Jenna Johnson is here to explain her art.
The Dancing with the Stars pro took to Instagram to explain why her dancing partner, Harry Shum Jr., let out a guttural scream during their Viennese waltz on Viral Hits Night.
For context, the Viennese waltz is typically a smoother, more romantic ballroom dance, meaning it’s not usually a place for yelling.
Jenna explained that because of the number of couples who need to perform within the show’s two-hour window, their pre-dance packages can leave out a lot of important context.
Viewers don’t always get to see everything that happens behind the scenes while creating the dance, including the dynamics, emotions, bumps and bruises that go into each performance.
Jenna revealed that she and Harry came up with a “beautiful meaning” behind their dance.
“There’s so much yearning, and we had talked about both of our anxiety, how that makes us feel … not feeling like you belong.”
The pair decided to “dive into the emotion,” which, for them, manifested in a scream symbolizing the feeling of reaching your breaking point.
“I’m like, ‘Should we go crazy?’ And Harry’s like, ‘Yeah, we should always go crazy.’”
In her explanation, Jenna also made sure to thank her Season 35 partner for his willingness to fully commit to the moment.
“The full visceral experience of his full-body scream, it was just honestly, I think, my favorite part,” she said.
As Jenna pointed out, art is subjective, and whether or not the performance resonated with viewers is completely okay.
ICYMI, Jenna and Harry scored an 18 out of 30 for their Viennese waltz to the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris.”
Watch the dance below:
