Union Battles Intensify for Bway Dancer/Singer Jurisdiction

The Wall Street Journal reports today that battles between unions over jurisdiction for Broadway singers and dancers is intensifying. As BroadwayWorld reported earlier, the recent union dispute surrounding Broadway's COME FLY AWAY has caused American Guild of Musical Artists to try to play a bigger role in the Broadway community.  Alan Gordon, AGMA exec director, expressed interest in representing dancers not ony in dance-heavy shows like COME FLY AWAY, but other productions as well.  Gordon stated, "We think that down the road it's better for dancers appearing in anything, including Broadway shows, to be represented by AGMA."

COME FLY AWAY, a show that blurs the lines between dance and musical theatre, transferred from AGMA to Actors' Equity representaion when the show moved to Broadway.  AGMA then placed a complaint with the Associated Actors and Artistes of America, which handles disputes between entertainment unions.

AGMA is actively pursuing jurisdiction over dancers and, reports the Wall Street Journal, "Last week, AGMA sent a letter to the Associated Actors and Artistes of America, a federation of entertainment unions in the AFL-CIO, asking that AGMA be given jurisdiction over any musical in which two-thirds of the performers sing and dance, but do not speak lines."  In the letter, Gordon expressed:"We believe that those standards need to be modernized so as to reflect the world within which our respective unions now represent performers."

This statement was quickly countered by Equity's Acting Executive Director Carol Waaser who stated in an interview: "He doesn't understand the complicated nature of Broadway...Nobody is just a singer or just an actor. Anybody in a musical has to be able to do it all. You can't separate them out."  Indeed, many times, dancers or ensemble/chorus members routinely understudy major or supporting roles or serve as swings.

Theodore Bikel, President of the Associated Actors and Artistes announced yesterday, May 26, that he would be creating a committee to review and determine which union should represent Broadway's singers and dancers.

To read the full report in the Wall Street Journal, click here