A bride and groom’s first dance didn’t go as planned.
During their wedding in August at the MIT Endicott House in Dedham, Massachusetts, Lan and Chris Donais surprised and pleased their guests by dancing like Johnny Castle and Frances “Baby” Houseman from the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing.
In photos and videos shared on Reddit and YouTube, the pair clears the dance floor and starts their first dance to Jennifer Warnes and Bill Medley’s “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.” They got every beat and bend just right, and the crowd went crazy. When Lan jumped into Chris’ arms, the crowd let out the biggest gasps.
“People were really impressed,” Lan tells PEOPLE. “Our visitors couldn’t believe their eyes because they hadn’t seen this performance and how it turned out in all the years they’ve known us.”
Chris says, “My friends can’t stop talking about the dance.” They loved it. My sister, who had a scripted dance at her wedding, was also very jealous because she knew I had “topped hers.” “This is without a doubt my favorite reaction!”
The whole thing started when Chris suggested they do the Dirty Dancing Lift in their small living room. Because she had a connection to the movie, Lan agreed to dance at their wedding, even though she was “scared of heights.”
“Chris didn’t even know that Dirty Dancing was one of the only classic movies I’ve seen,” Lan tells me. For some reason, I really liked dirty dancing that fall because Baby was going to Mount Holyoke. Like Baby, I went to Mount Holyoke College. Before the fall term started, I started watching Dirty Dancing in our amphitheater under the stars, which has become a habit.
Lan felt like she had come full circle at the dance.
“From my first days in the U.S. as an international student to my special day dancing with the love of my life,” she says. The dance makes her feel like she’s come full circle. “Having my friends from Mount Holyoke, my maid of honor and bridesmaid, by my side on that day was also an honor.”
They didn’t know how to dance professionally, so starting in February, they spent many months learning from Jan Ondrias.
They practiced dancing in front of people at MIT as well, in the public halls.
After meeting in 2020 and dating for a while in 2022, it was hard for the newlyweds to get over being shy. On their big day, though, they didn’t think about being scared on stage at all.
Lan tells me, “The loud cheers we got when I walked out almost shocked me.” There was a time when the loud cheers made me lose my balance and freeze. Chris led me carefully, and even though it was the first time I’d ever been cold and lost my balance, I was able to laugh it off. It happened early in the routine, which was good, because I could forget about it and concentrate on Chris and the music. I doubt anyone paid attention at that time.
“My main goal was to have fun with my new bride while keeping up with the beat and moving to the music.” This is where Chris asked Lan to marry him. They kissed in an Italian restaurant, and it was all me. I was scared at first because of a bad practice run, but once the music started, I forgot about it, says Chris. At that time, it was just the music, her, and me.
