Dance Festival’s Fees to Choreographers

For our company, Loretta Livingston & Dancers, which is participating in the June festival, the only controversial element of the festival was that new choreography was at first required. Normally that is considered a situation calling for a commission, and the theater pays a fee to the choreographer or company.

While we would of course prefer that a major L.A. theater show leadership in commissioning local choreographers, not being offered fees is hardly surprising. For L.A. choreographers, paying to perform and accepting box-office risk is a fact of life. This makes comparing costs and box-office splits just comparison shopping, not evidence of controversy.

Controversial or not, the LATC festival is a smart buy in at least one respect. It offers us the chance to market our work to about 10,000 potential new audience members, plus the exposure that a festival may well provide.

DAVID PLETTNER

Managing Director, Loretta Livingston & Dancers, Los Angeles