THE CHELMSFORD BALLET COMPANY RULES
1: The name of the Society shall be The Chelmsford Ballet Company, hereinafter called ‘THE COMPANY’
2: OBJECTIVES
The objectives of The Company shall be:-
a) To stimulate and maintain interest in ballet and other forms of dance in Chelmsford and District;
b) To give public and private performances;
c) To provide practise and training in ballet and other forms of dance;
d) To provide a dance scholarship fund.
3: MEMBERSHIP
Membership shall be open, at the discretion of the committee, to all persons interested in ballet and other forms of dance, and shall comprise the following categories of membership:
a) Junior, General and Senior Dancing Membership, subject to the following qualifications:
i) passing an audition adjudicated by panel of judges appointed by the Committee;
ii) maintaining during membership regular attendance for dance tuition of a mode accepted at the discretion of the Committee;
iii) in the case of Junior Dancing Members, to have attained the age of ten years and not more than 12 years on 1st September in the year of the audition, and to having passed a ballet examination at grade 2 or above;
iv) in the case of General Dancing Members, to have attained the age of thirteen years by 1st September preceding the audition, and to having passed a ballet examination at grade 2 or above;
v) Junior Dancing Members will be regarded as General Dancing Members, on attaining the age of thirteen years.
vi) in the case of Senior Dancing Members, to have attained the age of thirteen years by 1st September in the year of the audition and in the case of female members be working “en pointe”.
b) Associate Membership
c) Corporate Membership, open to any interested dancing school which shares and supports the objectives of the Company. The following benefits would apply to Corporate Members:
i) The Corporate Member shall be entitled to all newsletters, publicity and advance booking opportunities which all other Members receive though, where appropriate, priority shall be given to other members.
ii) The students attending a Corporate Member School shall be entitled to claim a discount on any activity where discounts are also offered to Dancing or Associate Members, though such discounts should always be less than those offered to other Members.
Each Corporate Member will, at the time of joining, be asked to nominate an individual authorised to represent the Member at Annual General Meetings or Special General Meetings, and to vote. This nominee will also be the person to whom all communications are sent. It will be the responsibility of the Corporate Member to notify any change in the Member’s nominee. The Corporate Member, or their nominee, may not be eligible to be nominated to serve on the Committee. This will not affect the eligibility of an individual who holds membership as described in sections (a), (b), and (d) of this Rule.
d) Patrons, President, Vice Presidents and Honorary Members, at the invitation of the Company.
e) A register of members shall be kept by the Membership Secretary. This should include, in the case of Corporate Members, the name of the nominee referred to in Rule 3(c). In addition to the details contained in the register, an additional list of Corporate Members should be maintained and made available to anyone seeking information about schools in the area covered by the Company. Each Corporate Member should be invited to supply the necessary information to complete this list, and the responsibility for its accuracy would rest with the Corporate Member. All references to he/she shall hereafter also relate to Corporate Members.
4: SUBSCRIPTION
a) The annual subscription shall be determined at the Annual General Meeting of the Company. The rate so determined shall apply from the day following the meeting.
b) The annual subscription shall be payable from the first day of August each year. Members joining part way through the year will be charged pro rata.
c) The annual subscription shall apply to Members in accordance with their category of membership as determined at an Annual General Meeting of the Company.
d) Payment of the subscription shall entitle a Member to vote at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting. Any Member whose subscription remains unpaid shall not be entitled so to vote.
5: RESIGNATION
a) A Member shall cease to be a Member if he/she gives written notice to the Hon. Secretary of his/her resignation.
b) A Member whose subscription is more than two months in arrears shall be personally notified that if his/her subscription is not received within fourteen days he/she shall be deemed to have resigned, and any reinstatement shall be at the discretion of the Committee.
6: EXPULSION AND SUSPENSION
The Committee shall have the power to expel from membership or suspend from membership for a specified period, any Member when, in its opinion, it would not be in the interests of the Company for him/her to remain. The Member expelled or suspended shall have no right to reimbursement of any membership subscription previously paid.
Within 21 days of the expulsion or suspension a Special General Meeting may be called at the request of that Member, in writing to the Hon. Secretary setting out the reasons for the matter to be considered at the Special General Meeting and enclosing a requisition signed by not less than 10 members.
7: COMMITTEE
a) The Committee, who shall be Members of the Company, shall consist of the Chairman, Hon. Secretary, Hon. Treasurer, Business Manager, Publicity Officer, Events Secretary, Membership Secretary, and up to 4 other members.
b) In addition, the Committee for the time being shall appoint an Artistic Director, and/or a Choreographer for the annual production and, at its discretion, an Assistant Artistic Director and/or an Artistic Director Emeritus/Emerita who shall be full members of the Committee. The Committee for the time being shall have the power to expel or suspend sine die any or all of the appointees when in its opinion, it would not be in the interests of the Company for them to remain. The appointments made under rule 7b shall terminate at the next following Annual General Meeting but the incumbent(s) shall be eligible for reappointment.
c) The Junior, General and Senior Dancing Members of the Company shall elect either a General or Senior Dancing Member to the Committee who shall be a full member of the Committee and titled Dancers’ Representative.
If for any reason the Dancers’ Representative is not elected at the Annual General Meeting or, having been elected, is no longer able to represent the dancers prior to the next Annual General Meeting, an election may take place at another time. The notification period, time, venue and quorum for such an election shall be at the discretion of the Committee. The Dancers’ Representative, whenever elected, shall serve until the next Annual General Meeting after their election.
d) Subject to rule 7c, the Committee Members shall be proposed and seconded and elected at the Annual General Meeting each year and shall remain in office until their successors are elected at the next Annual General Meeting. Any vacancy occurring by resignation or otherwise may be filled by the Committee from the Membership. Retiring members of the Committee shall be eligible for re-election.
e) The Committee may, at its first meeting, appoint one of its number to the office of Vice-Chairman.
f) Committee meetings shall be held not less than four times per annum and the quorum of that meeting shall be FIVE. The Chairman and the Hon. Secretary shall have discretion to call further meetings if they consider it to be in the interests of the Company. The Hon. Secretary shall give all the members of the Committee not less than two days oral or written notice of such a meeting. Decisions of the Committee shall be by simple majority and in the event of equality of votes the Chairman (or acting chairman of that meeting) shall have a casting or additional vote. The Hon. Secretary, or in his/her absence a member of the Committee, shall take minutes.
g) In addition to the members so elected the Committee may co-opt up to two further Members of the Company who shall serve until the next Annual General Meeting. Co-opted members shall be entitled to vote at such meetings of the Committee.
h) The Committee may from time to time appoint such sub-committees as it may consider necessary, and may delegate to them such duties as the Committee may determine. All sub-committees shall periodically report their proceedings to the Committee and shall conduct their business in accordance with the directions of the Committee. The Hon. Secretary and Hon. Treasurer shall be ex-officio members of all sub-committees. All the sub-committees shall be under the chairmanship of a member of the main Committee.
i) The Committee shall be responsible for the management of the Company and shall have the power to enter into contracts for the purposes of the Company on behalf of all the Members of the Company.
j) The members of the Committee shall be entitled to an indemnity out of the assets of the Company for all expenses and other liabilities properly incurred by them in the management of the affairs of the Company.
k) The Committee shall, at its discretion, make allocation to and disbursement from the Scholarship Fund.
l) The Committee shall have the power to deal with any situation not provided for in the Rules.
8: ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
a) The Annual General Meeting of the Company shall be held each year not later than 31st October to transact the following business:
i) To receive the Chairman’s report of the activities of the Company during the previous year;
ii) To receive and consider the accounts of the Company for the previous year and the Auditor’s report on the accounts and the Treasurer’s report as to the financial position of the Company.
iii) To remove and elect the Auditor or confirm that he remain in office;
iv) To elect the Officers and other members of the Committee;
v) To decide on any motion which may be duly submitted in accordance with Rule 8(b);
vi) To determine the annual subscriptions
b) Nominations for election of Members to any office or for membership of the Committee shall be made in writing by the proposer to the Hon. Secretary not less than fourteen days before the Annual General Meeting. Notice of any proposal to be moved at the Annual General Meeting shall be given to the Hon. Secretary not less than fourteen days before the Meeting. Nominations for any post on the Committee may be accepted from the floor at the Meeting only if no nomination has been received prior to the closing date.
9: SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING
A Special General Meeting
a) May be called at any time by the Committee;
b) Shall be called within 28 days of receipt by the Hon. Secretary of a requisition in writing signed by not less than thirty members stating the purposes for which the meeting is required and the resolutions proposed.
c) All Members to receive a copy of the requisition giving details of the purposes of the meeting and the proposed resolution, such information to accompany the notice of the Meeting.
10: PROCEDURE AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING
a) The Hon. Secretary shall send to each Member at his/her last known address written notice of the date and time of the Annual General Meeting and Special General Meeting at least 28 days before the Meeting.
b) The quorum for the Annual General Meeting and the Special General Meeting shall be one-tenth of the membership of the Company.
c) The Chairman or Vice-Chairman or in their absence a Member selected by the Committee shall take the Chair. Each voting Member present shall have one vote and resolutions shall be passed by a simple majority. In the event of an inequality of votes the Chairman of the Meeting shall have a casting or additional vote.
d) The Hon. Secretary or in his/her absence, a member of the Committee shall take the minutes at Annual or Special General Meetings.
11: ALTERATION OF RULES
The Rules may be altered by resolution at an Annual or Special General Meeting of the Company, provided that the resolution is carried by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the Members present at the Meeting. Notice of any such proposal to alter the Rules must be made to the Hon. Secretary not less than twenty-one days before the Meeting.
12: FINANCE
a) All monies payable to the Company shall be received by the Hon. Treasurer and deposited in a bank or building society accounts(s) in the name of the Company.
b) No monies shall be withdrawn from the accounts except by authorisation signed by any two of the three signatories who shall be the Chairman, the Hon. Treasurer and the Hon. Secretary.
c) Any monies not required for immediate use may be invested in the name of the Company as the Committee in its discretion thinks fit.
d) The financial transactions of the Company shall be recorded in books to be kept by the Hon. Treasurer.
13: DISSOLUTION
a) A proposal for the dissolution of the Company must have been declared, and notified to the Members of the Company, in line with the requirements of Rule 9. Such a proposal cannot be accepted from the floor at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting.
b) Any motion to dissolve the Company must be proposed and seconded at a Special General Meeting of the Company and shall be carried by a majority of three-quarters of Members present.
c) The dissolution shall take effect from the date of the resolution and the members of the final Committee shall be responsible for winding up the assets and liabilities of the Company.
d) Any property and finances remaining after the discharge of the debts and liabilities of the Company shall be given to a registered charity or charities to be nominated by the final Committee.
14: RULES
All Members of the Company shall be entitled to receive a copy of the Rules.
15: The Committee shall decide on the productions to be held in any year.
16: The Committee shall decide which of the persons appointed under rule 7b shall have complete artistic authority for those productions which have been selected for the year, within the financial limits laid down by the Committee.
17: Only auditioned Dancing Members shall dance in the Company productions.
18: Other performers if required shall, at the discretion of the Committee, be drawn from Associate Members of the Company; be drawn from students of the Corporate Members; or shall be named as Guest Artistes. Dancing and Associate Members shall be given priority of roles in Company productions.
19: All Dancing Members shall be required to audition for each production in which they wish to perform. Members whose subscription remains unpaid may forfeit the right to take part in such auditions.
20: Members who fail to attend rehearsals on a regular basis or whose subscription remains unpaid, may forfeit their right to take part in any production for which they have been selected.
21: All costumes provided by the Company shall remain the property of the Company.
October 2009
THE CHELMSFORD BALLET COMPANY
DANCER/COMPANY MUTUAL OBLIGATIONS AGREEMENT 2011-12
Although The Chelmsford Ballet Company is not a professional company, in the sense that dancing members are not paid to perform, it expects professional standards of conduct, endeavour, commitment and performance from all members of whatever age.
The following list of mutual obligations does not purport to be a legally binding contract but an obligation in honour, entered into as mutually binding code of conduct.
1. DANCING MEMBERSHIP CODE OF CONDUCT AND UNDERTAKING
So far as is reasonably practicable, I will:-
i. Attend all rehearsals on time, correctly attired and equipped relevant to the event.
ii. Give timely notice to the Company if any situation arises that prevents me from meeting my obligations on any particular day, and report any injury or illness that may affect my ability to perform to a Company standards. (See footnote)
Iii. Support Company events including promotional advertising, social and organisational, whether as a performer or in support of the Company or fellow dancers
iv. Endeavour to arrange holiday dates to meet rehearsal schedules, so far as is reasonably practicable.
v. Accept a professional regimen of discipline at rehearsals, performances and events and conduct myself as a professional dancer, co-operating fully with and supporting Choreographers, Artistic Director, Wardrobe Mistress/Master, and Committee Members.
vi. Support and encourage my fellow dancers to achieve the highest standards of performance.
vii. Do my best to exhibit professional standards of conduct and performance that will reflect well on the reputation of the Company
viii. Support the monthly Company Classes and attend whenever practicable.
ix. Take opportunities to foster the reputation of the Company and to support the sale of show tickets.
x. Treat the property of the Company with care, especially in regard to costumes and props provided for performances.
xi. Wear Ballet Company items e.g. Company T-shirt, Show T-shirt Show Costume, when representing the Company at displays and other events.
2. Company Committee Code
So far as is reasonably practicable, the Company Committee will:-
i. Provide professional Artistic Directors and Choreographers for all dancing events.
ii. Undertake all rehearsal and performance arrangements in a manner that will promote excellence of performance.
iii. Demand and promote the highest standards of performance via a stringent and fair Company and Show audition process.
iv. Maintain a demanding programme of annual productions and ensure high quality production facilities.
v. Provide regular Company classes tutored by professionals which may include other elements of the performing arts.
vi. Ensure that your health and safety is a prime consideration in the timing and arrangements for rehearsals, functions, advertising, promotional events and during theatre productions. This includes decisions on your fitness to dance in any performance. (See footnote)
vii. Ensure that all national and local statutory authority requirements are met in terms of the Criminal Records Bureau, Independent Safeguarding Authority, and for Chaperoning.
Footnote
Where reasonably practicable and appropriate, injured or sick dancers will be expected to attend rehearsals and post performance ‘notes’, in order to remain up to date on choreographic and performance requirements. A decision on whether a dancer is considered fit, or competent, to dance in any performance will be conveyed to the dancer by the Artistic Director.
CORPORATE MEMBERS OF THE
The Chelmsford Ballet Company
The following are currently Corporate Members of the Ballet Company
and we thank them for their continuing support:
CLASSICAL BALLET AND THEATRE SCHOOL
Annette Potter AISTD (Dip), Andy Potter AISTD (Dip)
BUCKHURST HILL & WOODFORD SCHOOL OF DANCE
Juliet Locks
JULIE NOBLE SCHOOL OF DANCE & DRAMA
Julie Noble AISTD (Dip)
TRUDI OSBORNE SCHOOL OF DANCE
Trudi Osborne LISTD
LINDA SHIPTON SCHOOL OF DANCING
Linda Shipton, Fellow & Examiner ISTD (Imperial Ballet),
LISTD Dip.(MTH)
THE WESTON SCHOOL OF DANCE & PERFORMING ARTS
Elisabeth Swan FISTD
WYNNE SCHOOL OF DANCING
Freda Wynne MNATD
Associate Member
If you wish to support The Company you can join at any time as an Associate Member
(or Friend).
Associate members are also able to audition for non-dancing roles in the annual show
Junior Dancing Member
To join as a Dancing Member you must be at least 10 years of age on the 1st September in the current year, hold a Grade 2 Ballet Certificate, attend a weekly ballet class and be accepted at audition.
General / Senior Dancing Member
To join as a General Dancing Member you must be at least 13 years of age on the 1st September in the current year, hold a Grade 2 Ballet Certificate, attend a weekly ballet class and be accepted at audition.
Female candidates for Senior Dancing Membership must be working “en pointe”.
*Please see full rules.