Knowing Your Rights As A Dancer

When embarking on any dance job or contract it's a good idea to know your rights. If possible you should gather this information before you accept the job if possible.

There are many things you can look for to make sure you don't get exploited. One such thing is overtime. Unless you're doing a music video or commercial that's paying really well you want to make sure you get a good overtime rate.

So say they're paying £100/ day for 9 - 5 working hours. If there's nothing in the contract or agreement about working hours they could make you work beyond your working hours for the same pay.

Overtime should be 1.5 times your normal pay rate at least. So £20/ hr would become £30/ hr with overtime.

Another thing you may want to look at is the buyout fee if it's something that will be broadcast on TV for example. Often they'll give a good buyout fee but you want to find out what that covers. The buyout fee might cover unlimited use forever. You may want to think this over - if you model for perfume brand A and they have a buyout for unlimited use that may well stop you from modelling for perfume brand B.

A deal where you get a percentage of royalties like musicians get instead of a buyout can often work out to be an even better deal than buyouts.

Job descriptions can be very vague. So if it says accommodation provided that may save you money but you probably want to know where you'll be staying or check it out if possible to make sure it's not a hell-hole.

Also don't feel afraid to bring up any issues about pay. If you've been promised to be paid within 4 weeks of doing the job and you've been waiting for longer then you should chase it up. They may have forgotten or other things may be happening which will affect when and whether you'll get paid.

Always keep copies of any contracts you have, at least until you get paid although you'll probably need them longer for your records, tax information, etc.

Sometimes agents can be pushy and try and make you accept certain jobs even though you may not really want to. Remember that the agent works for you, and they don't get paid commission unless you accept a job.

So acknowledge your rights and don't accept a job if you don't feel it's right or you don't want to. Until the contract is signed or you've given them your word you don't have to carry out or accept any job.

Many dancers, actors, models and people in the performing arts find that Equity is a company that acts in their interests. They provide their members a range of services such as making sure members are paid fairly and chasing up payments if they're not happening.

Becoming an Equity member is something worth looking into, as well as giving you discounts to a range of performing arts related organisations. Exercise your rights as a dancer to be treated fairly whether you're with Equity & similar organisations or not.

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