Case study: International dance artists

This case study breaks down the process for welcoming an international dance company to your performing arts centre or venue.

The case study outlines how performing arts venues can practice due diligence in each process of putting on a show, from contract negotiation to rehearsal to performance, and everything in between. 

Artist contracting & booking phase

Contracting

• Artists, Crew, and Management travelling outside their region must follow local health regulations and develop a quarantine plan for travelling to your region/venue. Discuss the specifics of the quarantine plan.
• Discuss and include Health & Safety policies during contracting stage. Closer to the date of performance, review the policies with the performers and crew, being sure to check if anyone has become or has been at risk of exposure
• Scale of production to be considered when contracting (i.e. multiple hanging drops requires close contact with crew)

Advance-of-show discussions between technical director and external client (i.e. crew booking, meals, breaks, ingress and egress, etc.)

• Review Health & Safety policies to determine areas of risk
• Stagger entrance times
• Stagger breaks
• Allow time for signing H&S waiver
• Allow time to put on PPE
• Dance floor
• Classes
• Ballet barres
• Cleaning between use
• Physio
• Sweat radius
• Proximity of dancers to musicians/audience
• Breath projection
• Considerations why masks won’t work
  • Hard to breathe
  • Not able to drink water
• Scale of production to be considered when contracting (i.e. multiple hanging drops requires close contact with crew)
• Use haze and other atmospheric products in accordance with local regulations

Collaboration and coordination with internal stakeholders

• Review risks and remediation for shared equipment and spaces

Gear booking

• Rental equipment to be disinfected before handling

Crew call 

• Review Health & Safety risks with respect to the tasks of the day
• Staggered call times depending on union requirements

On-site processes leading up to performance

Set up

• Artist gear load-in
• Merch moves to lobby
• Check distance between performers onstage, and from performers to the closest seated audience member

Crew meal break or coffee break

• Identify designated break areas per show

External client arrival to venue

• Ensure artist areas have been disinfected
• Control access points
• Review risk orientation with client

 Crew and artist rehearsal

• Once rehearsal begins, other onstage work by crew is not allowed
• Disinfect onstage gear pre- and post-rehearsal
• Where possible, all equipment should be handled by the same individual 

Cleaning in venue as per Health & Safety guidelines

• Prior to usher arrival

Usher team arrives in-house

• Do pre-show orientation in designated area (not in the performance hall)

Show crew arrives

• Disinfect all handled stage gear (if not already completed post rehearsal)

Artist call time

• Pre-show health check of artists and crew

Doors

• Front-of-house staff prepare and don appropriate PPE

Post-performance & tear-down

End of show

• No meet & greets or guests backstage (or before show)

Audience loads out

• Front-of-house staff prepare and don appropriate PPE

Crew takes down show

• Disinfect all handled stage gear
• Merch moves to stage
• Rental equipment to be disinfected after packing up
• Crew and external client load trucks

Artists prepare to leave

• Ensure artist areas have been disinfected
• Control access points

Crew heads complete timesheets

• Paperless submissions

Crew, external clients, and artists leave building

• Ensure artist areas have been disinfected

The technical director and artist management work in all spaces.

• Follow all Health & Safety measures, policies, and protocols.