Archive - Dirty Dancing (1988)
My professional ballroom dance partnership with Sonia Kruger spanned the years 1986 to 1988 and remains one of the most successful and memorable periods of my dance career.
During those years we competed professionally, represented Australia internationally, performed in television and live events, and worked across both traditional ballroom and contemporary dance styles.
In 1988 we were invited to Hong Kong as part of Australia's Bicentenary celebrations. While we also conducted ballroom dance teaching activities during the visit, our principal role was as featured artists, presenting ballroom dance exhibitions at the formal event hosted by the Australian Consul-General.
Correspondence letters for the presentation and events Hong Kong 1988
China Fleet Club venue brochure for accommodation and performances 1988
Raymond Mather and Sonia Kruger performing ballroom routine Hong Kong 1988
Raymond Mather and Sonia Kruger performing Latin routine Hong Kong 1988
Dance Program featuring Raymond Mather and Sonia Kruger Hong Kong 1988
Promotional photoshoot at the Royal Sydney Golf Club for the Hong Kong Exhibition Ballroom Dancing by Raymond Mather and Sonia Kruger 1988
Raymond Mather and Sonia Kruger performing Latin routine Hong Kong 1988
At the same time, the popularity of the film Dirty Dancing had sparked a nationwide dance phenomenon. Sonia and I developed a Dirty Dance competition routine and entered the NSW Dirty Dance Championship held at Oz Rock Cafe and Hartz Night Club in Sydney's Kings Cross Hotel.
The routine proved successful, and we won the championship,
with the finals judged by Olivia Newton-John and Richard Wilkins.
Raymond Mather and Sonia Kruger Dirty Dancing Competition 1988 Media Clipping 002 Michelle Fraser The Daily Telegraph
Raymond Mather and Sonia Kruger Dirty Dancing Competition 1988 Media Clipping 003 Daily Mirror 1988
Raymond Mather and Sonia Kruger Dirty Dancing Competition 1988 Media Clipping 004 XYZ Production Schedule
Following this success, we were invited to perform with Doug Parkinson and Maggie McKinney on the Channel Ten Telethon and later appeared as featured artists on the 1988 national tour for Louis Féraud Australia, working with directors Maria Findlay and Lady Sonia McMahon.
During this period we were approached by XYZ Productions to develop and present an instructional VHS program titled Learn to Dirty Dance.
Raymond Mather and Sonia Kruger Studio photography by XYZ Productions 1988
Over several weeks the program was devised, rehearsed and filmed in studios at Surry Hills, Sydney, together with location filming at Harts Night Club in the Kings Cross Hotel complex.
Raymond Mather and Sonia Kruger video shoot at Hartz Night Club in Oz Rock Cafe, Kings Cross Sydney 1988
Released commercially throughout Australia, the video featured Sonia Kruger and Ray Mather as presenters and demonstrated Dirty Dance and Latin American dance movements inspired by the popular dance culture of the era.
Original VHS Video Sleeve, Learn to Dirty Dance with Raymond Mather and Sonia Kruger 1988
The surviving VHS packaging, promotional photography and production material remain a record of a unique moment in Australian dance history and of a remarkable professional partnership that helped launch a number of opportunities during a particularly active period of my career.
Dirty Dancing Video, TV Promotion press clipping 22/10/1988 with Raymond Mather and Sonia Kruger
Australian Dance Review Magazine featuring Raymond Mather and Sonia Kruger
March 1988
The materials presented on this page form part of the ART1 Archive and document the professional dance partnership of Raymond Mather and Sonia Kruger between 1986 and 1988.