Sleeping Beauty / Dirty Dancing

It might seem strange to compare dances in The Sleeping Beauty and Dirty Dancing, however, that is precisely what this paper will attempt to do. The pas de deux dance between Prince Florimund and Aurora in Act III of The Sleeping Beauty and the "I Had the Time of My Life" dance in Dirty Dancing are not unlike in terms of staging and purpose, despite the fact that one is a ballet and one is contemporary dance. Both come at the end of the story (the play and film, respectively) and their purpose is to show the transformation of child to woman and, at the same time, show the burgeoning relationship between her and her lover.

The pas de deux of Act III in The Sleeping Beauty begins with the two lovers center stage as onlookers observe. Likewise, though Patrick Swayze comes down the aisle...
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