video to her social media page Miolo Mole e Bitoca.
Raquel stands in what appears to be a dance hall decorated to look like the infamous last dance that closes out Dirty Dancing. She's in a pink dress that looks nearly identical to Baby's and that familiar tune starts to play. The camera pans to her partner dressed like Johnny Castle in all black, and, yes, they did the dance step by step.
@miolomoleebitoca Meus 40 anos tema Dirty Dancing #dirtydancing #dirtydancingchallenge #patrickswayze
A large screen playing the famous scene was set up right behind the pair as they danced. Now, they didn't disclose if they practiced the lift in a lake to stay completely true to the movie, but they nailed it nonetheless. The video currently has 15.7 million views and nearly 80 thousand comments all sharing the same sentiment: utter delight.
"Now y'all did that. Man y'all put a smile on my face. Dirty Dancing is my all time favorite movie," someone says.
"I've never smiled like a Cheshire cat as much as I just did watching that! Proper cheese but I loved it," one person writes.
"Not me bawling my eyes out and smiling so big, this is everything! One of my all time favorite movies and you can tell you's had so much fun and share so much love for one another," another commenter cries.
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There was also a lot of praise for Raquel's dance partner, Wescley.
"If my next husband doesn't perform dirty dancing lie this with me thenI don't want him. This was amazing," one person gushed.
Another said, "the fact that your man would do that for you is amazing. He seemed so happy making you happy."
On their TikTok and Instagram pages where they have over one million followers apiece, the couple share adorable videos of their life together. They also do hilarious skits, document events, and post their lovely family.
It's wonderful to see so much love, creativity, and beauty exuding from this couple who urge the rest of us to find a partner who makes life a dance and doesn't let anybody put you in a corner! And, by the way, if you're looking to do your own recreation of this iconic dance, here's a fun tutorial:
- YouTube youtu.be
This article originally appeared last year. It has since been updated.