"That was the summer of '63, when everybody called me Baby and it didn't occur to me
to mind"
Let's go and take a step back in time, to the summer of '63 at the Kellerman's, a family summer camp where everything was nice and perfect. Baby (
Jennifer Grey) is an idealist that is dreaming of changing the world when she opens her eyes and learns to see the world as it really is. Swept away be the tunes of music, the moves of young people dancing, she leaves the "safe" setting of her family and steps into the real world when she enters the staff building. She tells Penny (Cynthia Rhodes) she envies her for her dancing skills, but soon finds out Penny is also a young, scared woman, pregnant and alone. And while Baby is attracted by the world of "
dirty dancing", the staff people aren't so pleased with her presence. Dancing teacher Johnny (Patrick Swayze) first sees her as one of the rich kids. But Baby is stubborn, attracted to this mysterious dancer, and she decides to help Penny lending her money of her father to get an illegal abortion. For Penny to have the abortion, Baby needs to fill in her spot as Johnny's dance partner for the evening. The two of them spent a lot of time together, preparing, dancing, growing closer to each other. The real swift is after their performance, when they drive home. You can feel the tension in the way they look at each other. Maybe Baby is more than just a naive young girl, maybe she is also an attractive young woman? As they return back, they find Penny in terrible condition, and Baby runs out to get her father who is a doctor. He helps Penny, but forbids Baby to ever see "these people" again. But Baby runs back to Johnny, since she is in love. Their romance doesn't last long since Johnny is forced to leave when, after Johnny being accused of theft, Baby confesses they've spend the night together. At the final evening, Johnny returns, to dance one last time with his summer love Baby. And as the summer comes to its end, only vivid memories of these nice times remain... "I had the time of my life, and I owe it all to you"