The union for Australia’s freelance dancers, choreographers, and dance teachers.
Working towards fair pay, safe work, and respect.
GET INVOLVED
ABOUT
Dancers Australia is the union for professional freelance dance workers in Australia.It is led by the Dancers Australia National Committee - a group of committed dancers and choreographers from across the country who are pushing for fair wages and safe workplaces for all dance professionals.Dancers Australia is part of the Media, Entertainment, and Arts Alliance (MEAA) - the national union of Australia's creative professionals.
Your Dancers Australia National Committee is:
Anna Johnston
Nadiah Idris
Meg Cooper
Jared Mifsud
Chris van Doren
Jana Castillo
Alison Currie
Michael Hughes
Brendan Yeates
Thomas Egan
Rachel Reid
Ella Watson-Heath
CAMPAIGNS
Dancers Australia is currently running the national #PayTheDancers campaign.
Professional dancers, choreographers, dance teachers, movement directors, and other dance industry professionals are pushing back against low pay and unsafe workplaces.The #PayTheDancers campaign asks industry professionals to sign up to the Dancers Australia Code of Practice, which sets the minimum rates of pay and minimum workplace conditions that all dancers should be given.
MEMBERSHIP
Dancers Australia have a special MEAA Membership Fee
$7.97 per week
All fees are 100% tax-deductible.
See what's included:
ADVOCACY
As a registered trade union under Commonwealth and State law, Dancers Australia has many unique powers, duties, and services for the benefit of its members. We do this by enforcing the Dance Industry Code of Practice.
We also employ industrial and legal experts who can:
Review your contracts to recommend changes, and advise on unfair clauses
Provide templates for contracts that you can use for stage, film, television, commercials, SVOD, social media, and more
Enforce your contract including when that involves tribunal or legal proceedings
Act on your behalf in pay disputes, disciplinary meetings, terminations, resignations, and redundancies
Investigate breaches of the Fair Work Act, state WHS Acts, the Awards, and any Agreements, including a Right of Entry to your workplace
Negotiate on your behalf where dancers wish to bargain collectively for better pay or conditions
INSURANCE
Dancers Australia has secured a Dancers Liability insurance package just for members, that includes Public Liability and Products Liability cover.
This insurance is free as part of your membership.
Why do Dancers need this cover?
Most dancers currently arrange their own insurance each year, either through a broker or with a direct insurer.This is due to an increasing demand, from venues and promotors, that dancers bring their own Public Liability and Products Liability insurance before allowing them on site to perform or teach.
What does Dancers Liability insurance cover?
Public and Products Liability Insurance covers a dancer's legal obligation to pay compensation when personal injury or property damage occurs.The insurance covers a range of approved dance styles and activities.
Download more info:
DEVELOPMENT
As part of the MEAA Equity Section, Dancers Australia members have access to professional development opportunities through The Equity Foundation.The Equity Foundation hosts over 120 professional development events each year, including workshops and masterclasses with internationally renowned artists, casting directors, coaches, producers, and other industry leaders.These are free of charge, and open only to members.Visit equityfoundation.org.au to view all programs.
THE CODE:
RATES AND CONDITIONS
Dancers Australia have established a set of minimum rates for professional dance work in live and screen performances.Note: These rates do not apply to high-end commercial productions, such as touring musicals, big budget film/TV, or large corporate advertising. If in doubt, contact us.
REHEARSALS
The Minimum Rehearsal Rate is $47.92 per hour.
The Dance Industry Code of Practice sets a minimum 2 hour call for rehearsals. Each hour after that is also $47.92, and should always be rounded up.All rehearsals should be paid, as they are time worked. This includes dress rehearsals, tech rehearsals, blocking, run throughs, hair, makeup, and fittings.If you are asked to do fittings outside of your usual rehearsal period, this should be paid at $54.08 per hour.Finally - you have the right to say 'No' to unreasonable rehearsals, especially when they are too long, at unusual or unsociable hours, or would otherwise negatively impact your out-of-work life.If a rehearsal gets extended past the time you initially agreed, you should be paid at a higher overtime rate.
LIVE PERFORMANCE
Below are the minimum rates for dancers performing live - in bars, pubs, clubs, festivals, theatres, and other live performance spaces.The minimum call for rehearsals is 2 hours, and 3 hours for performances.
| Level | Hourly rate | Weekly rate |
| 1 | $77.88 | $1,380.77 |
| 2 | $80.04 | $1,421.22 |
| 3 | $83.28 | $1,460.92 |
| 4 | $85.45 | $1,498.56 |
| 5 | $88.69 | $1,539.76 |
| 6 | $91.94 | $1,585.95 |
| 7 | $96.26 | $1,640.57 |
DON'T KNOW YOUR LEVEL?
Levels are based on years of professional experience, and your ability to demostrate General and Specialist skills. Find out more here.
SCREEN PERFORMANCE
Below are the minimum rates for dancers performing on screen - in music videos, training and corporate videos, on digital platforms, and other screen entertainment.The minimum call for rehearsals is 2 hours, and 3 hours for performances.
| Level | Hourly rate | Weekly rate |
| 1 | $48.67 | $1,380.77 |
| 2 | $49.75 | $1,421.22 |
| 3 | $50.84 | $1,460.92 |
| 4 | $54.08 | $1,498.56 |
| 5 | $56.24 | $1,539.76 |
| 6 | $58.41 | $1,585.95 |
| 7 | $60.57 | $1,640.57 |
DON'T KNOW YOUR LEVEL?
Levels are based on years of professional experience, and your ability to demostrate General and Specialist skills. Find out more here.
DANCER LEVELS
Payment of minimum rates is based on an assessment of a professional dancer's years of experience, general skills, and specialist skills. It is not an exact science, and requires both the dancer and the Employer to agree on what is reasonably required for the particular job.
| Level | Experience | General skills | Specialist skills |
| 1 | Under 1 year | Basic | Basic |
| 2 | Over 1 year | Intermediate | Basic |
| 3 | Over 2 years | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| 4 | Over 3 years | Advanced | Intermediate |
| 5 | Over 4 years | Advanced | Advanced |
| 6 | Over 6 years | Significantly advanced | Advanced |
| 7 | Over 8 years | Significantly advanced | Significantly advanced |
General skills
General skills are the foundational skills needed to dance.
| Category | Examples |
| Physicality | Stamina; strength; flexibility; coordination; alignment; balance; control; axial movement; locomotive movement; turns; falls; elevation (jumps); etc. |
| Craft | Musicality; rhythm; time-keeping; ability to learn choreography; ability to move in unison or in canon with other performers; ability to partner; etc. |
| Performance | Ability – to play a character; convey emotion; perform as a soloist; perform with a partner; perform with a group; perform in a given space or venue; etc. |
Specialist skills
Specialist skills are the technical skills needed for different types of dance, or additional skills that enhance your craft.
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Genre | Techniques, steps, formations, or movements used in a specific dance style; use of props; use of ‘tricks’; etc. |
| Creativity | Ability to create choreography; ability to teach choreography; ability to improvise choreography; teaching, re-teaching, blocking, and adapting choreography; etc. |
| Other | Combining dance with other skills: dance safety and duty of care; rehearsal and performance directing; movement direction; intimacy direction; dance captaining; acting; singing; DJing; music mixing; AV and lighting; production directing; stunt work; costume making; specialist hair and make-up; etc. |
CHOREOGRAPHY
We break choreography up into two payments:
• the Choreographer Rate for teaching and rehearsing a piece of work;
• the Choreography Fee for developing the piece of work.Depending on the actual work being undertaken, you may be paid one or both of these payments.
Choreographer Rate
| Up to 12 hours of rehearsals | $47.92 per hour |
| Over 12 hours of rehearsals | Weekly Rate* |
* the Weekly Rates are set out in the full Code of Practice
Choreography Fee
| First 3 minutes | Rate per minute (below) |
| Each minute after that | 50% of the rate per minute |
| Level | Description | Rate Per Minute |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | Beginners, children, community dance classes, non-commercial enterprises | $81.12 |
| Basic | Entry-level dancers, final-year students, inexperienced partnering or group work | $135.20 |
| Intermediate | General use by professional dancers (commercial and non-commercial) | $162.24 |
| Advanced | Commercial use, mid-tier productions, and experienced partnering of group work | $189.28 |
| Specialist | Commercial use, high-tier productions, and experienced partnerting or group work | $216.32 |
ALLOWANCES
| Type | Amount | When? |
| Meal | $33.53 | per meal when travelling, unless meals are provided |
| Accommodation | $205.50 | per night when travelling, unless accommodation is provided |
| Costume | $64.90 | per costume where the dancer supplies their own costume |
| Shoe | $48.67 | per pair of shoes where the dancer supplies their own pair of shoes |
| Fittings | $54.08 | per hour when fittings are undertaken outside rehearsal time |
| Make-up | $12.98 | per performance when required to supply or apply specialised makeup |
| Hair | $38.94 | per performance where the dancer is required to have a specialised hair style |
| Nudity | $28.12 | per performance where the dancer is required to be nude or semi-nude |
| Understudy – major | $110.32 | per performance for major roles (eg. soloist or featured) |
| Understudy – minor | $24.88 | per performance for all other roles |
| Use of own vehicle | $0.99 | per kilometre when requested to use own vehicle for work duties |
CONTRACTS
Payment
Late and non-payment of contracted fees is a significant issue across the dance industry.The Code requires that payment for any piece of dance work must be made within 30 days of the final performance date.Where payment is not made within 30 days, dance professionals are entitled to charge a late fee of 0.5% per day until receipt of payment.
Cancellation
Cancelled work can negatively impact dance professionals, especially those who work contract-to-contract, and must rely on work going ahead in order to make a living.The Code outlines what should happen when work is cancelled:
| Notice | Payment |
| 10 days or less before the first performance | 100% of the total contracted fee |
| more than 10 days before the first performance and after the first rehearsal begins | 50% of the total contracted fee |
| before the first rehearsal begins | 0% of the total contracted fee |
Special Conditions
Contracts can very often have 'special conditions' attached to them - some examples include:
• requests to undertake risky or potentially dangerous work;
• working on non-traditional floors;
• intereacting with audiences or patrons;
• performing nude or semi-nude;
• having to provide specialist costumes, props, make-up, or other extras.
All Special Conditions:
• must be clearly stated in the contract of engagement;
• must be individually initialled on the contract; and,
• must be agreed to prior to the work starting.
IMAGE RIGHTS
Recording Fee
Dance professionals are entitled to be paid when their performance is recorded.
The Minimum Recording Fee is a one-off payment of $329.00 for each recorded performance.
This fee is only for the recording itself.
Usage Fee
Dance professionals are also entitled to payment for the recording's use into the future.
| Usage | Payment |
| Online | The dance professional should be paid 57.5% of their total contracted fee, and this provides 3 years of online usage. After 3 years, a further payment needs to be negotiated for further use. |
| Other Use | For all other types of usage (eg. TV, advertisements, etc.), payment needs to be negotiated with the MEAA. |
Social Media
Social media has become one of the most important ways that dance professionals promote and market their work.The Code identifies two key scenarios where this happens:
• when a company requests that a dance professional use their personal social media to promote a brand, event, or product; and,
• when a company requests that a dance professional 'take over' the company's social media, and use it to promote a brand, event, or product.In both instances, the request and the terms of any agreement must be made in writing, and the dance professional always retains the right to decline the request at any time.Any negotiation around payment for these tasks must be separate to contract negotiations, and where a dance professional declines a request to undertake these duties it cannot negatively impact their contract, pay, or workplace environment.
Artificial Intelligence
The Code has strict limitations on where and how Artificial Intelligence technologies can be used in the industry.Signatories expressly agree:
(a) To not use any portion of a dancer’s image for purposes other than those specified in the initial Agreement between the parties;
(b) To not use any recording to simulate a dance professional's image or to create any synthesized or “digital double” versions of a dancer;
(c) To not use any portion of a dancer’s Image for any unauthorized Artificial Intelligence usage, including but not limited to creation of synthetic recordings or for machine learning;
(d) To not sell or transfer ownership to all or part of any of the recordings of a dancer to any third party for purposes of using the files for Artificial Intelligence usage, without the dancer’s knowledge and consent;
(e) To not enter into any agreements or contracts on behalf of a dancer which uses all or any part of any recording of the dancer for use within Artificial Intelligence technologies, without the dancer’s knowledge and consent;
(f) To use good faith efforts to prevent any files of recordings to be stored in digital format containing a dancer’s Image from unauthorised access by third parties, including if such files are stored in “the cloud”; and,
(g) To use services that offer safeguards through encryption or other “up-to date” technological means from unauthorised third-party access.
MINIMUM WORKPLACE CONDITIONS
| 1 | ZERO TOLERANCE for bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, and discrimination. |
| 2 | ZERO TOLERANCE for ‘blacklisting’ - the practice of cancelling / reducing work, or threatening to do so, if you speak up about pay, conditions, or safety. |
| 3 | CHANGEROOMS must be provided on every job. They must be private, separated by gender identity, hygienic, and temperature controlled. |
| 4 | BREAKS must be given. For every 5 hours worked, a dancer must get a 30-minute break. |
| 5 | FLOORS must be appropriate for dance. Unless previously agreed, they must not be concrete, stone, sand, or rock; they must be stable and level; and they must be free of any liquid. |
| 6 | USAGE RIGHTS, including use of your image, video footage, and use of your personal social media for marketing, must always be agreed in writing, and must always be paid. |
| 7 | INJURY must be dealt with immediately. |
| 8 | TURNAROUND breaks of at least 10 hours must be given between call times of 4-hours or longer. |
FAQs
This means that we DO expect the rates and conditions in our Code to be enforced in the traditional styles of dance - such as classical, Latin, and contemporary - but also in more non-traditional areas - such as street styles, aerial and silk performers, cabaret, burlesque, and many more.
However, it is important to note that some of the larger dance companies - like the Sydney Dance Company or the Australian Ballet - have their own agreements, that provide for higher rates, and better conditions. If in doubt, contact us.
It is conceivable that, where a gig is especially physically demanding, the above best practice could become a requirement under WHS law, and the Union would have a duty to enforce that.
For example, a male-identifying dancer may be expected to bring their staple items of a white shirt, black shirt, black dress pants and black jazz shoes with the rest of the costume provided by the Employer. The dancer would not be compensated for these items.
Some indicators for intermediate choreography would be:
- in a venue housing up to 100 sitting audience members;
- where corporate or government money do not make up the majority of funding;
- the performers may include professionals and non-professionals (ie. does not necessarily need to be a professional dancer in order to learn the choreography);
- where non-professionals are engaged, these will usually be pre-professional performers, such as students in a dance course; who have a good technical grounding in some dance skills;
- anything billed as pro-am would not go above this rate;
- basic roving work would usually not go above this rate unless specific skills were incorporated (any acrobatics, props, etc.);
- private events/functions (eg. weddings, parties, etc.) would usually not go above this rate unless they were very high budget, or included acts that had highly specialised skills.
Some indicators for advanced choreography would be:
- in a venue housing up to 250 sitting audience members;
- where corporate/government money makes up 50% of the funding;
- that are intended for public consumption, whether that be a fee-paying public audience, or a public audience at a larger event (such as a festival/fete);
- the performers will always be professionals under the definitions in the Code (ie. they will need to have demonstrable professional skills in dance to undertake the choreography).
At times, it is also helpful to define these categories ‘by exclusion’; ie.
- “a production at a small performance space is not top-tier as there are less than 250 seats, so would therefore be advanced”;
- “a wedding performance is not a production for a fee-paying public audience, therefore it is intermediate”;
- “a roving or crowd piece is not for a fee paying audience, therefore it is intermediate”.
If the performer travels directly from their place of residence to the venue, the entire time would be paid as time worked; if the performer travelled to the Employer’s place of business and then was taken to the venue, then the time from the Employer’s place of business to the venue would be paid.
We would generally expect this travel time to be paid at the Minimum Rehearsal Rate.
You would then be paid your appropriate hourly performance rate, for a minimum call of three hours.
We now know that the workplaces dancers experience are incredibly varied, especially for freelance dancers. We also know that dancers are very often having to choreograph their work, something that was not included in the Live Performance Award.
Our Code takes the wages and conditions from the Live Performance Award, and puts them in words that are understandable. We have included only the allowances and penalty rates that apply to dancers, and - by consulting with the industry - have created clear descriptions for each [Dancer Level](https://dancersaustralia.org/#levels), based on experience and skill.
To ensure our Code is relevant to a variety of work, we have also used the 'Broadcasting' Award, which sets out the pay and conditions for performers on screen.
And finally, we have created a set of Choreography rates, based on the industry standard.
Companies, hirers, and schools that rely on the Fitness Industry Award are very likely underpaying their dance professionals, and not complying with the Fair Work Act.
If you are a member and your contract mentions the Fitness Industry Award we suggest that you contact us immediately.
For more information or to get involved please contact us at dancers@meaa.org or use the form below:
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