After years of disrespect by theatre management, a world-renowned dance company says it just can’t imagine returning to Calgary’s Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium Theatre.
The local organization that brings Shen Yun Performing Arts to Calgary each year has gone public with the situation in hopes something may change.
Presenters of the show say unprofessional and insulting behaviours from theatre management reached new levels this year, though the situation started deteriorating in 2010 when the theatre forced the use of a large net over the orchestra without notifying the company.
The net was not included in the contract and caught performers off guard. The company said none of the more than 100 theatres they have performed in have demanded such an obstructive net, and the orchestra felt it was performing in a cage.
Efforts to discuss the net have been dismissed, including the possibility of signing waivers to remove any legal responsibility from the theatre should a dancer fall into the orchestra pit—the reason the theatre provided for installing the net.
The Jubilee’s director, Katherine Huising, said waivers are not possible due to legal reasons. But two lawyers The Epoch Times spoke with said if Shen Yun’s performers signed waivers, it would remove the theatre’s liability. One lawyer thought that installing the net without warning or mention in the contract may have been in violation of the contract.
