![the chorus line the chorus line](https://bsp-static.playbill.com/f3/ba/31767d8a41f196b96072ae8c8887/12-tuts-a-chorus-line-2019-photographer-melissa-taylor.jpg)
Two by two, the dancers step forward and make their way through the sequence. “Looking good, ladies! Now it’s time for you to show us what you got.” When the group has finished learning the combination, Vallins grabs her stack of pink dance cards and snaps back into cheerleader mode. “Working the audition circuit should be like going to law or medical school: The auditions are the tests, but if you don’t go to class, how will you ‘pass’? I see too many dancers losing their technique because they skimp on class time.” Audition rule number one: Do exactly what you’re asked to do!”Īlso high on Vallins’ list of rules: “Keep up your training while you’re auditioning,” she says. “Automatically I’m thinking she doesn’t listen, doesn’t take direction well. Vallins explains that the girl had been dancing the show’s original choreography, but that Gorman was actually teaching a slightly modified version of the phrase. “Old habits die hard, eh?” he says, and the group laughs. Gorman stops teaching briefly to help a girl who looks perplexed. I know the characters so well at this point.” But beyond that, “Knowing who’s who is a gut feeling. That attention to detail is a good sign.” She also looks for obvious physical requirements: Connie, for instance, needs to be short Val needs a killer body. “First of all, you can see who’s done their homework and dressed the part. “I can tell almost as soon as they walk in the door,” she says. It’s a vigorous process, and it brings in a lot of new-and in this case young-faces.”Įven though the dancers are unfamiliar, Vallins is quick to spot potential cast members. “We called every dance school in the tri-state area to get the word out, and posted the information all over the web. She’s seen hundreds of New York–based dancers for A Chorus Line, so she and her assistants tried to bring in some fresh talent. Vallins settles in behind the casting table, which is littered with energy bars and BlackBerry phones. While not terribly complicated, it requires stop-on-a-dime precision and explosive energy. Soon Vallins turns the audition over to Gorman, who begins teaching an excerpt from the show’s iconic opening: all splayed fingers and sharp, low kicks. Everyone has given me a dance card, correct?” “How are you all doing? It’s gross out there today, huh? Look how made-up and beautiful you all are! Come this way, please-that’s right, spread out. “Welcome, welcome!” she trills, waving in the auditionees. Vallins’ job involves more than just winnowing down the audition pool: She’s a strange hybrid of camp counselor, cattle herder, cheerleader, and judge. She lets in the first group of girls, now stripped down to their high-cut leotards, sleek tights, and nude LaDuca character shoes. Vallins checks her watch and signals to Gorman. We have a Cassie, a Zach, and a Maggie, but the other 27 parts? Up for grabs.” “Almost everyone in the current group is ready to come home,” she says, “so we basically have to recast the show for the next leg. She joined Binder three and a half years ago, shortly after the agency cast the 2006 revival of A Chorus Line on Broadway-and she’s helped find every Cassie, Sheila, Mike, and Paul since.Īs of this audition, Vallins explains, the Chorus Line national tour has been on the road for a year and a half.
![the chorus line the chorus line](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2012/08/07/gettyimages_2686487_brick-4db048771011408c6573188ad37fb4d027778cdd.jpg)
A longtime dancer (she attended and now teaches at the Broadway Theatre Project program), Vallins was a protégée of celebrated casting director Dave Clemmons. She has an impressive resumé to back her natural confidence. The petite Vallins is only in her late 20s, but she speaks with an easy authority-cheerful yet businesslike-that belies her age. But Michael, we’ve got to keep the pace snappy.” They can learn it facing the mirror first. “A hundred and fifty girls?” Vallins says, pushing her hair off her face. She’s discussing logistics with Michael Gorman, the show’s associate choreographer, who will be teaching the audition combination. Inside studio 17D, Nikole Vallins of Binder Casting cradles a large coffee, steeling herself for what will be a very long day. It’s 15 minutes before the open call for the national tour of A Chorus Line, and the air hums with nervous energy as the Broadway hopefuls stretch, chatter, and touch up their makeup. On a rainy fall morning in New York City, nearly 150 girls huddle in the hallways of midtown’s Ripley-Grier Studios, swathed in sweats and legwarmers to fend off the damp chill.