On November 23, Netflix released its highly anticipated series Wednesday, starring Jenna Ortega as the lead role and directed by Tim Burton. The series follows a teenage Wednesday Addams as she navigates a new high school setting and the mysteries that come along with it. With the Addams Family’s offbeat dark humor, Burton’s vision, and Ortega’s fresh delivery of the classic character, it quickly became a huge success, racking up 752M hours viewed in two weeks, surpassing both Dahmer and Stranger Things 4, making it the third most-viewed English language series in Netflix history.
THE DANCE
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One of the most standout moments in the series, however, takes place in the show’s fourth episode, “Woe What a Night,” when the confidently macabre teen breaks out on the dance floor. This all happens during the Nevermore Academy’s annual dance, aptly called “The Rave’N”--a nod to Edgar Allen Poe. Wednesday attends the event reluctantly, but upon arrival makes a point to stand out from the crowd, going against the suggested dress code and unaffectedly strutting her stuff. The dance sequence itself is vividly shot, with Wednesday unabashedly showing off her somewhat unorthodox moves with commitment and vigor. The scene embodies everything fans like about this take on The Addams Family--it’s creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky--it’s basically everything you’d expect from the classic goth girl character.
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Who Choreographed it?
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You might be thinking that a trained dancer choreographed the routine, but nope. In an interview with Netflix, Jenna revealed that she choreographed that dance entirely on her own just a few days before Tim Burton filmed it, all whilst battling COVID. According to Jenna, “I choreographed that myself and I think it’s very obvious I'm not a dancer or a choreographer…it’s crazy because it was my first day with COVID so it was awful to film.” She said she felt like she had been “hit by a car” due to the symptoms. She didn’t have time to reshoot the scene, so the first attempt is what is featured in the series. Speaking to Netflix, she said she felt “really insecure” about stepping out of her comfort zone. But castmates Emma Myers (Enid Sinclair) and Hunter Doohan (Tyler Galpin) instantly rebutted and said how much they enjoyed watching the series’ protagonist get down.
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Not only was her dance fun to watch, but it also shows massive dedication to Wednesday's character. This is enforced by Jenna’s commitment to learning the cello, German, fencing, blinking as little as possible during filming, and even changing her posture in her everyday life.
Adaptations of fan favorites are often criticized for being unable to recreate what made the original so beloved in the first place. However, Jenna’s dedication to understanding and embracing every aspect of this character ultimately allowed her to become the perfect successor for Wednesday Addams, thus continuing the Addams Family legacy. |
Inspiration for the Scene
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The dancing scene with Wednesday demonstrates how masterfully Jenna Ortega captures the essence of Wednesday Addams, particularly the eccentric and unsettling spirit of the Addams Family as a whole. The fact that Jenna drew influence from Lisa Loring, who famously played a six-year old version of Wednesday Addams in the popular 1960s TV version of The Addams Family, makes it even better. In an episode of the classic series, Loring demonstrated a dance called “The Drew '' for Ted Cassidy’s Lurch, and broke it down with a series of impressive arm-swinging, leg-wiggling moves. Ortega’s Wednesday incorporates a similar movement into her complex routine, which is hilariously intimidating thanks to the stone faced look she maintains while throwing her whole body into a series of dramatic movements.
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She also seems to mimic John Astin’s portrayal of Gomez Addams and his iconic mannerisms from the same series as well. On top of that, Wednesday’s gothic dance has a strong feel of authenticity since the actress also drew inspiration from various videos of traditional goth clubs from the 1980s, including a few dance moves from popular icons such as lead singer of British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, Siouxsie Sioux, new wave musician Lene Lovich, “Bo Travail” actor Denis Lavant, and Bob Fosse’s “Rich Man’s Frug.” The end result feels distinctly ‘60s and a little punk rock--all without relying on overused moves.
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Music and TikTok Trend
Jenna worked closely with executive producer and director Tim Burton to pick the perfect song for the moment. They eventually decided upon the 1981 song “GooGoo Muck” by The Cramps. This choice wonderfully captures the gothic soul of the misfit Wednesday Addams, even in a contemporary setting. The early cult-punk classic also seems to be getting a boost on the charts thanks to the popularity of the show, similar to Stranger Things season 4’s effect on Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”. In the weeks since the series’ release, the dance also sparked the beginning of a new viral tik tok trend where fans recreate this scene and set their moves to a sped-up version of Lady Gaga’s “Bloody Mary”. Along with other celebrities, even Lady Gaga herself joined in. Earlier this month, she shared a black and white video of her dressed up in a Wednesday inspired look, hitting every move perfectly.
Why it's Important
This quirky dance scene is not only entertaining; it’s also important for Wednesday's character as an illustration of her individualism showing through despite dancing alone, literally surrounded and observed by a sea of peers, as well as her bewildered date. In addition to wearing all black to the dance while everyone else is wearing white, Wednesday’s classmates are all seen dancing in ways that either blend in or avoid attracting unwelcome attention. Although Wednesday doesn’t explicitly call for attention in her dancing scene, it certainly shows that she doesn’t care about fitting in the crowd or whether people turn to look at her. The unflinching Wednesday Addams has always supported awkward and misunderstood outcasts in her role as a character, but she carries herself with dignity and assurance that elevate her unusual and eccentric dance moves to something captivating and distinctive.
Wednesday’s own introversion is clearly expressed through her mindset of “I’d rather be back in my dorm doing what I want to do.” Initially, before going to the dance, she was just sitting in her room working on her novel. She has no interest in going to the event whatsoever until both Thing and Tyler push her into it as a way to get her out of her comfort zone. But then she took the dance as an opportunity. Basically thinking, “If these people think I’m weird, let them. I don’t care.” And we get this absolutely beautiful, peculiar dance that encapsulates Wednesday as a person. She is an outcast even among other outcasts. She strays from the herd, like a black sheep, and she is completely fine with that. It’s truly “dancing like nobody’s watching”; she is showing her truest self, and so what if people don’t like it? In her mind, that’s their problem, not hers.
Wednesday’s own introversion is clearly expressed through her mindset of “I’d rather be back in my dorm doing what I want to do.” Initially, before going to the dance, she was just sitting in her room working on her novel. She has no interest in going to the event whatsoever until both Thing and Tyler push her into it as a way to get her out of her comfort zone. But then she took the dance as an opportunity. Basically thinking, “If these people think I’m weird, let them. I don’t care.” And we get this absolutely beautiful, peculiar dance that encapsulates Wednesday as a person. She is an outcast even among other outcasts. She strays from the herd, like a black sheep, and she is completely fine with that. It’s truly “dancing like nobody’s watching”; she is showing her truest self, and so what if people don’t like it? In her mind, that’s their problem, not hers.
A major theme in the series as a whole is identity, and Wednesday shows that, even in a school setting surrounded by everyone else’s desire to fit in, the best outcome for her is to keep her sense of self.
STEPHANIE MURILLO
