(WS News) – A few months ago, many dancers accused the management of singer Diljit Dosanjh of non-payment of dues for performing on his North American tour.
A dancer, Shilpa Sajan, has withdrawn her name from the ongoing Europe leg Dil-Luminati Tour apparently because of similar issues.
Sajan expressed on Instagram in a detailed post saying, “An opportunity I was super excited about, but the dance industry has shown its true colours once again. Riddled with unprofessionalism, egos, total disrespect for dancers and being told ‘that’s just how Indians work’. No celebrity is worth giving up your self-respect @diljitdosanjh.”
She explained that when she accepted the offer of the backup dancer role for the Europe tour, despite being aware of the non-payment controversy in North America by Dosanjh’s management.
Although, in her case, she was assured that it was a paid opportunity. But when the tour started, she soon realised it wasn’t possible to sustain 80 pounds pay.
That aside, she was also asked to bear the expenses of her travel and accommodation by herself.
She wrote, “I have never worked with such an unprofessional and disrespectful management team in my life.
Everything was a mess,” she wrote. Shilpa added that their messages were ignored, dancers were cut off at the last minute, and there was no emphasis on rehearsals which affected the final performances.
She then explained that this was symptomatic of the larger issues in the dance industry, in which dancers are treated merely as “objects.”
The internet so far has shown support for Sajan and sympathise with her. Dosanjh will soon begin the India leg of the Dil-Luminati Tour, which will commence on October 26 in New Delhi and will end on December 29 in Guwahati.
