Ballet Companies and Disability

[LinMM]

Well,the important thing for the dancer is what they are like at work.

If they can focus there then there shouldn't be a problem.

 

This may then only be a problem if say dancing with a touring company where gelling together with others in the Company away from the class/ rehearsal/stage etc may be more important.

For example if one had a mild form of Aspergers it may be more a problem after "work" hours as such but not insurmountable.

 

I also don't believe people's personalities are set for life.....just as I don't believe intelligence is set for Life. At any point in Life an opening can occur and access can be made to make a further progression towards self fulfilment ...whatever that may be for an individual.

Where did Mozart get his music from?

It's out there or in ourselves to find.

Not all of us can be Mozart of course but the answers to many problems are within ourselves and this is all our daily struggle I think to bring into being more of who we truthfully are.

Sorry this has gone a bit philosophical

[Lisa O`Brien]

In all honesty, I think if a dancer waited until after they had been offered a contract and then said to the Artistic Director, "Oh by the way I thought you ought to know"...I think the person who hired that dancer might not be too impressed. Not even so much that that information wasn't disclosed in the first place,but that it wasn't freely offered up initially. It could very well be that a contract might have been offered to that person anyway. But I do think the employer should be told at the very earliest opportunity. Just as a matter of respect,really.

[2dancersmum]

It really still will depend on the nature and degree of the disability for the individual.  As Eileen said, it may become apparent at audition and could have the opposite effect to the desired one - if a company knows that a disability can be managed they are more likely to take it into account at audition, when they know people are nervous then if they are judging on appearance/behaviour alone.

 

As I said before though, I doubt very much that a dancer could keep any form of disability quiet. As ballet is a physical activity I am pretty sure that along with a contract there will be a pretty comprehensive medical form to fill in and a company may well withdraw an offer if they feel relevant information has been withheld prior to a contract being signed. DD does not work for a ballet company but is employed as a professional dancer and her form included questions on asthma, bipolar, ADHD, diabetes, fainting spells. seizures, time off for illness, depression and any other mental issues, hospital stays, medication taken, injuries, allergies.

 

This is in part for medical insurance but she also had to give consent for further information on anything declared.

 

I think honesty is the best policy so you can be auditioned on your dancing and your strengths. Having a disability does not necessarily go against you.  DD does actually know a professional dancer, a graduate from vocational school, who suffers from narcolepsy.  This dancer obviously declared their condition prior to audition, a brilliant dancer whose condition does not effect their performance or rehearsals at all but who falls asleep frequently when sitting still or inactive for long periods.  I am sure this person would not have been hired if they had fallen asleep during the long audition day without the panel knowing there was a reason for it and that their condition was diagnosed, medicated and stable.

[Anon2]

Does your dc have a place at a vocational upper school? If so how are they coping with it? I imagine the lifestyle of upper school, dance hours, having to pick up combinations quickly, appraisals, guest teachers, rehearsals would give you both a good idea of whether their disability is something that would become obvious within a company. My gut feeling is if you are going for a corps job the AD will be looking for a bunch of dancers who work together as a body, if you stand out for being different you are not going to fit into the corps.

On the performances seen forum there is a thread about ENB Swan Lake in the round and a few comments about the corps, how well drilled they were and worked as one. I know some of these dancers and they have all come together from a variety of backgrounds to learn this and perform together in a very short period of time. Would your dd cope with this sort of situation, working under stress when exhausted but still pull it off?

[Moomin]

If you passed the audition and then disclosed they would at least be under an obligation to base their decision on factual information that your disability would affect the job (and you have already proved that you are a good enough dancer) rather than prejudice. There are an awful lot of people in life who are very difficult to get on with who have no disabilities ????

[taxi4ballet]

If you fail to disclose a condition in advance (when asked on the application form for instance), they might well be unhappy about that and withdraw any offer.

[LinMM]

I'm not sure I really understand the disclosure issue in this case.

 

If the persons disability was other than pretty mild it would be noticed anyway before a job may be offered.

 

If it hasn't been picked up by anybody (and therefore probably a very mild disability) and a job is offered there is always a health form to be filled in and any problems would have to be disclosed at this point.

 

I think it would be rare to be in a position where you have got to the stage of having already signed a contract and then have to reveal a disability.

 

At the medical disclosure stage it would then be up to the Director if he thought whatever the problem is could be accommodated or not.....whatever the dancing ability of the candidate.

[LinMM]

Without knowing the PRECISE nature of a disability it is really all speculation and difficult to offer any real advice.

[aileen]

Leaving aside the timing of the disclosure there is still the very important question of what adjustments would need to be made to accommodate the person's disability and whether they are reasonable in the context of a ballet company. There are two very important factors which must not be overlooked. First, it is very likely that the person will have to live away from home, possibly even abroad, and so s/he will not have the family support available which s/he would have if s/he was in a local job. Secondly, most companies tour and there are extra pressures arising from this, not just social but practical.

 

As Lin has said, without knowing more about what this person's disability is it's hard to advise further. I think that the person and his/her parents need to take a clear-eyed look at what a dancing career will entail, taking into account things like touring requirements, long working hours, unexpected or last minute cast changes and the need to take responsibility for maintaining a healthy diet and injury prevention, and work out what specific support s/he will need and which could be presented to a potential employer as reasonable adjustments (the company may not of course agree that they are).

[Lisa O`Brien]

Just a thought, and it may seem a bit strange. But have you thought of perhaps contacting someone at a few British ballet companies? I meant if you were to write to a company's AD or someone in a similar position like a senior choreographer resident with a company? Surely they would know or have a pretty good idea if you went into detail about this individual's disabilities and asking ,from the information given, if they believed that person realistically stood a chance of being accepted into a company, if all other factors taken in to account like talent,physique,musicality etc,were all there. You could give the person's age and their training so far, as a bit of background. Obviously, people need to be seen actually dancing to be considered for a job. But if you were to describe what this person is like and ask if they would be so kind ,from the information you have given, if they would give an honest and realistic opinion on this person's chances,etc. I can't imagine that a hand written letter addressed to someone personally would be ignored.

Edited June 10, 2016 by Lisa O`Brien

[DancingtoDance]

Regarding the health form, do questions about disability HAVE to be answered? Because Moomin said you're only under obligation to disclose if it's a health and safety risk. How exactly do you define that and how would companies define that? Do you think given the information provided, the situation I mentioned would be a health and safety risk. I do know the name of a ballet dancer in the US who kept their disability a secret (I am asking for information relevant to the UK though).

Edited June 16, 2016 by DancingtoDance

[Jan McNulty]

I don't know about application forms for ballet companies but if there is a question about an issue that would fit the disability in question then it must be answered.  Failure to fully disclose on the medical form could cause dismissal if discovered at a later date.

[DancingtoDance]

I don't know about application forms for ballet companies but if there is a question about an issue that would fit the disability in question then it must be answered.  Failure to fully disclose on the medical form could cause dismissal if discovered at a later date.

 

Also, just out of curiosity, is dancers filling health forms generalisable (so do all ballet/dance companies around the world have a health form to fill)?

Edited June 16, 2016 by DancingtoDance

[aileen]

DancingtoDance, can you specify exactly what kind of disability this person has. Not being able to pick up choreography quickly or confusing left from right for example are not (IMO) disabilities per se and these limitations may in fact have nothing to do with the person's disability.

 

As for the person in the US, his/her disability must not affect him/her professionally if s/he has been able to keep it a secret at work. In your (hypothetical) case, the person would not be able to do his/her job without additional support which you would need the company to provide, invoking the legal duty to make 'reasonable adjustments'. They are two quite different situations.

[DancingtoDance]

When I mentioned confusing left and right I was not describing this person but just curious about dancers with dyslexia.

 

I do not really feel comfortable specifying exactly what this person's disability is but they have a mild developmental/neurological disorder and a manageable mental illness.

 

I am talking about a dancer who is currently in Year 11.

Edited June 16, 2016 by DancingtoDance

[aileen]

If I were the parent of this child I would go and get some legal advice if I could afford it. Unlike what most other people have said on here, I'm not convinced that an applicant has to disclose a disability on an application form, certainly if s/he will not be asking for adjustments to be made. However, I think that a person would need to be full and frank in an application for work place insurance, whether health or income replacement. There is generally a duty of candour in applications for insurance and before an insurance company paid out it would almost certainly contact the person's GP.

 

I assume that this person is not already at vocational school as if s/he were I imagine that the parent(s) would be directing these questions to the school. The first hurdle, of course, is getting into an upper school. Could the parent(s) ask the local or associate teacher for advice? A teacher who is well connected may have inside information about the companies' attitude to the type of issues under discussion.

[aileen]

DancingtoDance, I think that you are focussing too much on the disability and not enough on what support / 'reasonable adjustments' this person will need. The person's problems may become less severe in the next three years. Teenagers can change a lot between 16/15 and 19/18.

 

I didn't see your last post when I typed my last post. Has this person got a place at upper school or is s/he planning to apply next year?

[Anna C]

As the dancer is in year 11 at - I assume? - a fulltime dance school, then surely the best person to advise her is one of her tutors? Does she have a staff member who she trusts? Has the neurological/developmental problem caused any issue at assessments or external exams?

[Anna C]

Also, with regard to disclosure, IF a disabled person wants or needs any adjustments, then surely they have a personal responsibility to disclose the disability which requires adjustments. My point being that morally you can't really hide a disability from an employer but still expect the employer to provide reasonable adjustments at a later date if you have, in effect, been dishonest?

[Kate_N]

I don't know about dance companies, and I agree with other about the difficulty of advising you on this. You seem to be seeking our validation of a decision you've already taken.

 

However, I work for an organisation which subscribes to the "Two Ticks" code of treatment of people declaring disabilities. If an applicant for a job  declares a disability and meets the essential requirements for the post as listed in the person specification for the post, then we are required to interview them.

 

Often they are not competitive against the field of other applicants, but the idea behind the "Two Ticks" policy is that the obstacles in front of a person with disabilities are such that if they meet the base line of essential requirements, they are worthy of an interview even if those without disabilities have more than the essential requirements. In that situation, it may advantage an applicant to declare a disability, if they meet all the essential requirements listed for the post. 

 

In a previous job (and in another country, so slightly different legislation) I used to work with someone who had a chronic illness. Because it was a mental illness, and  because of all the prejudice about mental illness, he never declared it as a disability. However, he couldn't cope with the pressures of the job when it really came down to it. Several of us had to take on more work, and deal with the greater level of stress this person's denial caused the whole team. Even those of us mentally healthy suffered a degree of occasional mental ill-health as a consequence. The colleague's selfishness, although understandable, is something I find hard to forgive, to be honest - even though I know denial of his condition was a symptom of the condition.

 

However, I also saw the cost of having this chronic illness - my colleague really did pay the price. He had to go onto a part-time role, with consequent loss of salary. But he really couldn't do the full job. So I'm ambivalent - my colleagues and I also "paid" for our colleague's disability. And his lack of declaration - when the crisis hit, it felt like dishonesty, frankly. 

 

So personally, looking at it from the point of view of the employer and the person's colleagues, I think there's an ethical duty to declare IF you think that you'll need "reasonable adjustment." However, I understand the reluctance because of prejudice and misunderstanding, particularly around unseen or mental health disabilities.

 

However, the cautionary tale from my experience is that not declaring led us to distrust & feel angry towards our colleague. 

Edited June 19, 2016 by Kate_N

[lartiste]

Personally as someone who is labelled differently abled the most common reason cited in the UK - that I have heard - for declaring a condition is employer insurance which I believe can be invalidated if a condition is not declared and could lead to ramifications if the employee is injured in the workplace and has not declared his/her diagnosis.That doesn't make me any more comfortable in declaring a condition given how some people can still be unwittingly prejudiced both in and outside the workplace especially being unsympathetic to conditions of psychological distress.

 

According to the Equality Act 2010 it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of disability. While this may be UK legislature I believe there is a difference between theory and every day praxis.

 

I would say in the end it's a personal decision that has to be made on a case by case basis. Websites such as Rethink and Time to Change offer advice on the pros and cons of the declaration of being differently abled may be worth checking out.

[aileen]

lartiste, have you needed to ask for 'reasonable adjustments' when you have applied for jobs or could you do the jobs without 'reasonable adjustments'? If you need adjustments then it's just a question of when you ask for them: on the application form or after a job offer has been made.

[lartiste]

Apologies I wanted to edit my post to clarify that I'm not a dance professional but I couldn't find the edit button.

 

I would advise speaking to a legal professional to see where he/she stands in declaring before or after the offer of a contract. Personally I would be swayed towards after if reasonable adjustments are required but as I'm not a legal professional I can't say this would be the correct course of action without repercussions in legal terms.

[Jan McNulty]

If you disclose something on a medical form, surely no-one processing that form has the right to tell anyone else unless they have your express permission.

[DancingtoDance]

On 31/03/2016 at 00:03, aileen said:

I don't think that Dyslexia or Discalculia would be a problem in a vocational school. There are certainly lots of children with Dyslexia at selective independent schools. I don't see that it would be relevant in a company unless the person's Dyslexia was so severe that s/he was functionally illiterate and couldn't, say, fill in a form or read a letter or notice from the company. Having said that, many overseas students and dancers arrive in schools and companies speaking and writing very little English and the schools and companies deal with this.

 

I don't see that the lack of sustained eye contact off stage is such a big problem on its own. There is an awful lot of hanging around in studios during rehearsals but now that everyone has smart phones there's less need for social chit-chat.

 

I can't answer your specific questions about disclosure. Perhaps Hbrew or Annie might care to offer their opinions.

I realise that this thread is a few years old, and I also don't know about life in dance companies and what reasonable adjustments could be provided in that context, but I just wanted to mention that if one finds reading difficult one could buy or download technologies or softwares to help with reading (e.g. read-aloud pen/C-pen, text-to-speech software).

 

Edited July 30, 2019 by DancingtoDance

[Kate_N]

Now you’ve revived this thread, can you say anything about the outcome for the person you were enquiring for? They would have left school by now, I think, if they were in Year 11 when you started this thread in 2016, I think?

[DancingtoDance]

6 hours ago, Kate_N said:

Now you’ve revived this thread, can you say anything about the outcome for the person you were enquiring for? They would have left school by now, I think, if they were in Year 11 when you started this thread in 2016, I think?

 

They did not join a dance company or pursue dancing as a career, however eventually in the secondary school years they decided a performance career in dance wasn't what they wanted.

 

My point in reviving this thread was just in case anybody reading this either knows someone who doesn't like or finds reading difficult, or doesn't like reading themselves; and in case they or someone they know could possibly benefit from technologies to help with reading.

Edited August 1, 2019 by DancingtoDance