Summary

Set against the decadent glamour and escalating danger of revolution-eve Cuba, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights re-imagines the 1987 film phenomenon from an exciting new perspective. Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights tells a timeless story of a young woman’s discovery of love, sensuality and independence – but with a sizzling style and rhythm all its own. Based on co-producer/choreographer JoAnn Jansen’s real life experiences as an American teenager in Cuba, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights plunges us into a world of bright color, vibrant sound and intense emotion. In creating this new chapter in a beloved franchise, Lions Gate Films and Miramax Films assembled a team of creative dynamos from the fields of film, music and dance. They include: Jansen, who recently choreographed Along Came Polly and Pirates of the Caribbean; maverick independent producer Lawrence Bender (Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting); producer Sarah Green (Frida); director Guy Ferland; screenwriter Boaz Yakin (Fresh); acclaimed actor Diego Luna, a rising star following his performance in the sexy sensation Y Tu Mamá También; and, in what promises to be a breakout role, gifted young actress Romola Garai, who won raves for her performance in the independent hit I Capture the Castle and will next be seen in Vanity Fair. The resulting film is certain to give audiences – from newcomers to those who cherish the first Dirty Dancing – the time of their lives, and then some. Havana: November, 1958. 18-year-old Katey Miller (Romola Garai) brings an innate curiosity and a smattering of Spanish to her new life in Cuba’s lush capital, where her father has taken an executive position at Ford. Bookish and awkward, Katey is expected to join the smart set of American teenagers who are the Millers’ neighbors at the exclusive Oceana Hotel. But Katey finds herself drawn instead to the proud, purposeful Javier (Diego Luna), a waiter who also happens to be a brilliant dancer. Determined to learn the slinky, spectacular moves that Javier seems to know in his bones, Katey persuades him to partner with her in a prestigious national dance competition at Havana’s glittering nightclub/casino, The Palace. Soon, the straight-A student is deceiving her parents, stealing away both day and night to discover a different part of Cuba with Javier. They meet at the steamy nightclub La Rosa Negra, where only the locals go and where the dancing is hotter than the temperature outside. Some days, they practice on the sand of an out-of-the-way beach, aligning their bodies in a sensual harmony that mirrors the growing passion between them. As the night of the contest finally arrives, Katey and Javier are ready to take their place as a couple on the dance floor – unaware that the country club, and the streets of Havana itself, are about to erupt in revolutionary violence.