At the heart of Wicked is the friendship between Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), who will eventually become the Wicked Witch, but it took a dance to finally get there. The two blossoming witches were not always friends. In fact, they got off on the wrong foot upon meeting at Shiz University. What doesn't help is that the rest of the school puts Glinda on a pedestal and hates Elphaba because of her green complexion.

That all changes after Glinda's prank on Elphaba at the Ozdust Ballroom goes south. While Glinda takes the low road, setting Elphaba up to be humiliated, Elphaba takes the high road and gets Glinda into Madame Morrible's magic class, something her roommate could not achieve alone as Glinda can't do magic in Wicked yet. In an attempt to make amends, Glinda s Elphaba on the dance floor, and from there, a beautiful friendship develops that becomes the emotional core of Wicked, which smashed a huge box office record for musicals with its $150M+ gross.

Elphaba & Glinda's Dance In Wicked Is Where Their Friendship Starts

At the Ozdust Ballroom, Glinda Sees the Error of Her Ways

After realizing she is the butt of the joke, Elphaba debates leaving. However, Elphaba decides against it and performs a unique dance. Her classmates continue to laugh at her, but Glinda and Fiyero do not participate. Instead, Fiyero remarks how Elphaba doesn't care what others think, but Glinda knows that's far from the truth. In reality, Elphaba does care but pretends she doesn't.

Ariana Grande's Glinda, in an attempt to make amends, s Elphaba on the dance floor, mimicking her dance moves. This is a massive sign of humility from Glinda, who cares so much about appearances. Elphaba, as her roommate, knows this, so seeing Glinda push all of this aside for her means the world.

The two share a dance, with Glinda following Elphaba's lead. Along with that, given Glinda's popularity, she inspires her other classmates to stop laughing at Elphaba. For once, Elphaba does not feel alone. For Glinda, who is the source of so much of Elphaba's isolation and torment at Shiz University, to be the one to truly see Elphaba as she is means all the more to Elphaba, leading to a tearful embrace where Elphaba shows vulnerability to Glinda for the first time.

Is the Choreography of Elphaba's Dance In Wicked Significant?

Elphaba's Dance Is a Reflection of Her Perseverance and Pain

There are a few reasons why Elphaba's dance is significant. Upon discovering that she was invited to the Ozdust Ballroom to be laughed at, Elphaba could walk out, but she doesn't. Instead, she takes center stage -- where everyone can see -- and performs her interpretive dance.

Elphaba is intentionally making a spectacle in an attempt to prove to all those laughing at her that they will not get the better of her. They will not force her to be anything other than herself. This also works, for the most part, as many of the characters, like Fiyero, believe she doesn't care what others think, but Glinda sees through this.

While she is making a spectacle, Elphaba is not trying to make a joke of herself. She is carefully thinking over each move, working through the pain she is going through via her dance. Despite not saying anything, her dance speaks for itself, even if Glinda is the only one to know what she is truly going through.

How Wicked's Elphaba & Glinda Dance Is Different From the Broadway Musical

Broadway's Wicked Treats Elphaba's Dance More As a Joke

In the Broadway show, when Elphaba enters the Ozdust Ballroom, she instantly realizes she has fallen victim to Glinda's prank. Like Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba, the Broadway version does an interpretive dance that gets everyone's attention. However, in the Broadway show, this is played more so as a joke, but in Jon M. Chu's film, he wanted to take time with this scene and treat it with more vulnerability, as revealed by Wicked cinematographer Alice Brooks in a Variety article.

"[Chu] wants her to have the time to perform that scene, to feel the emotion of that scene, and for everybody to be watching her... One of the other visual themes throughout the movie is, 'What does it feel like it feel like to be looked at?' So as she walks down the stairs, how does it feel when everyone is laughing at you?"

Elphaba's mockery is not meant to be a joke to the audience. Instead, viewers are meant to feel empathy for her as she is humiliated in front of everyone. After all, this is Elphaba's story, and Wicked director Jon M. Chu worked hard to make sure the narrative is focused on Elphaba.

One way to achieve this is to linger on Elphaba's dance and to see how Elphaba processes this humiliation. Even when Glinda s, the scene is played with empathy, not for laughs, like it is in the Wicked Broadway show. This is a vulnerable moment for Elphaba, so changing the dance to make it a more emotional scene than a comedic one achieves that, thus leading to one of the most powerful scenes in this jaw-dropping musical adaptation. Refocusing the narrative to be more so on Elphaba, as was done in this scene, is also the change to Wicked Chu is most proud of.