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THE EVOLUTION OF PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR DANCE IN ONTARIO: CADA-ON AND THE PSD CHRISTINA LOCHEAD A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN DANCE YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ON JULY 2009 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-53727-5 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-53727-5 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'Internet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1*1 Canada THE EVOLUTION OF PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR DANCE IN ONTARIO: CADA-ON AND THE PSD By Christina Lochead a thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of York University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS ©2009 Permission has been granted to the LIBRARY OF YORK UNIVERSITY to lend or sell copies of this thesis, to the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CANADA to microfilm this thesis and to lend or sell copies of the film, and to UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS to publish an abstract of this thesis. The author reserves other publication rights, and neither the thesis nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's written permission. Abstract This research investigates the Professional Standards for Dance (PSD), a document published by the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists - Ontario Chapter (CADA-ON). Members' use of the document, their thoughts regarding it, and their socioeconomic status (and any relationship between this and use of the document) are explored. Quantitative and qualitative approaches are taken, with data gathered principally via an online survey of the membership. Findings indicate that use of the document has contributed to feelings of empowerment and higher rates of pay for some members, although not for all. A difference is seen in use of the document when length time as a member is considered. These results are placed in context by a discussion of dance advocacy in Canada (focusing on the province of Ontario), as well as a review of the socioeconomic status of Canadian dancers in general. IV To my parents, Anita Lloyd and Ian Lochead For all of the love, support, encouragement, and driving - thank you. Acknowledgements This work has been a collaboration in many ways. I am extremely grateful to Elizabeth Chitty, whose keen interest, insight, generosity and patience made this project possible. The support of the CADA-ON board members, the membership at large, and the individuals who agreed to give their time, is also greatly appreciated. Thank you for your participation in this venture. I hope you will find something useful in these pages. My thanks also to Norma Sue Fisher-Stitt for providing steady guidance and support throughout the process; to Susan Cash for asking good questions at the right time; to Claire Wootten for her patience, advice and sense of humour; to Megan Andrews for being so generous with her time and information; and to Anna Blewchamp for inspiring me to begin in the first place. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the support and encouragement of my friends and family, and of my partner David especially. I couldn't have done it without you. VI TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iv List of Figures xi 1. Introduction 1 CADA-ON: The Organization 2 Research Questions 6 Objectivity 7 Delimitations 7 Limitations 8 2. Review of Literature 9 Early Development and Advocacy 11 Volunteers 12 Amateur Professionals 14 Critics Contribute 14 The Ballet Festivals 15 vii The Ballet Festival Association and the Massey Commission 17 Dance In Canada Association 21 CAPDO 25 Canadian Dance Assembly 25 Dancer Transition Resource Centre 26 Early Reports 28 Recent Findings 31 The DTRC Study 33 3. Methodology 36 Preliminary Procedure 36 Content Focus 39 The Survey 41 The Sample 44 Instrumentation 45 Instrumentation - The Survey 46 viii Research Design 52 Data Analysis 52 4. Results 54 Part 1: Professional Standards for Dance 56 Part 2: Standard Demographic Data 66 5. Discussion 71 Part 1: Professional Standards for Dance 74 Letters of Agreement 78 Improvements to Income and Working Conditions 81 Dispute Resolution 83 Open-Ended Questions 84 Part 2: Standard Demographic Data 87 Income 87 Income Sources 90 Education 91 ix Conclusions & Implications of the Research 93 Future Research Directions 94 Notes 96 Bibliography 98 Appendix A: CADA-ON PSD Version 1 Table of Contents 105 Appendix B: Survey Questions 106 X LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Number of Years as a CADA-ON Member 55 Figure 2: General PSD Use 57 Figure 3: General PSD Use by Membership Category 58 Figure 4: General Familiarity with PSD Guidelines for Working Conditions (All Respondents) 59 Figure 5: Familiarity with Working Condition Guidelines By Years-As-Member 59 Figure 6: Use of LOA Exactly As Provided 60 Figure 7: Use of CADA-ON LOA as Basis for Own LOA/Contract 61 Figure 8: Use of LOA as a Template - As an Engager 62 Figure 9: Use of LOA as a Template - As an Engagee 62 Figure 10: Frequency of Written Contract Use (Any Type) 63 Figure 11: Frequency of Written Contract Use (Any Type) - by YAM 63 Figure 12: Improvements to Dance-Related Income and Working Conditions 64 Figure 13: PSD Creation / Writing Involvement 65 xi Figure 14: Types of CADA-ON Support Preferred 66 Figure 15: Dance-Related Income (2008) 67 Figure 16: Total Income (2008) 68 Figure 17: Dance-Related Income Sources (2008) 69 Figure 18: Other Income Sources (2008) 69 Figure 19: Dance-Related Education 70 Figure 20: Formal Education (Dance or Non-Dance Related) 70 Xll Introduction In the spring of 2001,1 left York University for what I thought would be the last time. Having completed a BFA in Dance, I was eager to join the contemporary dance community in Toronto. After six years of working mainly in Toronto as an independent contemporary dancer, dance teacher, and dance administrator, I began to wish for the opportunity to explore some aspects of my world in an academic environment. In 2007 I returned to York to undertake a Master's Degree in Dance. I was interested in the realities of dancemaking - funding structures, arts councils, cultural policy, and advocacy. Above all, I was curious about the effects of these realities on dance artists. When I returned to school, I focused first on the policy-related aspects of advocacy, completing a course in Cultural Policy through the Schulich School of Business. This prompted me to initially focus on Ontario's Status of the Artist legislation. Further research, as well as a subsequent course in Ethnography, piqued my curiosity of the human element of dance advocacy. I wished for a way to combine my research interests and consider them within the context of the lived experiences of dance artists. The opportunity to do this presented itself the following summer, when I took part in a workshop with Elizabeth Chitty, the newly-appointed Executive Director of the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists - Ontario Chapter (CADA-ON). CADA-ON is an -l - advocacy organization that is comprised of, and works to better the socioeconomic status of, dance artists in Ontario. Ms. Chitty expressed a wish for more information about how the Professional Standards for Dance (PSD), a set of guidelines C ADA-ON had published a few years earlier which concerned working conditions for dance artists, was being used by the membership. Having just written a story for a dance publication that briefly touched on recent changes to the organization, which had included some research into the PSD, I was also interested in knowing more. During a conversation following the workshop we discussed the need for more information about who was using the document, how often it was being used (if at all), and most importantly, what the members' experiences of it were. We also discussed the lack of standard demographic information about the membership. As governments have become increasingly interested in the creative industries, statistical information regarding the socioeconomic status of artists has become useful to advocacy bodies.1 It was evident that the organization and its members would benefit from research into the socioeconomic status of the membership, as well as an in-depth, qualitative and quantitative study of the PSD and its role in the dance community.

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