Around 200 people attended the dancer auditions, one of them Catherine Mary Stewart, a performing arts school attendee who was informed by the other students about the auditions. Recht took particular notice of Stewart. He recalled, "all of the sudden I saw her and I said to myself: This is Bibi. This is exactly what I had in mind when I wrote the script." Stewart explained in a 2012 interview that while she had vocal training in her performing arts school, she didn't have the same "professional" singing skills of other members of the film's cast. Despite this, Recht wanted her for the part of Bibi, and thus, she was cast for the role. Recht described Stewart as "shocked" and "trembling all over" when she got the part.