Tag Archives: Dirty Dancing

Kenny Ortega Signs with A3 Artists Agency

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Kenny Ortega has new representation…

The 70-year-old Spanish American prolific director, choreographer and producer has signed with A3 Artists Agency.

Kenny Ortega

Ortega earned a Primetime Emmy for choreography and a DGA Award for his work on the Disney Channel’s High School Musical.

High School Musical 2 drew over 17 million viewers when it premiered on Disney Channel, making it the most watched program in cable telecast history. He’s also the executive producer for the film’s soundtracks.

Disney’s High School Musical 3, which made the leap from television to the big screen, opened to $42M at the domestic B.O., marking the biggest theatrical box office opening for a musical in history. The film earned more than $252M globally off an $11M budget.

Ortega directed and choreographed the Descendants trilogy, Newsies, and Hocus Pocus, and choreographed classic films like Dirty Dancing, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Pretty in Pink, among others.

Other recent work includes A Change of Heart, The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again for Fox and The Hocus Pocus 25th Anniversary Special for Freeform.

On September 10, Netflix will release Ortega’s next directorial project Julie and the Phantoms, a family musical comedy based on a Brazilian television series.

It’s the first title under Ortega’s new multi-year deal with Netflix. He’s also set to direct and produce a feature musical adaptation of Elise Primavera’s book series Auntie Claus, under the pact.

In addition to his Emmy for High School Musical, Ortega earned two others for choreography and variety/music/comedy program direction for the XIX Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony. Last year he received the prestigious Disney Legends Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His other honors include The Fred & Adele Astaire Lifetime Achievement Award, Bob Fosse Award, American Choreography Lifetime Achievement Award, MTV Video Music Award, American Music Award, among many others.

Smart Starring in ABC’s “Dirty Dancing Remake

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Beau “Casper” Smart is dancing his way onto the small screen…

The 28-year-old Latino actor-dancer-choreographer has been cast as Billy Kotsecki in Dirty Dancing, ABC’s three-hour remake of the hit Patrick Swayze–Jennifer Grey film.

Beau “Casper” Smart

The role was played by Neal Jones in the original film.

Like the 1987 feature, ABC’s Dirty Dancing movie centers on Baby (Abigail Breslin), an innocent young woman in the early 1960s who vacations with her affluent parents and siblings in the Catskills and falls for Johnny (Cole Prattes), the resort’s charismatic, skilled dance instructor and leader of the working-class entertainment staff.

Smart’s Billy is Johnny’s close friend from the old neighborhood. They grew up together and Johnny got him his job at Kellerman’s, for which he is grateful. Billy mostly works as a bellhop and does maintenance jobs for the staff. He likes to let loose and dance with Johnny and Penny after hours in the Staff Quarters – a world he inadvertently introduces Baby to, setting her on a journey of self-discovery.

Sarah Hyland, Nicole Scherzinger and Debra Messing also star.

Smart co-stars in Perfect Match from Queen Latifah’s Flavor Unit Production.

Orrantia & Her “The Goldbergs” Castmates to Pay Homage to “Dirty Dancing”

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Hayley Orrantia is about to get dirty…

The 21-year-old Mexican-American actress/singer’s ABC comedy The Goldbergs has set its Season Three 1980s movie homage episode.

Hayley Orrantia

Orrantia and her castmates will tackle the 1987 hit film Dirty Dancing.

The selection comes just as ABC is heading to production on a three-hour contemporary remake of the romantic classic, with Abigail Breslin playing Baby and Debra Messing as her mom.

The Goldbergs’ Dirty Dancing has no connection to the ABC movie and will not feature either actors from the remake or cast members from the original feature toplined by the late Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey.

Last year’s Goldbergs tribute to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off included original co-star Charlie Sheen reprising his role. The Goldbergs’ first homage episode to a 1980s movie in Season 1 was devoted to The Goonies.

“Dirty Dancing is a huge 80’s cultural touchstone — the music, the memorable lines, and of course, Swayze,” said The Goldbergs creator/executive producer Adam F. Goldberg, who based the show on his family. “No one loved it more than my mom.  I’ll always remember how she dragged me to see it in the theaters several times and then bought it on video. I knew this was our big movie to explore this season when all of the writers on the show also had their very own Dirty Dancing memories from years ago.  It really is a gem of the 80s and it’s so exciting to bring it to life with my amazing cast.”

Ortega to Helm an Episode of “Bunheads”

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He’s the mastermind behind the iconic choreography in Dirty Dancing… And, he directed High School Musical’s Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens to stardom… And, now Kenny Ortega is preparing to tackle the world of ballet…

The 61-year-old Latin-American director, choreographer and producer has been tapped to direct the third episode of Amy Sherman-Palladino‘s new ABC Family ballet drama Bunheads, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Bunheads centers on a Las Vegas showgirl who impulsively marries a man, moves with him to a sleepy coastal town and takes an uneasy role at her mother-in-law’s dance school. Sutton Foster, Kaitlyn Jenkins, Julia Telles, Bailey Buntain and Emma Dumont star in the hour-long drama. Gilmore Girls alum Kelly Bishop guest stars.

Ortega had previously directed several episodes of Sherman-Palladino’s iconic WB series Gilmore Girls.

Production on Bunheads began last week in Los Angeles, with the series set to premiere on Monday, June 11 at 9:00 pm EST.

Meanwhile, Ortega’s episode is slated to air June 25.