Every Little Step - a documentary

I just watched Every Little Step.  It's a documentary released in 2009 that blends the history of the original A Chorus Line and the audition process of the 2006 Revival.

Over 3,000 dancers auditioned for the revival - both members of Actors' Equity and non-professional dancers in an open call. The film is an intimate look at the auditions and feels like being a fly on the wall during the rehearsals and in the discussions between the director Bob Avian, the original co-choreographer, and choreographer Bayoork Lee, the original "Connie."  It also includes interviews with the dancers and the creative team.

Beside is being inspirational and fascinating, it's amazing to see how hard these people work at their craft.   I also loved seeing the many familiar faces of actors whom I had seen in other productions, namely Natascia Diaz (even though she wasn't cast as "Cassie"). 

I knew the outcome of the auditions because I saw the revival, but I still found myself routing for various actors.  It was at once thrilling and heartbreaking to see them going through the process. 

The original "Cassie," Donna McKechnie, for whom Michael Bennett initially built A Chorus Line around, is also extensively interviewed.  There is also an extra conversation with her in the bonus materials.   Donna is one of the most amazing dancers to ever have graced the stage.   There is a lot of footage of her dancing "Music and the Mirror" in the original production.   Fortunately, there are plenty of youtube clips of her breathtaking work.    I have seen her do a little dancing in various Broadway concerts and every second was thrilling even all of these years later - in 2007, we saw her do an abbreviated version of "Music and the Mirror" and she had me on the edge of my seat. 

Every Little Step is a thrilling documentary and a must see for anybody even remotely interested in Broadway or dancing.