AN Evening Of Dirty Dancing began as a slice of corporate entertainment, but the tribute show to the “greatest movie soundtrack of all time” has expanded into a theatre-touring hit.

“It’s grown very rapidly from starting as a very small show, with our leading man, Matt Firth, being there from the very beginning,” says director Paul Spicer.

Leeds-born Matt will be part of a revamped cast of ten for the 2014 tour that will visit the Grand Opera House, York, on Sunday night, when he will be joined by West End leading lady Aimie Atkinson, winner of BBC Radio 2’s Voice of Musical Theatre.

“At first, the show was only for corporate entertainment and it just went down a storm and we became so busy with bookings,” says Paul.

“I had a background in West End productions, such as producing Seasons, starring Alan Cumming, and Megan Mullaly, from Will & Grace, doing a solo show with her band, and Idina Menzel’s solo debut at the Royal Albert Hall, and I thought there was potential to take the Dirty Dancing tribute into theatres and do it regionally too.”

An Evening Of Dirty Dancing: The Tribute Show is now in its fourth year, directed by Paul with choreography by Leanne Harwood, who has worked on such shows as Mamma Mia! and Footloose.

They build the performance around the soundtrack hits Big Girls Don’t Cry, Hey Baby, Wipeout, Do You Love Me, Hungry Eyes and, of course, the Oscar-winning (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.

“It’s a show where we celebrate the soundtrack, not the musical story, and the reaction each night is so amazing,” says Paul. “I call it ‘experience theatre’ because people get in there and invest in it as opposed to just watching it, so the cast go everywhere in the auditorium, bringing people on stage.”

Why has Dirty Dancing had such an enduring impact, Paul?

“I’ve no idea, because when they were making the film, they were convinced it was going to be a flop, but then that song, (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life ignited the movie immediately it opened,” he says. “Now, as soon as the first chords strike up in our show, there’s a roar in the audience.”

Plenty of couples can be spotted in the audience.

“You find that the guys are more reserved at the start, but by the finale, I often see couples who don’t normally sit that close ending up with their arms around each other because we’ve got them up to dance,” says Paul. “It’s such a feel-good show.”

It helps that he has such a top-notch cast, he enthuses. “I need them to be excellent singers, excellent dancers and excellent at interacting with people, which is a completely different skill and requires them to be very different on stage from when they’re doing a musical,” says Paul.

“They’re breaking down the fourth wall as people do now want to be dragged out and shown a good time.”

Stage Acts Entertainment presents An Evening Of Dirty Dancing: The Tribute Show, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 7.30pm. Box office: 0844 871 3024 or atgtickets.com/york