Update: The contracts are now sixteen weeks in duration with opt-out clauses for the dancers to take a pause on their contract without losing payment (in case they find work elsewhere)
CONTRACT
This contract between __________ (hereafter “the Artist”) and Rahim Ladha (hereafter “the Choreographer”) made this 15th day of the month of July, 2020 is concerning the recreation period for a new experiment in choreography taking place in Toronto, Ontario from July 20th, 2020 (running indefinitely) Both the Artist and the Choreographer agree to the following terms, as evidenced by their signatures below.
TERM
The term of this agreement shall begin on July 20th, 2020 and run until the 6th of September, 2020 (with an understanding that the contract can be extended if both parties are willing) Only one party needs to agree for contract termination (but the Choreographer intends to see the entire term of the contract through & hopes that the Artist is willing) If the Artist terminates the contract, no further weekly payment will be provided. If the Choreographer terminates the contract & has not paid out a total of four weeks ($800) the Choreographer will pay out whatever funds are required to meet the $800 mark immediately + provide the annual fee for documentation on scheduled dates (see Compensation section for more details)
SERVICES
The Artist agrees to a five-hour-per-week schedule to workshop the Choreographer’s narratives. The Artist will provide video documentation of process weekly to the Choreographer (a minimum of ten minutes of video documentation per week) The Artist will also select what will be published on the site of the Choreographer (be it process or interpretation of the narrative/choreography provided) The published video has to be a minimum of thirty seconds. If the Artist wishes for photography to be included, it is up to the Artist to provide the images. The documentation will be paired with the narrative/choreography on the website.
If the Artist is unable to provide documentation or work during a week after receiving payment, the Choreographer recognizes that this is a pandemic. The Choreographer prioritizes the mental & physical well-being of the Artist & will not penalize them for work undelivered (The Artist & Choreographer will talk before next payment is sent & see what remedies can be provided) The Choreographer values this as a potentially long-term creative partnership & will treat the Artist & partnership with respect.
COMPENSATION
The Choreographer agrees to pay the Artist $40.00/hr as per CADA standards (a weekly payout of $200) All payment is given in Canadian Dollars and will be dispensed to the Artist at the beginning of each scheduled working week. An additional payment of $200 will be provided annually beginning on September 1st 2020, once a year, for any visual documentation of process provided by the Artist (payment will be for five years, as compensation for publishing documentation on the website of the Choreographer) Total compensation over that five-year period will be $1000.
If the contract is terminated by the Artist, the annual payout for documentation will shift down to $100 per year for a total of $500. The Artist will also be provided with additional resource materials by the Choreographer, at no cost to the Artist.
SCHEDULE
The Artist agrees to five hours of work per week without supervision. Rehearsal/creation can be in any space of their choosing.
RELATIONSHIP
The Artist is engaged as an independent contractor. The Choreographer is not liable for any accident that may occur while the dancer is in rehearsal. The Artist should be covered by their own medical insurance or government program.
PROMOTION
The Artist agrees to provide the Choreographer (no later than the first week of scheduled rehearsals) current biography and photography to be used on the company website of the Choreographer where the documentation of the process will be posted.
COPYRIGHT AND DOCUMENTATION
The Artists retains all rights to the video documentation of the five-hour weekly process. The Artist agrees that the Choreographer may use the photographic & visual documentation for promotional purposes on various social media platforms. If the Artist posts any of the documentation on any website or social media platform they will tag & credit the Choreographer & are permitted to also post the written narrative/choreography so long as the Choreographer is credited.
REVISIONS
Any revisions to this contract must be in writing and signed by both the Artist and the Choreographer.
The Choreographer
Rahim Ladha – Artistic Director & Founder of SFTM & VMH
Signed this 20th day of July 2020.
The Artist
_______________
Signed this 20th day of July 2020.
SCHEDULE
Week 1: July 20th, 2020
Week 2: July 27th, 2020
Week 3: August 3rd, 2020
Week 4: August 10th, 2020
Week 5: August 17th, 2020
Week 6: August 24th, 2020
Week 7: August 31st, 2020
(Note: Schedule can change should Artist & Choreographer mutually agree in writing) Contract can be extended or revised should both Artist & Choreographer agree.
Total Hours: 35
Pay Per Hour: $40.00
Total Compensation: $1400.00 + $200 annual publishing fee to be provided on September 1st, 2020.
Notes:
Although you will be paid in the early afternoon (eastern standard) at the beginning of each week, it does not mean you work on Monday, or five hours in a row on any day (It is up to you as to how you engage in this process) If you decide to work more than five hours, let me know (I’ll remember it when it comes to paying you for future weeks) I will check in on you throughout the week to see how you are doing & you’re under no obligation to engage in dialogue about the piece you are working on for that week (I will deliver each week’s choreography/narrative for you to work upon sometime during each Monday) Feel free to ask any questions & note that a couple of weeks into the contract I’ll be able to participate & help/guide from my new studio space with a professional broadcasting set-up, if you wish (I leave it in your hands)
If I have asked you to do this, it is my intention to see through not only the terms of the entire contract, but to extend you with a raise & potentially other benefits. Anyone who has signed to this contract knows that we have already discussed other kinds of compensation on top of payment.
Now, let us go over a scenario, just so we are clear on some of the language in this contract. Second week in, you unfortunately sustain an injury through any activity. I am not going to penalize you for it. I will make sure you are paid up to four weeks of your contract if it is a long-term injury & you are unable to work. If you tell me you want to keep going after your injury has cleared, we can just change the dates on the contract and when you are ready, we can resume. If you need to pause for other work that you must attend to, tell me, and we can agree to a pause.
I am going to leave a lot of this in your hands. I have put up a seven-week payout schedule. I want us to go through that entire schedule. I want you to be healthy and engaged in the process (& hopefully I can provide you material that keeps you engaged) If you stay healthy, and want to do this, my intention is to sign you to do more work beyond the term of this contract, if you are willing. I want zero reason to terminate the contract & that is one of the reasons you are being paid before your working week starts. I could pay you, and you could have the worst creative week possible (I’m not judging or assuming – things happen) I am not the kind of person who’ll be hard on you about it. I am here to help. I believe in you & the work that you are doing. I trust that by putting faith in you, you will be compelled to produce the kind of work that you’ll be happy with, and that you’ll know this is a situation where you can be compensated long term for your creative work & will want to honor the faith I have in you. Professionals do not sabotage their own opportunities, and I believe you are a professional who deserves to have a larger platform. Working with me means expanding your audience & potentially finding other lucrative work. Whatever we work on together, keep posting it up on social media & anywhere that it can be seen by others, and I will amplify the work to others who can benefit from having you in their employ.
Essentially, I am paying you $1600 to work five hours a week over seven weeks (with an additional $800 in compensation for a total of $2400) to do what you love, from home (or any space you feel comfortable) If I were in that position, I would want to honor the agreement because I know the Choreographer is open to a long-term creative partnership (& in a pandemic, long-term creative gigs will be a little more challenging to come by & I’m a fan of getting paid to do what I love) If we’ve signed this contract, it’s because I think you’re an individual with integrity, passion & determination. And I genuinely wish to honor you in this process. Let us build something beautiful, together then, in good faith.
Welcome to VMH.
Rahim