Dirty Dancing - Film at The Share Centre

Venue: The Share Centre | 88 Stow Hill, Newport, NP20 4DW
Date: 21/08/2026
Doors: 18:00 Close: 22:00
Entry: Free

It is the summer of 1963, and Frances “Baby” Houseman arrives at a holiday resort with her parents expecting a quiet family break. Her plans change when she discovers the resort’s energetic after-hours dance scene and meets Johnny Castle, one of its working-class dance instructors. When Johnny needs a new dance partner, Baby steps forward, beginning a relationship that challenges her family’s expectations and transforms the way she sees the world.

Although remembered for its music, dancing and romance, Dirty Dancing also explores class, gender, responsibility and personal autonomy. Baby becomes involved when Penny, Johnny’s dance partner, needs help obtaining an illegal abortion. The consequences force Baby to confront the inequalities hidden beneath the resort’s polished surface and to decide whether she is prepared to act according to her own principles.

Screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein fought to retain this storyline, ensuring that the film acknowledged the realities faced by women before abortion became legal in the United States. Set in 1963 but released in 1987, the film connects personal choices with wider questions about power, freedom and who is permitted to control their own future.

Join Urban Circle for a free community screening of this much-loved film, followed by an informal audience conversation about its characters, themes and continuing relevance.

DIRTY DANCING
Directed by Emile Ardolino
USA, 1987 | Approximately 100 minutes | Certificate 12
English

Age rating: 12 (BBFC) – suitable for those aged 12 and over. The BBFC advises that the film contains moderate sex references.

Watch the official anniversary trailer:

Explore the history behind the film’s abortion storyline with screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein: