SWNSA couple from Weston Super Mare have ended up in A & E after attempting to perfect the iconic Dirty Dancing lift in time for their wedding.
Fiancés Sharon, 52, and Andy Price, 51, showed more dedication that Baby Housman preparing for the Sheldrake, watching the romantic dance flick more than 30 times as part of their preparation.
However, things took a painful turn last Saturday when the loved-up duo knocked themselves out during practice outside the Cabot Court Hotel in Weston Super Mare.
SWNSThe dancing duo were showing off the famous dance in front of their family. When it was time for Sharon to leap, swan-like, into Andy’s arms, it wasn’t quite the elegant scenario that they had envisioned…
Sharon, who counts Dirty Dancing as one of her all time favourite films, has related the following tale:
It’s fair to say it didn’t go to plan.
When I ran at Andy he tried to lift me, but we just collided.
At first our family thought we were just messing about but they soon realised we had actually really hurt ourselves.
Dirty Dancing/Vestron PicturesBoth lovebirds, who are also grandparents, were rushed to hospital in an ambulance. Andy was knocked completely out cold whereas Sharon was left badly bruised and winded.
Paramedics were so worried about Andy that they cut his shirt off and even put on the blue lights on the way to Southmead Hospital.
According to Sharon, the journey to the hospital was pretty dramatic:
All I could hear was the paramedics saying he was going in and out of consciousness. Our feet were still entwined and they had to separate us.
However, panic quickly turned to laughter as Doctors at the hospital found how the bride and groom-to-be sustained their injuries.
SWNSWe can’t really blame Sharon and Andy for struggling with the tricky move. Whether in a beer garden or at a Catskills Camp, this is a damn hard manoeuvre to pull off.
Even Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey experienced difficulties when practicing the lift, which they made look so effortless at the movie’s emotional conclusion.
Patrick had experienced a debilitating knee injury and so had to hide his agony when lifting Jennifer above his head.
Jennifer had other difficulties. When filming the scene where Johnny and Baby are practising the lift, she was so cold that she worried that her ‘nipples would explode’.
Dirty Dancing/Vestron PicturesThe footloose fiancés are now alright but their bodies, and their egos, are still badly bruised.
Understandably, they have now decided to opt for a ‘slow one’ when it comes to their first dance…
Good luck to Sharon and Andy with their impending nuptials… Lets hope that they have the time of their lives!
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.