The most important thing to remember is to be completely transparent with your agents. When you are put on pencil ask the necessary questions such as: When should I be expecting a confirmation or release for this job? When a second pencil occurs for another job (you boss!) make sure both agencies are aware that you are already on hold for a job and communicate with them both to make sure all parties understand the situation. It is also vital for you to know which job would be your first pick. The agency works for you and should want to accommodate your wishes to the best of their ability. It also helps them in negotiations with production because they can then explain that if they don’t have a confirmation by a certain date they may lose you to another booking.

It is important to be active about chasing your payments but also remember that your agent is most likely already doing the best they can to receive your money. You can however ask your agent to be transparent with the emails to and from client regarding payment. This helps if you are slightly untrusting of the agency. Trust takes a while to build and if you don't feel you are getting the full picture you are entitled to ask for these corresponding emails. If they are non responsive, as an agency there are two legislations of law they have to follow which are enforced by the EAS (The Employment Agencies Standards Inspectors). Failing to comply with the EAS leads to penalties which could include an unlimited fine and/or a prohibited order. They should be reminded of this and if you need any assistance please contact us. Agency represented or self represenation, if we assume your payment terms are aligned with DNs terms and conditions, the client will owe you interest and a statutory fee that would of been pre agreed before start of the job. In both circumstances where no solution for the payment has occurred and you need to take a step further to receive all money owed. We suggest the legal route. Equity will be able to help you with this. Members of Equity can give them a call, if you are not a member please visit ourDancers Code of Conduct where you will find a link to their joining page.

Dancers are often approached directly on social media with the line “Looking for female/male dancers over the age of 18, £100 for 10hrs of shooting.” We strongly advise dancers not to jump at accepting these jobs like the above as they are way below industry standard but to instead first find out as much information as you can so you can look at all the options and evauate your situation. Firstly this could be an opportunity for you to negotiate less hours. 3 or 4 hours at £100 brings up your hourly rate which makes the job more worth while. It also raises awareness to casting directors and clients that £10 an hour for a professional dancer isn’t a high enough fee but gives them an option to still use you for less hours. Your time is then respected and you will be getting compensated fairly depending on the answers you recieve from the questions below. Secondly dancers aren’t always required to dance on the job (bizarre but true) so finding out your exact role is important ie are you an extra or a feature dancer? In asking the right questions you might have options to do the job without negatively affecting the dance industry. Here are a few questions you need answered before accepting or declining a job. 1.Who is the brand, artist, creative I will be working with? 2.What am I required to do on the job? (Freestyle, choreography, creating, walk on, stand in, speak, extra work) 3. Will travel be covered by the client? 4.Will there be food provided? 5.Will the job be used on any new media platforms? 6. If so please clarify where and for how long. ( you will then need to negotiate an extra fee ) Once you have received a response to these above questions you can make an informative decision on what is best for you. We suggest using the Dancers Network Guidelines as a template for your work contract and please contact us for any further questions.

The answer is yes however it makes things MUCH more difficult once you have signed the contract and in some cases depending on the contract unfortunately very little can be done to negotiate. We can’t stress enough how important it is to make sure you understand all of your terms and conditions before signing your contract. Any questions or anything you do not understand send over to your Agent, Dancers Network or Equity immediately. It is vital that you do not sign the document until you are completely satisfied with the terms. There will always be a runner chasing you to sign the form and return the documents but understand that it is your right to read, understand and speak to your agent about the terms and conditions and any production will have to respect this.

There is no circumstance where a choreograher should set your rate. This is personal to each indivudual dancer and should be negotiated with the dancer or dancers representative. Rates are the not the choreographers responsibility or job role.

Social media is an ever growing market that is still creating huge questions in the industry regarding fees. There are apps and guidelines you can use as a template to ensure accurate payment and prevent exploitation. Equity has a suggested rate card for usage fees in which they include the following: Internet use: 100% for three month's use in one country & for Virals they suggest 600% of BSF for one year. (BSF= Basic Studio Fee). Social Blue Book is a website you can log onto for free and enter your social media details. It will give you suggested numbers on how to charge for your posts.

Patience is key. Working for pennies does not make you a professional. It has been a known issue that big clients approach new dancers and lure them in with the "opportunity" line. Know that your work should be compensated properly. If you are approached with an unfair proposal please contact Dancers Network or your agent and we will approach the company for you. This way it comes from the community and not from you personally and we are able to bring awareness to the client.

There are many intensives, workshops and classes where agents will scout new talent. We will always promote these on social media and also hold them ourselves.Having footage of yourself that highlights your talent and abilities to the fullest is also key. Speak to dancers you look up to and ask them how to approach your preferred agency or contact Dancers Network and we will try our very best to guide you in the right direction.

The overtime shall start at 20% of the daily fee per hour. Please Click here to read our Terms and Conditions in regards to all Overtime.

A full working rehearsal day shall consist of eight hours of which one hour will be free of all work, plus two additional fifteen minute breaks. A show day shall consist of 10 hours of which one hour will be free of all work, plus two additional fifteen minute breaks. Please Click here for our Terms and Conditions on all Working Hours.