Disney accused of 'exploiting' dancers for Disenchanted film

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Disney has been accused of trying to "exploit” professional dancers in a dispute over pay rates for the filming of Disenchanted.

The sequel to Enchanted, starring Amy Adams and Idina Menzel, is being shot in Ireland, with UK dance talent being considered for roles.

Union Equity and the Dancers Network UK, which promotes the rights of commercial dancers, have been engaging with Disney to negotiate employment terms in line with Equity and the Producers’ Alliance for Cinema and Television Cinema’s Films Agreement for the UK.

According to the Dancers Network, dancers are being offered about £1,300 (€1,500) per week, including purchase-of-use fees.

The Equity UK minimum rate for a high-budget film is £2234.40 (€2,572.27) per week, resulting in a total difference of £4,672 (€5,361) across the five weeks of work being offered.

In addition, Disney has been accused of not offering holiday pay, which would total an additional £442.50 (€509.41) across the five weeks in line with the Equity UK agreement.

According to the Dancers Network, production is also offering a €320 per week stipend (£277) to cover all flights, travel and accommodation, which it claimed would "only just pay for a return flight, never mind accommodation, food and travel to and from rehearsal and set".

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Disney pay rates

A spokeswoman for the Dancers Network said negotiations have come to a standstill with Disney "not budging".

The organisation said: "Disney and the production team are offering dance talent below Equity and PACT rates for an extremely profitable film shooting in Ireland.

"We have seen emails from talent where production have asked London-based dancers to book their own accommodation, flights and Covid tests without having the protection of a standard PACT agreement to keep them safe.

"This is quite frankly outrageous from a reputable film company such as Disney."

It added: "It has tried to negotiate with agents for the dancers and then the production resorted to contacting the talent directly when the agents said no. We were then contacted by many upset dancers who were contacted directly.

"It’s disgraceful a brand as big as Disney would try to exploit professional dancers after the challenging year they have had during the pandemic and the lack of any live performance work.

"Many dancers are still on government grants or working in supermarkets to pay their bills after being hit like a tonne of bricks in the pandemic."

According to the Dancers Network, Disney is working with a company called Clocktower Productions to engage talent. Clocktower Productions could not directly be reached for comment.

John Barclay, head of recorded media at Equity UK, said the union had been engaging with Disney, despite the fact it has no jurisdiction in Ireland and that Disney and Clockwork Productions are under no obligation to put artists on UK Equity contracts.

Barclay told The Stage: "Despite these limiting factors, we’ve engaged with Disney, Irish Equity and of course the dancers.

"We have emphasised that this treatment of our dance members is unacceptable, and despite having no jurisdiction in Ireland we have ultimately pushed this matter as far as we can.

"We have made it very clear how unhappy and disappointed we are with this situation, and we will continue to champion the rights and fair treatment of members wherever they work – both where we have jurisdiction and where we don’t."

Barclay added: "The benefit of having strong professional relationships with all engagers is that it gives us the ability to raise these issues formally in our negotiations, which we will continue to do with Disney."

Disney did not respond to a request for comment.

Irish Equity has also been contacted for comment.