Couple re-creates 'Dirty Dancing' lift at wedding reception

Chris and Lan Donais impressed their wedding guests with the move.

Couple re-creates 'Dirty Dancing' lift at wedding reception
Courtesy of Sen Studio
November 8, 2024, 12:33 PM

A Massachusetts couple's wedding dance move is giving us all a "lift."

When Lan and Chris Donais were choosing their first dance for their wedding reception in Dedham, Massachusetts, they decided to go with a big and bold move.

The couple danced to "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" from the "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack.

Chris and Lan Donais re-creating the famous lift movie from “Dirty Dancing” at their August 2024 wedding reception.
Courtesy of Sen Studio

But they also took it to a whole new level and re-created the iconic "lift" made famous by actors Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, blowing away their guests in the process.

A video clip of the move was later shared on YouTube and has since picked up over 18,000 views.

Patrick Swayze holds Jennifer Grey in this still from the 1987 film "Dirty Dancing."
Courtesy of Lionsgate

Chris Donais was the one who suggested they try the "Dirty Dancing" move and even though Lan Donais said she's "terrified of heights," she agreed because of her personal connection to the movie. Like Baby in the 1987 classic, Lan Donais also went to Mount Holyoke College, and she told People she watched the movie on campus in what has become a college tradition.

The couple worked with a dance coach starting in February to pull off their choreography, even practicing in public lobbies to get comfortable dancing in front of people.

Lan Donais said at one point, the cheers were so overwhelming at their August reception that she forgot her steps and froze, but Chris Donais was able to gently guide her along the rest of the routine.