Contact for Staging Doris Humphrey Dances Educational Performance Collection Fees Performance Rights   Solos to Stage   Stagings Around the World   Staging from the Score

	>PERFORMANCE RIGHTS Contents: Determination of a Public Performance Questions and Answers about Public Performance Obtaining a Contract for Public Performance Determination of a Public Performance Contractual arrangements must be made before a work can be publicly performed. A performance is legally public when anyone outside of family and close friends is invited to view it, or the performance is in a place that is accessible to the public. Admission charge is not the determining factor. Student performances are subject to the same criteria as professional performances. The use of portions of a dance is subject to the same criteria as the whole dance. According to Public Law 94-553 (Oct. 19, 1976), To "perform" a work means to recite, render, play, dance, or act it, either directly or by means of any device or process or, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to show its images in any sequence or to make the sounds accompanying it audible. To perform or display a work "publicly" means -- (1) to perform or display it at a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered; or (2) to transmit or otherwise communicate a performance or display of the work to a place specified by clause (1) or to the public, by means of any device or process, whether the members of the public capable of receiving the performance or display receive it in the same place or in separate places and at the same time or at different times.
	Questions and Answers about Public Performance Q: Is it a public performance if Doris Humphrey’s Invention is taught in a repertory class, and at the end of the semester, the students show what they have learned to the other students in the class? A: No. This is not a public performance because the work will be shown in the classroom to the students’ classmates. Q: Is it a public performance if Paul Taylor’s Esplanade is taught in a similar repertory class, and at the end of the semester, the students want their family and friends to attend class to see what they have learned? A: No. This is not a public performance because only family and friends have been invited, and the work will be shown in the classroom setting. Q: Is it a public performance if the performance includes some costumes and/or other production elements? A: Perhaps. Costumes and production elements are not a factor in determining public performance. Who is invited and where the dance is performed determine public performance. However, once costumes and production elements are added, a wider circle of people is often invited, resulting in a public performance. Q: Is it a public performance if the students and teacher put up posters or distribute fliers announcing that the showing is open to any student or faculty member who would like to attend? A: Yes. This is now a public performance because the audience has been extended beyond the family and classmates. Q: Is it a public performance if José Limón’s A Choreographic Offering is taught in a class at a summer festival? There may or may not be people other than the students' classmates attending the end of the summer workshop performance. The performance has been advertised in the festival’s catalogue. A: Yes. The performance was scheduled and announced in advance so that other people might attend.
	Obtaining a Contract for Public Performance The DNB can make contractual arrangements for the public performance of many of the dances that have Labanotation scores housed in the library. For the remaining dances, the DNB acts as a referral service, providing information about whom to contact. There are several types of fees involved in a reconstruction contract. The choreographer (or estate) establishes and is paid both license and royalty fees. A license typically lasts one year and grants permission to perform the dance during the stated period. Royalty fees are quoted on a per performance basis. The DNB service fee covers the administrative costs of negotiating a contract and the provision of library materials. Other fees include the stager’s fee, travel, hotel and per diem (if applicable); and the stylistic coach's fee, travel, hotel and per diem (if applicable). For any questions or more specific information regarding public performances, please contact Director of Programs.