A Chorus Line No. 2 - Bob Avian
- Lauryn Johnson
- Jul 2
- 2 min read
Bob Avian, the co-choreographer of A Chorus Line, played a pivotal role in shaping the show's choreography and emotional honesty. He met Michael Bennett when they were both young dancers in a 1959 European tour of West Side Story, (Bob playing Indigo, a Jet; and Michael playing Baby John) sparking a creative partnership that would last decades.
Bob and Michael moved into an apartment together as friends after the WSS tour, paying just $75 per month in rent. Bob wrote in his autobiography:
"It was when we started rooming together that I first learned of Michael's ambition to become a choreographer. In the meantime however, we were both performing in Broadway shows. [...]"
"I then had my first opportunity to see Michael's choreography in summer stock, the show in question, coincidentally, being No Strings. I thought his work was sensational and I knew right away that he had it--and he knew he had it."
This is a small excerpt of Bob's contributions to A Chorus Line: "It came time to stage the first version of 'One' the song in which the gypsies learn the number designed to frame the star; Michael turned to me, said, "Stage the number, Bobby, and sent me into a studio with Baayork, Donna, and Wayne Cilento. We all contributed steps, and in literally one half-hour we had the number. We put it together and ran it for Michael, who said, 'That's it. Done.' "
[...]
"Through all the success, Michael and I remained as close as ever. When we moved our base of operations from Michael's apartment to the building at 890 Broadway that he had bought and turned into rehearsal studios, we worked the way we always had—at a partners desk, facing each other head on. Although Michael was now one of the giants of Broadway, he was still my loving kid brother."
---Dancing Man: A Broadway Choreographer's Journey by Bob Avian
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