What does it take to make a 40 year-old movie feel fresh, engaging, and new? How about dancing in the aisles? Have I got a story for you...

Thank you for reading MuseInks. I'm Ami Hendrickson, writer, ghost, and editor in chief of Soul Sparks Press. Each Thursday, I share thoughts for readers, writers, and other fabulous people.

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Musings

A few weeks ago, my friend Kelly and I went to a live music concert showing of Dirty Dancing. The theatre was packed with several hundred of our closest friends.

"What is this wonder?" you may ask.

A live music concert movie is when the soundtrack is stripped from the film, but the dialogue is left in. Then, as the movie plays, musicians and vocalists perform the soundtrack live.

And then, when the credits start to roll, the concert really begins, and the whole area in front of the stage becomes a dance floor.

We had seats front and center.

I have decided that this is the only way to experience a movie from here on out.

Everyone in the audience was fully invested in this decades-old film.

We said the lines along with the actors.

We sang along to all the songs.

We applauded when Johnny fought Robbie.

And we cheered when "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" came along.

Yes, in the movie, "Baby" is 17 and Johnny is 25. ::eeewww::

Yes, both Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze were actually nearly 10 years older than the characters they played.

Yes, there are allllll SORTS of red flags in the film.

And yet...

And yet...

And yet it plays.

I cannot adequately express the energy that filled the place when the band began to play and the vocalists started to sing. The live, human touch suddenly super-charged the theatre and brought us into the film.

In a world that increasingly tells us how wonderful, how essential, how and necessary AI is, making us question whether or not something is really real, it was so refreshing to have an Actual Authentic Experience.

The singers interacted with each other and with the crowd.

The saxophonist brought the fire.

And the drummer genuinely made the floor move!

How can you make something that's been seen or done many times fresh and relevant in an instant? Add people to the equation to have the time of your life.

MuseNews

Book Updates:

Thanks to everyone who continues to support Paris Polo Match. I confess, seeing reviews like this makes my day!

(No, I don't personally know Stephanie, but I suspect we'd be great friends!)

Book Report

I recently re-read Terry Pratchett's The Fifth Elephant, another wonderful Discworld novel that focuses its laserbeam satire on such timely topics as international politics, disputes over succession, oil reserves, and genuinely bonkers leaders who are allowed to carry on their nefarious deeds without repercussions.

The book was published in 2000. True to Pratchett form, it is every bit as relevant today as it was back then.

Next Week:

If a person tries to rob a bank but leaves with no money and less dignity, has a crime been committed? I'll have to ask my friend who was there. Have I got a story for you...

Till next week,

May every night out with friends be worth singing about. Sing like no one's listening. Dance like no one's watching. You only get one trip on the merry go-round. May you have the time of your life!

I love you all!

Ami

Ami Hendrickson
​Book Coach, Author, Editor, and Corgi Mom
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