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Okotoks wedding dance becomes YouTube sensation

It seems more often these days, for a wedding to be considered successful it must spawn an outrageous dance video that ends up going viral on YouTube.
Okotoks couple Mike and Jakki Smolcic created one of the first unique wedding dance videos that was uploaded on YouTube. Much to their dismay, their video has been viewed
Okotoks couple Mike and Jakki Smolcic created one of the first unique wedding dance videos that was uploaded on YouTube. Much to their dismay, their video has been viewed more than 21,000 times in the past three years.

It seems more often these days, for a wedding to be considered successful it must spawn an outrageous dance video that ends up going viral on YouTube.

From the popular choreographed number using Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back,” to the JK Wedding Entrance Dance that has landed a spot on Time’s top 10 viral videos list of 2009 with more than 60 million views — even a spoof version on the NBC sitcom “The Office”— brides and grooms are keen on getting their 15 minutes of internet fame on their special day.

A couple in Okotoks could be considered one of the pioneers of the YouTube wedding dance phenomenon.

At their May 5, 2006 wedding, Mike and Jakki Smolcic recreated the dance from the Quentin Tarantino film “Pulp Fiction,” starring John Travolta and Uma Thurman.

The film’s well-known dance scene features Travolta’s character, Vincent Vega, and Thurman’s character, Mia Wallace, dancing the twist to Chuck Berry’s 1964 hit single “You Never Can Tell” as part of a contest held at Jack Rabbit Slim’s, a fictional 1950s-themed restaurant.

“It was fairly last minute,” Mike explained of how the two came up with the idea to incorporate the dance at their own wedding.

About one week before the big day, Mike’s sister, who played in their wedding band, asked the couple what song they wanted for their first dance.

“We liked the movie Pulp Fiction, so we just decided to make it easy,” he recalled. “We’d always like that scene in the movie, and it seemed like a fairly easy dance to do.”

Mike said they wanted to stay away from the traditional wedding dance as much as possible.

“Jakki and I are both kind of unique that way, we wanted to do something different,” he said.

Before they made their decision, Mike researched the Pulp Fiction dance online to see if anyone had recreated the scene at weddings before.

“From what I could see, no one had done it before, so it was kind of unique.”

The couple only practiced the dance a couple of times before they performed it live, Mike said.

“It wasn’t perfect, but we were relaxed and having fun,” he said.

Since it was uploaded on Nov. 4, 2007, the Smolcic’s video has received more than 21,000 hits from YouTube viewers, much to the couple’s dismay.

Mike said he decided to put the video on YouTube when he realized just how unusual their wedding dance was.

“It’s gotten a lot of hits, which is pretty funny … But we didn’t do the dance with the intention of putting the video on YouTube,” he said. “If that were the case, I would’ve gotten it videotaped better.”

At the time, the couple said they weren’t even aware they were being filmed. A friend had whipped out a digital camera at the spur of the moment and sent them a copy afterwards.

When Mike eventually uploaded the video more than a year later, there were still no other videos of couples performing the Pulp Fiction dance to be found on the popular website. Since they uploaded their video, however, several dozen more have appeared.

Copycats? The Smolcics don’t mind.

“The others are definitely more higher-quality stuff,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t think I’d do it now though. There are so many videos out there now that it’s become a little redundant in a way. The whole point was to have something new and spontaneous.

“If I did it again, I would want to raise the bar.”

The shocked reaction from their friends and family was enough for them, he said. With the exception of Mike’s sister, not a single person of the 300 invited wedding guests knew of their secret plan.

“We didn’t know how people would respond, but they just loved it,” he said. “Everybody was hooting and hollering. It was just awesome. They talked about it for, literally, years after.”

While not everyone in the crowd knew where the dance was from, those who had seen the movie really appreciated it, he added.

For couples looking to do something similar at their own weddings, Mike said he would definitely recommend a similar fun, choreographed number.

“It really took the pressure off,” he said. “I’m a nervous guy. I don’t like being the centre of attention, but that was easy.

“It was just lots of fun.”

To view the Pulp Fiction wedding dance video, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfc8Zt_5444

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