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Professional Standards for Dance

Appendix A - Glossary



For the purposes of this document, the terms used are defined as follows:

Artist (see Appendix C: Canadian Artist Code)

Artistic Director is a person who directs or provides leadership for all artistic activities leading towards the fulfillment of the aims and objectives of the production/company and its established artistic policy.

Canadian Artist Code is used by CADA/East to determine membership eligibility. (See Appendix C.) The Canadian Artist Code was developed in the context of federal Status of the Artist legislation, however, it has no legal status.

Complainant is the person making the complaint.

Choreographer is a Dance Artist who

    • creates an original work of choreography
    • recreates their original work of choreography already performed by any company, dance artist or groups of dance artists

Choreography is the creation, arrangement and design of movement and other events for the purpose of expression, and usually for the purpose of performance.

Commission refers to a new work requested and paid for (creation to performance) on behalf of a person or organization other than the creator.

Co-Commission refers to a new work requested and paid for (creation to performance) on behalf of more than one person(s) or organization(s), one of which may or may be the creator.

Copyright is the legal right to perform or record or cause to be performed or recorded a work (copy).

Costume Fitting is a period of time scheduled for the specific purpose of making adjustments to a costume to fit an individual Artist.

Cue-to-Cue Rehearsal is a rehearsal that focuses on the coordination and timing of all technical elements within a production. This includes, but is not limited to, the rehearsal of lighting, sound, fly cues, quick changes or scenery changes.

Dance Artist refers to Dancer and/or Choreographer, Dance Dramaturge and/or Rehearsal Director.

Dancer is an Artist who practices the art of dance and who offers their professional services as an interpreter, collaborator or performer in the field of dance.

Dramaturge is a theatre term for a role whose duties may include consulting the director, offering questions, research, textual analysis and attendance at rehearsals.

The Dance Dramaturge works closely with the choreographer to support and advance the choreographic/creative process and can be called upon to document and write about the work for programs and other materials. The Dance Dramaturge will discuss with the choreographer the development of vocabulary, ideas and perspectives (including historic, cultural, social, political and aesthetic) and support their distillation and interpretation.

Note: This term is increasingly used in the dance field; CADA/East understands this term to be consistent, but not necessarily the same, with roles named Outside Eye, Creative Consultant or Creative Facilitator, and in all cases recommends establishing clear expectations of role.

Emerging Artist is an artist who fulfills (f) and one other criteria of the Canadian Artist Code. (See Appendix C. Note that the term may be defined differently by funders and others.)

An Employee works for an employer and deductions for EI, CPP and income tax are made from gross pay. The legal definition is:

“employee” includes,

(a) a person, including an officer of a corporation, who performs work for an employer for wages,

(b) a person who supplies services to an employer for wages,

(c) a person who receives training from a person who is an employer, as set out in subsection (2), or

(d) a person who is a homeworker,

and includes a person who was an employee; (“employé”)

(source: Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000)

Engager refers to either an Employer or Contractor. Examples include a dance company employing dancers, or an independent dance artist commissioning a choreographer.

Engagee refers to either an Employee or independent Contractee. Examples include a dancer employed by a dance company or a choreographer commissioned by an independent dance artist.

Extraordinary Risk is any activity, such as suspension from trapezes or wires or like contrivances, use of or exposure to weapons, fire or pyrotechnic devices, dangerous leaps, falls, throws, catches, knee drops, or slides from or onto the floor or a platform where the difference in level is more than four feet, or any similar activity yet to be invented.

Flat Fee Agreement is an agreement including rehearsal time and/or performance(s) for which the Dance Artist receives a single undifferentiated fee for all work.

Free Day is a twenty-four hour period of time during which the Engagee will not be required to travel or perform any services or obligations for the Engager whatsoever. There will be at least one free day during each engagement week.

Independent Contractor refers to a self-employed individual.

Intellectual property (IP) is a legal concept that can include choreography, literary works, music, software, patents, trademarks, industrial design and more.

A Licence Assignment occurs when you permanently give someone else one or more aspects of your copyright. This is akin to selling or transferring the right to someone else. Licensing is a temporary arrangement, whereby you permit someone to use one or more aspects of your copyright for a specified purpose and usually for a limited period of time. Licensing can take one of three possible forms – sole, exclusive, and non-exclusive. A sole licence means that only you and the licensee can do with the work what has been licensed. An exclusive licence means that only the licensee (exclusive of all others, even you) can use the work consistent with the license. A non-exclusive licence means that you can license others to use the work pursuant to the terms of the license.

An Outside Eye is responsible for supporting the choreographer and is often, but not exclusively, engaged for works in which the choreographer is themself dancing. Duties could include choreography analysis, offering questions and attendance at rehearsals or as defined by both parties. (See also: Dramaturge, Dance Dramaturge)

Performance is a presentation to an audience of a choreographed or improvised dance work which or without musical accompaniment for which admission is usually charged. Performance venue can include a theatre, studio, outdoor or other alternative space.

Photo Call is a time period scheduled for shooting photographs.

A Professional Artist is recognized as one who meets a combination of four of the criteria of the Canadian Artist Code (see Appendix C), one of which must be d., e., f or g.

A Producer is responsible for the production of a dance performance. A producer engages dance companies or independent artists to create or re-mount work.

A Presenter is an organization or person engaging companies or independent artists to offer programming to an audience. A presenter may or may not be specialized in dance. Presenters can be community-based not-for-profit organizations, facility presenters, dance-specialized presenters, school boards, universities, festivals or other.

Rehearsal is a trial performance or practice in advance of a performance for an audience, including but not limited to the creation of choreography, staging of movement, spacing, the giving of notes, etc. and will be regarded as rehearsal time if the Dance Artist is required to attend.

Rehearsal Director is a Dance Artist or other individual who runs and/or manages rehearsals under the direction of the Choreographer, Producer or Presenter.

Respondent is the person against whom a complaint is being made.

Royalty is a payment to a Choreographer, Composer or other copyright owner for the use of a work.

Self-producing means when a Choreographer or Dancer takes on the role of Producer for his or her own production.

Venue is the site or location of a rehearsal or performance.

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