Thirty years ago, the world learned that nobody puts Baby in the corner.
On Aug. 21, 1987, “Dirty Dancing” — that 1963-set classic staple of many a sleepover — was released in theaters. Philly’s Karen Getz was there to help make it happen — and chew some gum along the way.
Getz, 54, is known these days as a Barrymore Award-winning Philadelphia theater artist who has worked with Pig Iron, 1812 Productions and the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival. “Dirty Dancing” fans, however, will probably recognize her as the gum-chewing dancer who gives Baby (Jennifer Grey) the stink eye at a raucous party for employees of Kellerman’s, the Catskills resort that serves as the film’s setting. Getz, a lifelong dancer, served as the film’s dance captain in addition to playing a dirty dancer, and helped choreographer Kenny Ortega build the movie’s dance scenes.
“It’s wild to be part of a juggernaut,” Getz says of the movie. “But I’m really proud of the work we did in it, and I’m happy that my dancing is forever archived in that particular style.”
The New York City native, fresh out of Binghamton University, auditioned for “Dirty Dancing” by “really sexually” maneuvering with a partner for Ortega and late director Emile Ardolino. She received a callback and was offered her first professional film job. She was one of eight original dirty dancers on the production and, as dance captain, handled keeping extras on beat and doing the right moves.