What makes Dirty Dancing so durable?




Is it the fact that no matter how old you are, you can't (if you're female) help but identify with Baby Houseman's transformation from earnest nerd to super-hot dancer and lover? Is it because the sight of a shirtless Patrick Swayze had all of us hitting the rewind button on the video? Or is it because, in its cheesy fashion, Dirty Dancing reveals the sublime power of dance - something that cannot be put into words?

In a bid to understand a global phenomenon, Polly Vernon watched the German stage show and met Eleanor Bergstein, the film's writer and creative protector. Read her account in tomorrow's Review - and find details of how to win a pair of tickets to the West End show.

In the meantime - any other ideas about what might be DD's magic ingredient? Or is it just overrated schmaltz?