Jenna Ortega explains how she came up with viral ‘Wednesday’ dance

Jenna Ortega explained how she came up with her iconic ‘Wednesday’ dance, which has become a viral trend on TikTok and across social media.

The 20-year-old actress, who plays Wednesday Addams in Netflix’s new ‘Addams Family’ spinoff series, went on ‘The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon‘ to discuss how the choreography came to be.

“Initially, they wanted a flash mob, but I thought, no, there’s no way Wednesday would be cool with dancing and encouraging a bunch of people,” Jenna said. 

“The director, Tim Burton, and I talked about it a little bit, and he said, ‘Yeah, let’s not do a circle. Let’s have it be her own thing.'”

She continued: “A week before we shot the dance, he chose the song ‘Goo Goo Muck’ by The Cramps. And The Cramps is one of my favorite bands ever, so I was super excited, super pumped.”

Ortega said she wanted to choreograph the dance herself, and was given two days to do so. “[Burton] was like, ‘I know you’ve got it. You’ve been working on it. I’m not even worried about it. I trust you.’ And I said, ‘Oh, yeah, you know, it’s all so good.'”

Jenna Ortega choreographed ‘Wednesday’ dance in two days

According to the 20-year-old, there was only one problem. “I had not gone over it at all,” she confessed. “Oh, my God. I was kicking myself. I felt like such a fool. I’m not a dancer. I don’t do any of that. I have no experience in that field. I didn’t sleep for two days.”

To prepare for the dance, Ortega watched videos of rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, rock singers Lene Lovich and Nina Hagen, footage of “goth kids dancing in clubs in the 80s” and of Denis Lavant in the 1999 movie ‘Beau Travail.’

She also revealed that she wanted to incorporate certain things in her dance, including a small tribute to Lisa Loring — who originated the onscreen role of Wednesday Addams — within the dance. 

The ‘Wednesday’ dance has since gone viral on TikTok, with users recreating the iconic routine using Lady Gaga’s ‘Bloody Mary,’ instead of the song featured in the scene. Gaga herself has stunned fans by participating in the trend.

The actress said Netflix officials told her that her dance was “gonna be a thing on TikTok,” she added. “And then they were right.”