Avril Audition Update

Wendy Garofoli | Feb 05, 2008 | there are 1 comments

Caving to pressure from industry insiders and leaks to the press, Avril Lavigne's management canceled today's scheduled audition for tour dancers.

As of 10:30pm last night, according to a myspace message from Clear Talent Group, Lavigne's people decided to shut down the audition and re-open conversation with dance agencies. They had closed the door on talks earlier that evening after rumblings in the press about their less-than-satisfactory pay. (They were offering $1,250 per week, not including perdiem and agency fees. Typical pay for a touring artist can run upwards of $1,800 per week; Equity chorus members on Broadway make $1,450 per week).

In fact, this isn't the first time Lavigne's management have offered unsavory treatment to dancers. One dancer, who has performed in one of her music videos and wishes to remain anonymous, said, "She fed us cheap, gross food on the set, kept us in a freezing warehouse in ripped punk clothing, and paid us under industry standards. And to top it all off, she wasn't even that nice to work with as an artist. I am not surprised at all that this is happening with her. She is very, very, very cheap."

Thanks to a heartfelt effort from dance agencies, Lavigne and her managers are willing to renegotiate contracts and (hopefully) pay dancers what they deserve. See what a little organization in Hollywood will get you? Now, we just need the TV networks to cooperate with the Writer's Guild!