Another backup dancer has accused Diljit Dosanjh’s management of 'unprofessional' treatment and unfair pay during the Europe leg of his ongoing Dil-Luminati Tour. Expressing her frustration, she said she was left disappointed while promised an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience—and, as a fan, was thrilled to be part of it.
Shilpa Sajan, the dancer, penned a long statement on her Instagram with the caption, "An opportunity I was super excited about, but the dance industry has shown its true colours once again. Riddled with unprofessionalism, egos, total disrespect for dancers and being told “that’s just how Indians work. No celebrity is worth giving up your self-respect @diljitdosanjh"
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Her statement read, "Recently, I was selected to be a backup dancer for Diljit Dosanjhs DIL-LUMINATI Europe Tour. As a dancer who's been doing this professionally for years, this could have been one of the highlights of my dance career. But I pulled out. Earlier this year, Diljit and his team sparked a lot of outrage because they didnt pay the dancers who performed for his US tour, but we were told this would be a paid opportunity."
"I should ve known better - we soon found out they were offering us 80 GBP and we had to cover our own travel and accommodation costs for the most of it, even when international travel was involved. Still, they promised us this would be an incredible, once in a lifetime experience and as a fan; Ill be honest, I said yes at first. But unfortunately for that price; you get what you pay for. I have never worked with such an unprofessional and disrespectful management team in. my. life," she added.
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She stated that everything was a mess and she was treated with no respect. Messages would be ignored, dancers were getting cut with no explanations provided. There was no emphasis on rehearsals, and when you leave everything to the last minute, this does reflect on stage," Shilpa said.
"This was the hardest decision I have had to make in a while, but sometimes choosing self-respect IS the harder thing to do. I am truly gutted to give up this opportunity, but all I want in this life is to work with people who respect me, and with people I look up to. At the end of the day, I dont need a gig like this to validate myself; and to the dance industry - do better," she concluded.
