Hi all,
I know this is a callers list not an organizers list, but many of us do both,
so I wanted to share this letter that Toronto Contra Dance has sent to all our
spring season talent after cancelling our season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
I hope other dance organizations are likewise trying to provide at least
partial payments to talent who rely on the gig economy for their livelihoods.
If you haven’t done so already, please consider paying your talent for
cancellations if your finances allow. We only announced our first dance
cancellation last Thursday, and only 5 days later we have received well over
$1000 in donations from concerned dancers who want our callers and musicians
who rely on this money to be taken care of. So even if your current resources
do not allow for paying talent for cancelled dances, you may want to consider
soliciting donations from your dance community to allow that.
I have no illusions that the pittance that we pay will cover anyone’s rent. But
the effort has been deeply appreciated by a number of our callers and musicians
who rely entirely on gigs, since gigs are nearly all being cancelled due to the
coronavirus.
You are welcome to forward this letter to organizers and feel free to cut and
paste any parts of this letter that might be useful in your own situation.
I am not on the dance organizers list, but if someone would like to forward
this post to that list, that would be great.
Wishing you all good health and financial security in a difficult time, and
anticipating joyous dance reunions in the not-too-distant future,
Becky Liddle, Toronto
As president of Toronto Contra Dance, it is my sad duty to announce that TCD
has cancelled its entire spring dance season, including our Spring Thaw weekend
due to the corona virus pandemic. Most of you likely know that CDSS has
recommended that all dances be cancelled through the end of April in a
preliminary effort to slow the spread of the corona virus. In the (unlikely, I
fear) event that COVID-19 risk has passed by May or June, we will be delighted
to reschedule those events if that is still feasible when the time comes. But
for now we think it is important to let you all know that we believe the most
likely eventuality is that our next dance will be the Island Dance on July 11.
We have heard from some talent that they need to know what to expect so that
they can seek other employment, so we think it is responsible to go ahead and
cancel the season now.
It is our feeling that we are all Dance Family. Dance organizations and callers
and contra bands would not exist without each other, and we need to take care
of each other. Having never faced a pandemic or its ilk in our 20+ years of
existence, TCD has never included provisions for what will happen in case of
cancellation, so we have been scrambling to figure out what is fair (and
financially feasible) in these circumstances.
We know that some callers & musicians have “day jobs” that completely support
them and they rely little on money from gigs, but we are also well aware that
others rely somewhat or entirely on gigs to pay their living expenses. And
we’re also aware that for the latter, COVID-19 is likely to have a devastating
effect on their livelihoods, since TCD dances will of course not be the only
gigs that will be cancelled in this pandemic. The TCD organizing committee has
done a great deal of soul-searching and number-crunching over the last few
days, working to balance our own financial stability with that of our beloved
performers. Given our present financial circumstances we are able to offer this:
To those who rely entirely on the gig economy for their livelihood: We are
offering 30% of the talent payment now (not including any travel allowance,
since the travel will not happen), with the hopes that at a later date if our
finances allow, we would offer a top-up of another 20% to a total of up to 50%
of the original talent fee for the cancelled gig. We cannot guarantee the 2nd
amount, but given that some of our members have already stepped up with special
donations we are hopeful that we will be able to make the second payment/top-up
happen.
To those who rely partly but not entirely on the gig economy to pay their basic
living expenses: We are offering 15% payment now (not including travel
allowance) with the hopes we might be able to top that up by another 10% to a
total of 25% of the original gig fee.
To those who do not rely significantly on the gig economy for basic living
expenses: we offer a sincere apology for the cancellation, and our deep
gratitude for your intended service (but no monetary compensation).
We are asking each of you to let us know which category you fall into, and let
us know whether you would like us to send you the payment(s) we are offering.
You are in the best position to assess your own needs. We believe this will
enable us to provide some support to those who need it most while not
completely emptying our bank account, thus remaining responsible to our own
local community and financial stability.
We hope that these token payments will help a little in this very difficult
time.
You can simply reply to this email with your request for payment (or your
indication that no payment is required) and I will forward your request to our
treasurer. If you are the main contact person for a multi-person band, we ask
that you forward this letter to each of your bandmates. Because various members
of the same band may be in very different financial situations, we ask that
each of you respond individually (based on your own circumstances) with regard
to requested payment.
Wishing you all the best in a difficult time,
Becky Liddle (president, Toronto Contra Dance)
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