One of the best things that has come out of this prolonged period of worldwide social distancing is that the creatives among us have really pulled out all of the stops to bring quality entertainment right into our homes. Whether it's Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman singing live from their basement or Erykah Badu and Jill Scott treating us all to nearly four hours of the most sublime Verzuz battle to date, our artists are doing incredible work right now.
Quinn Wharton is a photographer and professional dancer based on the West Coast who recently decided to bring his own bit of magic to the internet. After being challenged by a friend, Quinn spent hours of his life re-creating the epic final dance from Dirty Dancing in his living room. And the best part? He plays every single character himself.
Quinn gets the entire thing exactly right: the camera angle, the timing, the lighting, all of it. And guys, it's truly something you need to see to believe:
If you need a reminder, the final dance scene in Dirty Dancing is set to "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," and the scene is pretty incredible. For context, main characters Johnny and Baby have been through a lot together. They've loved, they've fought, and of course they've danced … and now Baby is ready to show her family and community everything she feels for Johnny. It's a moment!
On Instagram, Quinn writes, "I was challenged by my good friend @sloanefair to recreate famous dance scenes from movies at home alone during this time. I was hesitant at first but thought I would give it a try to see what I might be able to learn from it. Turns out it was way more fun than I thought and the result was funnier than I could have imagined. I present to you my take on Dirty Dancing."
You can see the video below:
He goes on to add, "I filmed everything alone, including all the camera moves and crowd scenes. Hope it brings a little light to your day, it's just meant to make people happy."
I was initially skeptical about the premise — could it really be that good? — but Quinn's video is amazing. You can watch it here:
This isn't the only dance work Quinn has been producing right now. In April he shared an improv that is pretty spectacular. He writes, "I've mused a lot by myself and with others about dance and [its] importance. Watching something like this I'm reminded about the simple nature of its power. In seeing another human move creatively and expressively well-timed to music it feels as though disparate parts of the universe sync up for a second. As though there’s a bit of gravitational pull that's created by the synchronicity and you get sucked into that force. Getting lost in something to allow yourself to be reminded of the bigger picture maybe? Or maybe beauty is enough… to make something beautiful is a pursuit worthy in and of itself."
Of course, people online are falling over themselves in love with what Quinn's made. There are requests for more videos like it, with one commenter asking if Quinn would consider remaking a dance from Grease. We'll all have to stay tuned to see if he pulls out anymore magic for the rest of us.
