All Singing All Dancing- Every Little Step

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I found myself singing 'One singular sensation, every little step she takes. One thrilling combination, every move that she makes.' on a repetitive loop on the way home from the screening of Every Little Step. It isn't my usual post-movie practice to sing the same two lines over and over again, with no hope of finishing the verse, and to embarrass myself on public transport by chasséing along the carriage, but Every Little Step is infectious. It is positive and upbeat, focusing on the casting of the 2006 Broadway revival of A Chorus Line, giving the cinema audience a glimpse into the workings of the musical world.

This documentary has an oddly pleasant self-referential dynamic; watching a film about the casting of a musical, the musical in question being about the casting of a musical. Ultimately both the musical and documentary have the same aim- to highlight the passion and drive that dancers need to have and the barriers they have to negotiate, not necessarily in search of glory, but just to work in an arena they love. The film follows every stage of the auditioning process, from open calls to final casting. Similarly to A Chorus Line, the focus in the film is culled pretty quickly down to just a couple of the roles and the competing performers.

There is a nice contrast between the seasoned professionals and the Broadway-novices. As you would expect, some of the performers are ego-mad, and others self-critical. There are some really funny moments, a lot coming from Tyce (I Know I Can Dance) Diorio, who claims to be über-confidant, but obviously needs to be accepted. Jessica from New Jersey, with nothing to fall back on if Broadway doesn't pan out, turns out to be gutsier than your average wide-eye hopeful.

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This film is in a lot of ways a fitting tribute to Michael Bennett, the choreographer who created A Chorus Line. He had impressive foresight and an understanding of an audience, who want more and more of the performers on stage. They want to know how the performers got there and why. This is the simplicity of the documentary, it follows the same ideas and allows the curiosity of an outsider to guide it.

Every Little Step also acknowledges the incredible commitment and strength professional dancers have, not only physically- the dancing is spectacular, but also mentally. Their dedication pushed to its limit, expected to drawn on their emotions to inhabit their roles during months of auditioning and scrutiny. It is staggering that performers can end up working hard for long periods of time giving everything they have and still not get the role. This is a concept outside most people's understanding of work, where we expect hard work to be rewarded. Amazingly dancers have to pick themselves up after rejection and just get on with the next audition.

Every Little Step is released in Sydney and Melbourne on 2nd July