There’s a particular scene that stands out on Netflix’s “Wednesday” TV show. And while the scene is only less than three minutes long, it has gained popularity because of an awkward dance by Jenna Ortega who plays the character Wednesday.
In the scene, Wednesday and her classmates at Nevermore, a school for outcasts such as werewolves, vampires, and others, attend the annual Rave’N Dance. At the dance, Wednesday, who has a dark humor and an emotionless personality, lets loose and freely moves her body to the song “Goo Goo Muck” by The Cramps. Wednesday shuffled, spun, and waved her hands from side to side in a dance that made for an unforgettable scene that the internet has been talking about for months.
In a December interview on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” Ortega said Wednesday Director Tim Burton came to her trailer two days before the scene and told her he wanted her to choreograph the dance herself.
“He was like ‘I know you got it, you’ve been working on it, I’m not even worried about it. I trust you.’,” said Ortega on the show. “And I said, ‘Oh yeah. You know, it’s all so good.’” When Ortega filmed some of the dance, she was waiting on COVID-19 test results which later came back positive.
“I felt like I’d been hit by a car and that a little goblin had been let loose in my throat and was scratching the walls of my esophagus. They were giving me medicine between takes because we were waiting on the positive result,” Ortega said to NME in November.
Ortega’s dance was recreated by millions of TikTok users, including Lady Gaga who put her own spin on the dance while dressed in pigtails, similar to how Wednesday’s hair looks. Other TikTok users incorporated Polynesian or Indian dance styles in their version of the dance while dressed similar to how Wednesday is in the scene.
In a November tweet, Ortega shared groups that inspired the dance that included “Siouxsie Sioux, Bob Fosse’s Rich Man’s Frug, Lisa Loring, Lene Lovich, Denis Lavant, and archival footage of goths dancing in clubs in the ‘80s. Helped me out on this one,” Ortega tweeted.
Ortega, who is 20 and of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, previously said it was important to her early in her career to get acting gigs that show Latinos in roles that stray away from stereotypes. “Wednesday” has earned a billion hours’ worth of views and earned two Golden Globe nominations for the Best Television Series and Best Actress for Ortega.
The series is based on “The Addams Family” which was released over 30 years ago. Wednesday Addams’ character has existed since the late 1930s. She first appeared as an unnamed comic character, and then later as a child on a TV sitcom. “Wednesday” is streaming on Netflix and is expected to be brought back for a second season.
From the writer: Before this article was completed and published we received the sad news that actor Lisa Loring who first played Wednesday on the original Addams Family in the early 60’s, died at the age of 64. Her own talent, charm and dance moves now a part of the ‘Wednesday’ dance will forever live in the hearts of millions of fans.
