'Creatively incredible': Regina raised talent featured in 'Wicked' film

A professional dancer from Saskatchewan was featured in the movie adaptation of Wicked, which has seen significant success at the box office.

Daniella Rae Beltrami began dancing at the age of two. She grew up in Regina then moved to Toronto for high school.

Her professional dancing career eventually took her to Vancouver, where she met several fellow dancer friends who went on to get dancing roles in Wicked. Beltrami expressed that she was excited to see her friends land such a major project, and it created an idea of possibility for her too.

"There was like a little twinkle of a sort of like, wait, this would kind of be really cool if I could be on this movie, but I just didn't really play with that thought too much," Beltrami said.

While she was working in London, Beltrami reached out to the film's choreographer, Christopher Scott, to inquire about a potential spot on the project.

"He just responded the next day being like, 'I would love to have you on it, send me your agent's info'. And at the time, I didn't even have an agent in London. So, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, like, I need to get an agent, I need to get this going,” she recalled.

Beltrami shared that working on the film was a great experience which helped her grow as a performer. The dancer shared a fun moment from the film.

"The cafeteria [scene] was also fun cause you were, like, throwing around food and some people would get hit with the food and it was just really funny...but when we were in the desks and we had all this choreography, like flipping the desks and jumping on them and throwing things, that was really fun. But it was also really cool because you … could not mess up, because the timing was so specific,” she said.

Daniella Rae Beltrami grew up in Regina, and recently was featured in the movie adaptation of Wicked. (Photo courtesy of Daniella Rae Beltrami)

• Get the CTV News app for Saskatchewan breaking news alerts and top stories 

"It was physically hard, creatively incredible. Like watching the choreographers come up with this...they're coming up right now with choreography that's going to be known for decades, potentially. Like, that was really cool to be like, I'm in this room right now,” she said.

Beltrami went on to share that she was in awe of the talent showcased by the performers in the film, and she took away many positive memories from the set.

"I had these big glasses on … every girl had, like, a skirt on, and I had capris and big glasses, and I was like, wait, this is really cute...And Ariana [Grande] was like, 'Oh my God, you look so cute,’” she said.

Beltrami expressed that she had always dreamed of dancing professionally but the dream often felt out of reach.

"When I have moments where I'm like, this is really hard. Should I keep going? I think back about that girl [in] Regina that just wanted it so bad. And I'm like, okay, let's just keep going for her because she would be amazed at what was happening....it is possible, very possible to make this a career. And it's just such a beautiful thing to pursue, Beltrami said.

Since returning from London, Beltrami has danced backup for Snoop Dogg's Canadian tour. She now hopes to dedicate some time to one of her favourite passions: choreographing.

Based in Vancouver, Beltrami currently leads a dance program she created called 'The Way You Move'.

"I think I'm still trying to, like, grasp that it's happening....All these things are actually going to happen, sometimes that's a bit crazy to think of. Like, you have these dreams as a little girl...and that they're actually gonna happen. I don't know, it's a bit crazy,” she said.