Read your article with much interest. I believe that you are being extremely diplomatic.
And the double edged sword for the dancer is.......
Blow the whistle on companies that demonstrate bad practice and potentially you could be seen as difficult and word does spread fast so don't work much in future. Say nothing and hope the choreographer/company trips over their own feet again and make too many mistakes that they land face first eventually.
Alternatively here's a novel one... Actually ask the dancers to contribute to the project evaluation / report. Oh... but I had forgotten the independent dance manager's want to ensure their own future so paint the rosie picture in their reports to the funders. Ask the people that took part in the creative process what really happened... don't be silly.
So the dancers, independent dance mangers, National Dance Agencies don't want to rock the boat and for what reason? Are they afraid of what little money that receive from the Arts Council will be removed or refused? Clearly this question needs to be thrown open to your readers, a varied bunch, who may shed more light? Are their other people experiencing this kind of treatment? Is it regional? Does it happen more in small companies or larger organisations?
Maybe we could take a leaf out of the government's own book. Isn't NAME and SHAME the governments latest ploy on improving standards in its' public service industry. Perhaps the Arts Council could do a public funding fraud hotline to out bad practice or maybe Article 19 it's time for you to step in and provide the platform for debate?
Amanda Drago
FallingCat
We shall ask Arts Council how they deal with errant artists and large sums of money
