Daniel Assetta is one of Sydney’s most talented young Artists, who has already established himself as one of Australia’s most successful commercial dancers and performers. He is about to embark on his debut in musical theatre, having recently signed a contract with WICKED.
You’ve just been cast in the new Wicked production – tell us a little bit about that?
“It is very exciting that I will be making my musical theatre debut in the 10th Anniversary Celebration tour of WICKED. The show has already toured around Australia a couple of years ago and it has been so successful that it doing another tour however this time also bringing WICKED to some other places as well such as Auckland that haven’t yet had the privilege of seeing this show. I have been cast as an ‘On-stage Swing’ which means that as well as my own role in amongst the ensemble I also understudy the other male ensemble tracks in the show. I am looking forward to what I hear will be a very exciting but challenging job.”
What is your background?
“Well I have trained ever since I was 4 years old at The Glenda Yee School of Dance. It was then at 7 years old that I also started vocal training with Melanie Noble and later with Rex Harris. I was very fortunate to have many opportunities at a young age working amongst professionals at the Sydney Opera House with Opera Australia. I was a part of numerous productions including Carmen, Tosca, Turandot, Billy Budd and Carmina Burana, which led to being a soloist in the 2009 production of Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’. As well as these opportunities as a vocalist I have also experienced the stage as a dancer performing on shows such as X Factor, Young Talent Time, So You Think You Can Dance and for the Aria Awards. I have always had a really strong passion for performing and all of these experiences helped inspire me to want to make a career out of it. After graduating from high school I commenced a Diploma of Performing Arts at ED5 International, which has now led me to be cast in my first professional musical theatre production.”
Who were your dance/theatre mentors/heroes growing up?
“As a child I was definitely inspired by all of the teachers that trained me and introduced me to different styles of dance and theatre shows. Glenda Yee the principal of the dance school I attended and currently teach at, has definitely been a strong mentor in my life. She has always believed in me and helped me grow not only as performer but also into the person I am today. My sister although she is younger than me has been a massive influence on my life growing up and has helped pull me through the ups and downs that life brings and I honestly don’t know what I could do without her. Although my next inspiration I haven’t met I have always looked up to Hugh Jackman who is a Triple threat, which is something I have always striven to achieve. He is not only an actor but is an amazing singer and dancer featured in so many musical roles.”
What are you expecting as part of the cast?
“I know that through this journey of being in WICKED I am going to learn so much especially that I will be working amongst professional performers that have been very successful in musical theatre. I’m also very excited to tour with the cast and be a part of the magic that WICKED brings to audiences all over the world. It is a really great show and I know that its going to be an adventure of a lifetime.”
What aspirations do you have for the future?
“I would definitely like to keep pursuing a career in musical theatre and hopefully work my up to be considered for lead roles. In the past two years I have also enjoyed working on writing my own original songs. I love the feeling of writing your own music and sharing it with family and friends and this became possible when two of my songs were released on iTunes. I would love to continue writing more music in the future as well as to become a popular recording artist. Obviously these are huge aspirations but I believe you have to dream big and keep following what you really want to achieve.”
Anything you’d like to share with our DanceLife audience about your journey? Advice/Tips??
“I think the main advice that I would give is that sometimes as a performer who is training so hard there are times where you might feel ‘is all of this going to be worth it’. I know that when people dedicate their lives to wanting a career in this industry it can be hard especially if you get knocked back from opportunities that you may really want. If you are certain that this is what you want to do then you have to be persistent and keep at it because the job of a lifetime could be just around the corner.”
We wish Daniel all the best for his Musical Debut in WICKED!
If you have a story you would like to share with us on DanceLife, contact us at info@dancelife.com.au.
Cheers!
