For the scene in the lake, Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey have to endure four degrees of water. The climate deteriorates and soon the mercury drops as quickly as it rises. The delay accumulated and forced Emile Ardolino to stay longer than expected in Virginia. Several technicians are suffering from discomfort. At the beginning, the temperatures are scorching. Although the love story between Johnny and Baby is supposed to take place in the summer, the autumn shooting forces the set designers to repaint the leaves of the trees green. The current does not pass at all with his partner. Jennifer Grey, on the other hand, approaches things with less enthusiasm. On the set, as the crew takes over the Mountain Lake estate in Virginia, where the hotel renamed Kellerman’s Mountain House is located, Patrick Swayze impresses with his dancing skills. For the female lead, the team cast Jennifer Grey, with whom the lead actor has already played in John Milius’ Red Dawn. Wishing to avoid the use of understudies for the dance sequences, the director emphasized from the outset the need to hire a multi-talented actor. Debutant Emile Ardolino was chosen to direct Dirty Dancing and insisted that Patrick Swayze play the lead. Eventually, the script found a home at Vestron Pictures, a small production studio. Eleanor Bergstein then knocked on the doors of many majors but all refused.

While the film was to be financed by MGM, a change in management jeopardized the project. The story of Dirty Dancing is largely based on the childhood of screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein. Its soundtrack is also a success, selling millions of copies. Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze)įilmed in 43 days on a modest budget, Dirty Dancing became the first film to be releasedĪ true cultural phenomenon in the world. Mountain Lake Lodge - Credit: Adam Fagen on Flickr The musical romance that brought Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey to the attention of the public, Dirty Dancing is a feature film shot in at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the heart of an estate that will forever be linked to Johnny and Baby's romantic interludes, in the hotel renamed Kellerman's Mountain House.

Dirty dancing location pictures