Punjabi musician Diljit Dosanjh’s manager has responded to claims that dancers who performed during the singer’s Dil-Luminati tour across the US and Canada weren’t paid. Taking to Instagram, Sonali Singh hit back at allegations that had been levelled at Dosanjh by several choreographers such as Rajat Batta and Manpreet Toor. In her post, Sonali said neither Batta or Toor danced on the tour, and called them out for “spreading misinformation”.
“Our official team never contacted Rajat Batta or Manpreet Toor who are presenting false narratives on social media. Rajat and Manpreet were not part of the Dil-Luminati Tour in any way,” wrote Sonali.
Her post was an Instagram collaborator post with Balwinder Singh Dhillon, a choreographer on the Dil-Luminati Tour.
Earlier in the week, Los Angeles-based dancer and choreographer Batta had shared an Instagram post in which he praised Dosanjh for “breaking glass ceilings”, before expressing his disappointment that “Desi Dancers are still undervalued as an industry”.
“All of the Desi Dancers in Diljit’s Dilumanati Tour were not paid, and just expected to perform for free,” he alleged.
He added, “Diljit, we are happy for your success, but your dancers should have been paid and been a part of the production budget.”
The post attracted a wave of comments from many within the wider South Asian dance community, both in the diaspora and in India.
“I heard this was happening at all his shows…. Sad,” wrote Toor, while dancer and Never Have I Ever actor Richa Moorjani said, “That is a absolute bullshit”.
Photographer Asif Khan said the blame can’t be solely placed on Dosanjh, commenting, “This is disappointing but to blame Diljit directly for it wouldn’t be right, there are event companies and managers involved to handle such stuff. We can just request @diljitdosanjh to look into this matter personally”.
Meanwhile others felt that it’s the responsibility of dancers to not accept no payment for their services. Canadian-Tamil comedian Sunthar Vykunthanathan wrote, “If you don’t respect your own work, then nobody will. The budget for these shows is literally in the millions. Give your head a shake next time you get such an opportunity. ‘Exposure’ doesn’t pay your bills.”.
After seeing Singh’s statement, Batta and Toor released their own responses, with both dancers clarifying that they had never claimed to have been a part of Dosanjh’s tour.
Batta said that “regardless if dancers are willing to work for free or not, dancers should be offered compensation for their labor”. He acknowledged the strides Dosanjh has made in representation for the community, and that his post isn’t intended to “spread misinformation”, but rather “to raise awareness, create dialogue, and come to a productive solution”.
Toor emphasised that her “loyalty lies with the dance community” and that while she wasn’t part of the singer’s tour, she “received many messages about people not being fairly compensated” and wanted to use her “platform” to speak up and help elevate the voices of others.
Diljit Dosanjh, who is currently touring in Europe, is yet to personally comment on the matter.