WESSEX ARABIC DANCE ASSOCIATION
Constitution
AIMS
The aims and objectives of the Association are as follows:
§ The Association aims to teach, perform, and learn the experience of Arabic dance within the community, regardless of age, sex, race, religion, disability, weight/size, or sexual orientation.
§ To provide a forum to share the joy of dancing.
§ To provide opportunities to learn and improve dance technique and related skills.
§ To provide a non-
§ To provide opportunities to gain performance experience.
§ To provide opportunities to gain choreographic experience and create new dances.
§ To encourage members to create their own dance choreographies, offering advice, feedback and constructive criticism.
§ To provide social events related to Arabic dance.
§ To provide access to educational resources including visiting teachers, instructional videos etc.
§ To encourage and develop latent artistic talent in the Association's membership.
§ Through performance, to bring Arabic arts to the community, and promote multicultural exchange.
§ To provide services to schools (linked to the National Curriculum), special needs establishments, and local voluntary organisations.
§ To accrue funds for the mutual benefit of the Association, e.g. bringing in teachers, workshops, instructional videos, resources, necessary travel, costume requisites and educational visits.
RULES
§ Applications for membership are welcome from people who wish to join the Association.
The annual membership fee is £6.00 (subject to review), payable at the first meeting
attended, valid until the next Annual General Meeting, and non-
§ From time to time the committee will vote to appoint Honorary members. These are dancers who have made an outstanding contribution to the dance, or accomplished outstanding achievements, which are felt to have contributed significantly to the development, well being, or reputation of Arabic Dance. They will be people who have made significant advances beyond the ordinary, or what would reasonably be expected that a member would achieve. Such honorary members will not pay membership fees, but will enjoy the benefits that membership of the Association confers. This recognition can, however, be withdrawn by the committee if it is felt that the Honorary member no longer represents the interests and aims of the Wessex Arabic Dance Association, or if it is felt that, by their actions or words, they have brought the Association or Arabic dance into disrepute. Members may choose to nominate Honorary members by writing to the Chair of the committee.
§ The Annual General Meeting shall take place at the first meeting in October every year.
§ The committee shall be appointed by election, and that election shall take place yearly at each Annual General Meeting. Votes for each office will be accepted from the floor, and by postal vote on the forms provided prior to the meeting, and returned by the date of the Annual General Meeting.
§ The committee shall consist of the following posts, plus ex-
§ Committee members are required to attend 50% of committee meetings during the year, unless prevented by illness, and may be required to stand down if they do not do so.
§ Decisions are to be made on a majority vote of the committee at quorate meetings, the quorum being not less than four, of whom at least one must be the Chair, Secretary, or Treasurer.
§ The committee shall decide which activities the Association will pursue.
§ No WADA member or committee member can make a personal profit while using WADA resourses (e.g. PPL licence, insurance, publicity costs) or be expected to take a loss by putting on a WADA event.
§ To hold an event is association with WADA the rules attached must be followed.
§ Everyone, including committee members must show receipts for expenses and, if agreed by the committee, they will be paid by cheque.
§ All monies paid to the treasurer must have an attached note to explain what the money is for and who it is from. Cheques are preferred as a note can be written on the back. Money and note must be presented to the treasurer in a sealed envelope and a receipt given.
§ Flowers of the Desert, WADA's performance platform should be a WADA event with a fair and democratic system of choosing performers: not handpicked by any individual or the committee. Flowers of the Desert should not be a private enterprise with any individual making a profit or a loss using WADA's resources.
§ All the Association's activities are voluntary. However, once members have made the voluntary commitment to an activity, they are expected to fulfil it, e.g. by attending rehearsals, practising at home, making costumes, etc. If illness, or an emergency, makes it impossible to meet the commitment, they must notify a member of the committee immediately.
§ If a member repeatedly fails to meet their commitments (except in the case of illness), or if a member's behaviour has a disruptive or undermining effect on the membership, the committee will ask them to leave the Association.
§ Wessex Arabic Dance Association adopts the convention among Arabic dancers whereby the ownership of choreography rests with the individual, or group, who created it, whose consent must be obtained (and authorship acknowledged) before a choreography is taught or performed.
§ Any fees accrued by members, as a result of performance bookings obtained through the Association, belong to the Association unless decided otherwise at a quorate meeting of the committee.
§ Members attending the monthly meetings shall pay £3.00 (subject to review) at every meeting attended, to cover costs and refreshments.
§ In the event of the dissolution of the Association, the balance of any monies in the Association account shall be divided between the Red Cross and the Red Crescent.
§ The constitution and rules may be amended by majority vote of the full membership at the Annual General Meeting, or at an Extraordinary General Meeting convened for that purpose.
13 October 2000
(amended 25 February 2003)
(amended 14th October 2005)
Rules to hold an event in association with WADA:
§ The event must firmly adhere to the principles of the constitution and the rules regarding access, equality, promoting self development/education etc.
§ The event must conform to the quality and high standards of a WADA event and these would be determined via full consultation and a proposal form prior to the event.
§ WADA may be liable for any costs or debts arising from an event
§ The nominated organiser and chief officers of the event must be full, current WADA members.
§ That the above organiser will sign a written undertaking to abide by the rules here enshrined.
§ That the event will be organised and run by the nominated organiser and chief officers and there will be no expectation that committee members undertake these roles (unless, of course, they volunteer to outside their committee activities)
§ That a proposal and a plan of action will be submitted to the committee for their consideration giving as much notice as practicable, but not less than 2 months.
§ That most of the beneficiaries of the event will be WADA members (however there may be worthy exceptions to this rule, each event will be debated on merit by the committee and the decision of the committee is final).
§ On agreeing the event WADA would provide the publicity within its own newsletter and via it's email/internet website and would act as an umbrella to cover it by the licences and possible insurance (to be confirmed by Treasurer).
The WADA committee will not cancel its own programme of events to accommodate those of others.