We were lucky to catch up with Reina Hidalgo recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Reina, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I first knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally was when my best friend Asiel Hardison and I meet the cast of dancers from the movie From Justin to Kelly. They were shooting the film down in Miami and a friend of ours at the time was casted as a dancer. He brought us out to hang with some of the dancers one night and we had all these questions about how they got to be in the movie and the perks of what they do. Mind you some of the dancers were already in the business because I knew them from watching them in Iconic music videos and world tours. I knew since I graduated college that I wanted to be in TV and film but talking to them gave myself and my best friend the courage to move to Los Angeles to pursue our career.
Reina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am an Afro Cuban Latina native from Miami and New Jersey. I began my training in ballet, tap, and jazz at the age of 5. I continued my training in the performing arts for dance since middle school. After graduating from high school I attended college at New World School of the Performing Arts in Miami where I received my B.F.A. in Dance in 2002. Not too long after graduating college , I was part of the Miami Sol WNBA co-ed dance team for 2 years. With over 19 years of experience in teaching, choreographing, and being able to perform on every platform..
As a professional dancer and choreographer, I had the pleasure of working with recording Artists such as P!nk, Rihanna, Missy Elliott and Daddy Yankee to name a few. I have appeared in many films, commercials and a number of television shows such as Dancing With The Stars, Encanto , Grammy’s and Babylon .
I have also started my choreography and producing career for the past 9 years. You can see my work on Masked Singer , Latin Billboards, Latin Grammy’s, So You think You Can Dance, The Hunger Games 2, Enrique Igelsias, and The Jonas Brother. I was also Supervisor Choreographer and Consulting Producer for the the EMMY Nominee HULU original show “East Los High and 6 seasons. I recently worked on Daddy Yankee world tour “La Ultima Vuelta.” The short film “Bertie and the Brilliant.” As well Disney Encanto and Encanto Live from the Hollywood Bowl.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is tapping into a higher source and feeling this sensation of effortless and flow come over your body. Especially for dancers you will be in the studio creating and you play the music and you just let your body move with no judgement or thinking. The feeling is very spiritual to me and therapeutic. As well as performers the amount for love and light you shine to the audience or viewer is very inspiring. To make people happy and forget their troubles or worries for a 90 minutes or 3 minutes is a beautiful thing to witness.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
As some people know being in the entertainment business can be tough at times. Going to auditions, long hours of rehearsals putting your body through hours and hours of physical work. Or hours and hours of bringing a character to screen it can be mentally and emotionally exhausting. The one thing is no matter what I knew that this is what I was meant to do in this lifetime. To not give up on my goals and dreams. To do the thing that makes me happy and most passionate about. The amount of NOs I have received or being on hold for a job and then get release. I could have giving up and detour to another career, But I knew in my soul that I was meant to be a dancer/choreographer. I NEVER GAVE UP I JUST UNDERSTOOD better that if one door closes another will open.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.reinahidalgo.com
- Instagram: @reinahidalgo521
- Twitter: @reinahidalgo521
Image Credits
wes klain Pepperarts Fotografie