Let the Dance Call Match the Show

by Chris Peterson

Let me start here: I am not a dancer. I’ve sat through a handful of dance calls in my life, usually clutching a clipboard and hoping no one asks me to count to eight. But recently, I saw a TikTok video by Chloe Wendler that hit on something I haven’t stopped thinking about. It was about choreographers making dance calls unnecessarily difficult. Like, not just hard, but levels above what the actual show ever asks the performers to do. And honestly? I think Chloe was right. (The video below has no sound but captions are working)

Here’s the thing: if you’re casting a show that requires movement, great. Test for that. See how people move, how they pick up choreography, how they live in the rhythm of the piece. But if your production doesn’t call for triple pirouettes, don’t turn your audition into a ballet exam. If your ensemble spends the entire show marching in place or doing stylized walking, maybe they don’t need to learn a six-minute routine with seventeen tempo changes and a floorwork section that looks like it was pulled from a modern dance thesis.

I get it. Choreographers are artists. They’re proud of their vision, and auditions are often the first moment to share that vocabulary. But there’s a difference between giving someone a taste of the show’s movement and turning the audition into a showcase for your personal reel. You’re not hiring backup dancers for a world tour. You’re casting a musical. And sometimes, the most revealing thing isn’t who can do the fanciest trick—it’s who brings honesty, style, and intention to the movement that’s actually in the show.

Also: nerves are real. And when choreography is unnecessarily hard, it’s not a fair test. It doesn’t tell you who can thrive in the world of your production. It tells you who can survive a needlessly chaotic combo. Let people audition for your show, not a more aggressive, imaginary version of it.

The goal is not to weed people out. The goal is to find the people who will make your work better. There’s no prize for being the most difficult choreographer in the room. But there is real value in creating a space where performers feel seen and set up to succeed. When performers feel supported, they tend to give more. They take bigger risks. They listen more closely. And in that trust, something collaborative and electric can happen.

I’ve seen performers walk out of dance calls in tears, not because they weren't good enough, but because they were asked to perform at a level that simply didn’t reflect what the show required. That kind of disorientation doesn’t serve anybody. You risk losing great talent who might have been perfect for the part, all because the audition asked for skills the production never would.

And this isn’t just about fairness. It’s about artistic clarity. Your audition room should reflect the values of your rehearsal room. If the audition feels like a punishment, what does that say about the environment you’re trying to build? If you want to foster generosity, build it from the moment performers walk in the door.

We talk a lot in theatre about meeting the moment. So meet the moment. Reflect your show. Build a dance call that lives in the world of your characters, your setting, your story. You’ll still find talent. You’ll still be wowed. And you might also make the process a little more human. Isn’t that the point?

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In Defense of Auditioning with Material from the Show