Hackney park undergoing Dirty Dancing transformation
Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey star in Dirty Dancing - Credit: Archant
Hackney Downs is being transformed into a 1960s American holiday camp to bring to life one of the best loved chick flick movies of all time, Dirty Dancing.
A Kellerman's postcard - Credit: Archant
Tents and cabins are being constructed on the parkland off Downs Park Road so that Secret Cinema spin-off, Future Cinema can transport nearly 13,000 film fans to Kellerman’s holiday resort this weekend.
Log cabins are being set up on Hackney Downs - Credit: Archant
While Secret Cinema encourages film-buffs to pay up not knowing which film they will see or where, Future Cinema provides an immersive cinema experience without so much of the mystery.
A scene from Dirty Dancing - Credit: submitted
Along with games of archery, baseball, fencing and netball, over the course of three days participants will be invited to join in a mass dance-along to the most iconic dance scenes in cinema history, with songs from the coming-of-age drama which starred Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey including She’s Like The Wind and Hungry Eyes.
Ticket holders have been told to pack for their holidays and bring a suitcase be ready to dance.
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Creative director and founder of Secret Cinema, Fabien Riggall, said: “The idea is to allow the audience to step back in time and enter the world of the Catskills, which used to be this glamorous series of holiday resorts where the film is set.
“It was very friendly, very social and everyone knew your name and that’s what we want to create to get everyone in the mood.
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“People will come in the afternoon and become part of the camp, and we are also recreating the staff quarters where Baby gets smuggled in where we will have Mambo and other amazing dances.”
He continued: “One of my colleagues described Dirty Dancing as being like Star Wars for women, it’s a film that’s loved, and it’s one that has a really positive message, that you should follow your heart.
“There’s a huge amount of women coming, if I was a single man I would be down here,” he joked.
Secret Cinema has had a high profile in the East End over the last few months, with the staging of prisoner movie epic, The Shawshank Redemption at the former Cardinal Pole school in Victoria Park Road.
June saw the same building transformed into a 1920s hotel for the first ever Secret Music concept which saw folk singer Laura Marling’s latest album Once I Was An Eagle brought to life.
Last summer’s outdoor screening revived Grease for an audience of over 9,000 T-Birds and Pink Ladies in Barnes Common.
