This picture of Patrick Swayze is one of my favorites. It is such a typical “dancer in repose” photo.He could be watching other dancers, listening to a choreographer, or just resting, but it shows commitment and focus which is such a dancer’s trademark. When I think about Patrick Swayze, commitment and focus come immediately to mind. I didn’t know him but from everything I’ve read, and things I’ve heard from friends who have worked with him, those words define him well.
He first came to my attention long before he made his mark in films. A friend told me about a great young male dancer she saw in class at Harkness Ballet. It’s not unusual for dance teachers, ballet teachers in particular, to talk about their male dancers.They’re pretty hard to come by so when you have someone of real excellence you want to let everyone know. It’s sort of like “bragging rights!” In Patrick’s case he was touted to be talented, smart, handsome and extremely virile. A few years later when Dirty Dancing hit the screen there was no doubt about this description. As one journalist wrote, “he was a man born to make women laugh and cry.”
Men weren’t left out of the Patrick Swayze Admiration Society either. Men may not want to be caught dead in the ballet studio but they sure wouldn’t mind dancing the way Swayze did in Dirty Dancing. Don’t you wonder how many men saw themselves dancing with Jennifer Gray? Swayze continued to be everyone’s hero in Ghost. Again, can’t we all relate to the deep love and affection for one’s partner that Sam expressed for Molly? Then of course there’s the hard core tough guy roles that he played that made women sigh and men say, “Oh, yeah!”
It is sad to lose someone to an untimely and unfortunate death but Patrick Swayze was determined to live to the end. I want to honor that commitment by celebrating his life with gratitude for the memories and examples of fortitude he left us. Memories that remind us of his better qualities. His courage and ability to stand up in the face of adversity and be accountable, his grace and poise, and his great love for his high school sweetheart and wife. Patrick Swayze, US Performing Arts salutes you!
