Guest post written by Flirty Dancing author Jennifer Moffatt
Jennifer Moffatt believes that there are so many more romantic stories to tell than the ones that have traditionally been lined up on bookstore shelves, and she plans to write as many of them as she can. Her short stories have appeared in multiple anthologies and literary magazines. Jennifer loves hot summers and potato chips and lives with her family in British Columbia, Canada. Flirty Dancing is her third novel.
About Flirty Dancing (out May 27th 2025): Sparks fly in this summer romp for fans of Casey McQuiston when dancers at a Catskills resort try to pull off the perfect show, and find happiness and a place where they belong on the way.
When people ask me where Flirty Dancing came from, I can tell them the exact time and place the idea first entered my head. But as the story began to take shape, I found myself inspired by so many other brilliant pieces of pop culture that I already had a deep connection to. Read on to find out why I reimagined Dirty Dancing as a Broadway-infused queer rom-com.
1. A Dance Troupe in San José del Cabo
The idea for Flirty Dancing was first sparked in Mexico by the talented and beautiful dance troupe at the Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos’s evening cabaret. The dancers were stunning, so polished and professional, and, early in the show, the thought popped into my head…what was it like backstage? Was there drama? Fighting? Hookups and breakups? Then, only a moment later, my husband leaned over and whispered the exact same thought to me. Thus, three minutes into Retro Night, Flirty Dancing was born.
When I got home from my trip, I asked a friend of mine who used to work on a cruise ship what the dancers were like. She said they were “wild and beautiful,” and the men were mostly gay. They’d hang out and sunbathe during the day, perform their two evening shows, then party until 5 a.m. Seemed like the perfect crew for a romance.
2. Dirty Dancing
Once I had “dance troupe at a resort” as my premise, the only place I could see it happening was the Catskills. But I can’t just copy Dirty Dancing, I told myself. I tried to imagine other settings, but Dirty Dancing would not go away, burned into my brain, as it is for so many people around my age—the music, the tension, the flirting, the iconic costumes, all against a leafy, impossibly green backdrop. What if…? I dared to wonder. What if I use Dirty Dancing as inspiration? What if I write Dirty Dancing as a queer rom-com? So I did.
3. So You Think You Can Dance
The beautiful dancers! The killer music! The sparkling costumes! Cat Deeley! Mark and Chelsie’s Bleeding Love hip-hop number, Neil and Kent’s How it Ends contemporary routine, Danny and Lacey’s Hip Hip Chin Chin samba… It pains me to end the list here, but believe me when I tell you I could go on and on… and on and on and on. “Obsessed” is a woefully inadequate word to describe my love for SYTYCD in the latter half of the 00s. I drove seven hours to see the Season 4 tour in Tacoma, Washington. I watched the Canadian version too, of course (I got to vote on this one! Landline and cell!), and yes, I saw the Season 1 tour in my hometown from the front row. Is it the greatest reality show of all time? I think you know my answer to that. Contemporary, hip hop, ballroom, jazz, so much passion and talent and fire packed into two minutes of sequined perfection. I wanted to capture all of it in Flirty Dancing.
4. Noises Off
This movie was a revelation the first time I saw it. It changed my brain chemistry. It may be the most I’ve ever laughed at a piece of pop culture. An insanely talented cast—Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, John Ritter, Nicollette Sheridan, Christopher Reeve, and so many more—giving peak comedic performances. A screenplay by Marty Kaplan (based on the 1982 play by Michael Frayn) that never stops. The brilliance of the staging—by the third act, all you see is the unhinged chaos on stage, but you know exactly what is going on backstage. It was such a huge inspiration for me and I wanted to have its energy in my pages.
5. Classic Broadway Musicals
It all began with Annie, Mary Poppins, and The Sound of Music. Hours and hours and hours, watching and reenacting with my childhood bestie. Then Oliver!, My Fair Lady, and The Fiddler on the Roof…soundtracks, lyrics, bedroom concerts…Grease, The Phantom of the Opera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Les Misérables, Newsies, Victor/Victoria, Chicago, Moulin Rouge!… Movies, stages, British Columbia to New York. My first musical actually on Broadway, The Book of Mormon, one of the very best moments of my entire life. If I could, I’d live in a Broadway musical.
Flirty Dancing is my love letter to all of these works, and especially the artists who brought them to life. They’ve made this world a better place. And if you appreciate any of them as much as I do, I hope you’ll enjoy Flirty Dancing.
