Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists (CADA) are two organizations who work for the labour rights of artists and professional standards for dance. They are independent organizations and both registered as non-profits; one in British Columbia, based in Vancouver, and one in Ontario, based in Toronto. While their mandates and programs are similar, they are not officially tied in any way.
Membership
Membership in these organizations is with a fee and proof that one is a working professional in dance.
Membership in CADA/West is open to dance artists living and working in Western or Northern Canada.
Membership in CADA/East is open to dance artists living and working across Eastern Canada.
One cannot be a member of both organizations.
Programs and Services
The CADA’s are not labour unions. They are not an organized association of workers formed to protect and further their rights and interests through collective bargaining nor do they have the ability to grieve labour issues with an employer or engager. That said, they are concerned with many of the same things are unions and through studying the dance sector closely publish recommended rates of pay, work hours, workplace health and safety and other work-related issues specific to dance.
Fees & Rates
Both organization publish standard rates for dance rehearsal, performance, choreography and teaching.
CADA/West Fees & Rate Standards
CADA/East Recommended Rates
Professional Standards & Template Dance Contracts
The CADA’s both have sets of professional standards specific to working in dance and template dance contracts available for members to use.
CADA/West Basic Dance Agreement and Policy
CADA/East Professional Standards for Dance
Training Subsidy
One of the more popular services of the CADA’s is the Training Subsidy Program (TSP). TSP offers subsidy for various types of training to support dance artists in their pursuit of personal, professional and/or artistic excellence. Each organization has it’s own guidelines on what is considered eligible training and what the amount subsidized will be. Each organization also has ways to access subsidized studio space.