On 1 June 2019 at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid, end of Champions League. A universal event broadcast for 350 million viewers worldwide. A party with countless demonstrations before the game. A riot of light, sound and color. It was to pay the dancers as there was no waste. UEFA that year almost entered 2.5 billion €placed an ad asking 200 people to dance for free during the gala.
The ‘offer’ infuriated the industry in our country. The Performing Artists-Workers Confederation (ConARTE) filed a complaint with the Labor Inspection, and many professionals recorded videos dedicating a comb to them to UEFA. But UEFA clung to the fact that it was abiding by the law and continued with its plan. Of the 200 required volunteers, they filled 140 positions (for free). They went to an ETT as they were not 60 years old and they hired 60 waiters pretending to be impromptu dancers you’re charging that night.
Cases like this are everywhere. From companies and organizations that move billions of dollars a year and pay dancers little or nothing for their shows. Similar cases were reported at 080 Fashion Week (fashion week held in Barcelona) or the Goya Awards gala. He is also on the MTV show that brought Rihanna to Madrid and demanded 50 euros for dancers to dance for the Barbadian singer.
These are some examples of the precarity of dancers in Spain. Perhaps the weakest link in the performing arts chain. Low paid or unpaid jobs paid “with visibility and experience” abusive contracts, overtime hours or discrimination on movie sets. Also professionally unrecognized chronic diseases. The inconveniences they have to hide if they want to keep dancing. For although a dancer’s training may take years, the harshness of the activity overwhelms them, and as soon as they turn thirty, they may be excluded from this fleeting profession.
job
“This is a profession profession. And it’s already known: Workers’ rights jump out the window when the profession walks through the door.”. EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA, a media belonging to the same editorial group as this newspaper, is summed up in this way by César Casares, president of the Association of Dance Professionals in the Community of Madrid (APDCM). An entity that is part of ConARTE, the confederation of artists who denounce the lawsuits. UEFA Champions League, 080 or Goya Awards“In this last case, though, they stopped fixing it,” admits César.
“Some of the entity is syndicating and we are trying to denounce the abuses. It’s like a play at Apolo in Barcelona in July, August and September that demands free rehearsals from dancers, although free rehearsals are prohibited. Or the movie Bollywood filmed in Mallorca and paid for as extras for dancers“.
“Recently, we have found some really dramatic situations, with the pandemic and ERTES stopping. The dancers came to us. Their salary of 75 cents remained, because they were contracted to the category of warehouse waiters for 20 minutes a week. “.
César draws attention to the profession factor, with which most professionals in this industry agree. “The dancer really wants to dance. He also needs it: get boards and experience on a stage. That’s why many times there are companies that take advantage of the situation and offer unacceptable conditions. The problem is, they know that if they refuse, someone else will come after them and accept it.”, points out Miguel Galacho.
This 31-year-old choreographer from Malaga Elite StudioOne of the most respected dance academies in Madrid. He is located in Carabanchel, where he receives EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA together with Cruz García, a well-known dancer, teacher and actress with a long career in the world of dance. Both have been direct witnesses of some bloody situations.
The misery of the video clip
Miguel is a dancer and choreographer and he claims to have offered some unacceptable conditions for himself and his family. “Not always, it depends on the activity. I worked well for advertising and even for the circus. But, for example, Offers are coming in from well-known artists to make video clips that pay a gross 150 euros. Hours of filming, rehearsals, preparations… and many times diets or travels take place here. Not because they’re included, but because they’re not paid. “Sometimes they promise to take them on tour, get a job, and most of the time they don’t comply,” he sums up.
The dancer that most often requires a video clip, as a rule, is one of the so-called urban or commercial dances. Cruz García emphasizes that the biggest abuses take place here: “This problem arises first and foremost in what we call commercial dance. It has nothing to do with dancers in musicals, for example, because they have an agreement that dance rules the world. And not just the video clips. Also, performances with reputable artists that aren’t paid as they should be. The commercial dancer is unguarded, a deal, and that usually means they’re not professionally recognized. It’s not a hobby, it’s a job. They don’t rent curtains. They don’t hire go-gos, with all the love I have for the go-gos I adore. But it’s not the same. They need to know this profession.”
joins the theory Rafael Mendezfamous dancer and choreographer who gained fame after participating in various competitions talent show your TV. “The conditions in musicals have been very well adjusted for 15 years. But in ‘commercial dance’ our country is a disaster. Both in England and Germany they do not dare, but in Spain they ask. dance for people 150 Euros for a job where they would have to pay 100 or free, 500 or 600“.
“Prices got out of control. I turned down jobs for economic reasons because they wanted to pay the dancers a penny and I stood up. Well, two hours later they already placed the job on the same terms for others. You accept it okay. If not, there are 300,000 followers who accepted the same offer,” he said. Fidel Buika, Another prestigious choreographer from Barcelona said, “They want quality from you, but then they don’t want to pay for it. They ask people to dance like Michael Jackson. When you tell the price, they ask if you can’t get it from schools.”.
spanish problem
Who is to blame for this situation? Rafa Méndez says that “in many choreographers, who don’t fight the conditions of their dancers. They do not replace those who aspire to those prices and conditions. Because it’s no longer just how little they want to pay. How they treat dancers should also be reviewed. Sometimes it happens when the singers, musicians, or whatever, are eating at some tables in the shoot, and the dancers are being separated and eating sandwiches.”
Cruz García confirms that these situations occur frequently: “They give you a bacon sandwich and they don’t even think about getting close to the star of the day”. He also places much of the blame for abuses in the industry on “people who should and don’t respect the rights of dancers. Because they do not exist or the existing ones are about to go bankrupt at any cost. All of this causes dancers to have to take on jobs they shouldn’t be doing because they have to live too.”
The situation is different in other countries where the “agent figure is much more established”. In fact, in countries like the UK, the majority of castings are for getting into agencies. Once you’re inside, that company takes action to help you find a job on favorable terms, because there are deals, and that’s why they avoid these abuses. Here in Spain the dancer is alone and comes from the street. He doesn’t have an agent or a deal to protect him”, says Catalan choreographer Albert Sala, who has developed most of his career as a dancer on British soil.
Answers
“It’s also our fault that we don’t come together to demand the deal or stand up when abuses are detected. They already had a good deal in America but they just announced it this week. American dance associations renewed to improve conditions. What do we have in Spain? This is what is missing here. A deal that protects the dancer from harassment. This shows how much you have to pay per shot or per rehearsal,” Fidel Buika thinks.
The deal would have to consider a number of features of the dance industry. “It’s mainly a matter of seasonality and deduction. In dance, you don’t work the same throughout the year. There are times of hard work and breaks. All of this also hurts access to pensions. This range factor means there are people who have been dancing for 30 years and have only been on the list for 11 years. We see retired dancers receiving non-contributory pensions because they have always been black, despite having danced all their lives,” explains César Casares.
Likewise, like any elite physical activity, dancers suffer from a number of pathologies that result from their activities and are not generally considered occupational diseases. “When I started dancing, I was in great shape, competing in triathlons at the age of 16. But I started dancing and I got hurt and overloaded, because dancing is such an overwhelming activity,” recalls Miguel Galacho. . This is, as they say from APDMC, “we found 50-year-old dancers with titanium hipsIt is not considered an occupational disease due to wear and tear caused by its activities”.
Regarding the legislation, Casares continues, “there are standards and agreements. What’s missing is that everyone abides by them.” His colleague from the Dance Association of Catalonia, Xevi DorcaHe is optimistic because he believes that what is missing is the continuation of the artist’s charter and we are closer than ever. He will recognize the transience and intermittency of the industry and establish minimum standards.”
On March 10, the third meeting of the Inter-ministerial Commission for the preparation of the Status of the Artist took place, during which the Minister of Culture Miguel Iceta announced that “now the most important thing is that the measures are starting to reach the Courts”. We already know what they will do soon.”
But there is still no date for that, and urban dance dancers continue to fight for suitable working conditions for their particular niche. With the arrival of spring after the Covid break, concerts and festivals, the demand for dancers is increasing. In many we will see dancing professionals who can be forced to work for free.