A bride and groom’s first dance turned dirty.
Lan and Chris Donais surprised and wowed guests at their August wedding at the MIT Endicott House in Dedham, Mass. when they reenacted the iconic dance between Frances “Baby” Houseman (Jennifer Grey) and Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) from 1987’s Dirty Dancing.
In photos captured by Sen Studio and a video shared on YouTube and Reddit, the couple cleared the dance floor and began their first dance to the tune of Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes’ “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.” Guests went wild as they hit every beat and nailed each twist and turn. But what drew the most gasps from the audience was when Lan leaped into the air and into Chris’ arms.
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Lan and Chris Donais. PHOTO: Sen Studio
Lan and Chris Donais. PHOTO: Sen Studio
Lan and Chris Donais. PHOTO: Sen Studio
Chris adds, “My friends continue to rave about the dance. They loved it. My older sister, who had a choreographed dance at her wedding, was also quite jealous, as she knew I had ‘topped hers.’ Certainly my favorite reaction!”
It all started when Chris suggested they try the Dirty Dancing lift in their tiny living room. Despite Lan being “terrified of heights,” she agreed to try to pull off the dance for their wedding because of her personal connection to the movie.
“Chris didn’t even know that Dirty Dancing was one of the only classic movies I’ve watched,” Lan says. “Dirty Dancing has a special place in my heart because Baby was going to Mount Holyoke that fall. Like Baby, I went to Mount Holyoke College, and in the fall I joined the now-tradition of watching Dirty Dancing in our amphitheater under the stars before the fall semester starts.”
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For Lan, the dance was a “full circle” moment.
“Looking back, the dance feels like a full circle from my first days in the U.S. as an international student to my special day dancing with the love of my life,” she continues. “I was also honored to have my maid of honor and bridesmaid, both fellow Mount Holyoke sisters, by my side that day.”
Because they didn’t have any professional dance experience, the couple worked with dance coach Jan Ondrias over several months beginning in February.
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Lan and Chris Donais. PHOTO: Sen Studio
To get comfortable with dancing in front of an audience, they even practiced in public lobbies across the MIT campus.
It was difficult for the newlyweds — who met in 2020 and began dating in 2022 — to overcome their shyness. But when their routine on their big day came, stage fright was the last thing on their minds.
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“As soon as I walked out, I was almost shocked because of the loud cheers we received,” Lan recalls. “At some point, the cheers were so overwhelming that I forgot my steps and just froze. It was my first time ever freezing and forgetting my steps, but luckily Chris gently guided me along and I was able to laugh it off. I suspect no one noticed that moment, and luckily it happened relatively early in the routine, so I was able to tune it out and just focus on Chris and the music.”
“My main goal was to keep the beat, flow with the music, and just have fun with my newly minted wife. And I accomplished all of that,” says Chris, who proposed to Lan at the same Italian bakery where they shared their first kiss. “I was a bit nervous before because we had done a practice run which didn’t go perfectly, but I forgot all about that once the music started. At that point, it was just me, her, and the music.”
