Swing dancing: an undervalued form of entertainment?

Managing The Swing Sesh, I get a lot of enquiries from people who want swing dancers as entertainment at their events. The type of events can vary, from corporate events, private parties, product launches, expos, and so on. The more enquiries I get, the more frustrated I become with the way Swing dancing is undervalued as a form of entertainment. I have declined many bookings, because the producer did not expect to pay for the dancers. Or, they act as if it is a great privilege to be performing at their event, and think that we will be thrilled to get into their event for free or have a meal there. Or I hear “it will be great exposure!” (yes, fantastic exposure when your MC pronounces my name wrong or you don’t put my flyers out!). In one example, the producer actually expected us to pay to get into the event and then perform. You can imagine what my response to that was!

This has me wondering why this is. I also work as a professional burlesque dancer, and I don’t seem to have anywhere near as much trouble getting paid what I am worth for a burlesque performance (in comparison – this problem is still prevalent in the burlesque industry, but I have found it much more difficult to get paid decent rates in swing dancing). Why is it that many producers won’t balk at a quote for a burlesque performer, but try and get swing dancers to do demos for free at their event? This irks me even more when an event has a jazz band that is being paid for their time. Why is it that the work a musician does is more highly valued then that of a dancer? We spend many hours rehearsing and training, just like a musician or any other performing artist.
Edit: I didn't mean to imply that dancers should be paid the same exact rate as musicians (though I am now aware that's how it reads). Musicians should most certainly be paid more - they are often there for longer, playing long sets, and as one reader mentioned over at Yehoodi, they can spend more time on their art then many dancers. I also didn't mean to imply that musicians are paid fair rates, on the contrary I believe they deserve more. What I meant by this statement is that in my experience, it is not unexpected that a band will be paid for an event (obviously there are exceptions), but for some reason it is a surprise when I quote for a swing performance. 

Perhaps it is because swing dancing is a hobby for many, and a profession for few, in my city, Adelaide, at least. There are probably less than 10 performing swing dancers that I know of in SA, but a large contingent of people who dance as a hobby. I guess it is also something a lot of people do for the love of it, and so hiring parties might assume that since we love dancing so much we will jump at the chance to dance anywhere. It could also be because often a request is made for several dancers, to increase the visual impact, so the price is higher for 2 or 3 couples then just 1 and this, for some reason, is not expected.

Sadly, we may have set our own low industry rate. When I have been approached to be a performer at a gig that was not booked through myself or The Swing Sesh, I have been appalled at the low payment rates offered. I took on a few of these gigs before I decided that if I didn’t demand what I was worth as a professional performer then I was never going to get it. If people are always going to work for less than they are worth, then sadly we will never get paid the amount we actually deserve.

Dancing is my profession. Yes, I love my job, but this doesn’t mean I don’t deserved to be paid for the work, dedication and commitment I put into my dancing. I take every gig I do seriously and respect those involved in production and venue management – I don’t think it’s too much to ask the same in return. I will continue to fight for rates that are fair for the performers at my school, and it is my hope that all performing artists can start saying NO to people who do not value them. If you do not value me as a performer, then why would I perform for you?


Luna

Edit: Obviously my scope is limited to my hometown. I'd be very interested to know if this occurs in other swing scenes as well.