A London-based backup dancer has said she withdrew from the European leg of Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh's "Dil-Luminati Tour", accusing the management team of "unprofessional and disrespectful" behaviour.
A source close to the tour team, however, dismissed artist Shilpa Sajan's claim, calling it "baseless and untrue". Sajan posted a statement on her Instagram handle, Lateafternoonthoughts, on October 3, detailing the alleged unprofessional treatment she received during her time on the tour.
"Recently, I was selected to be a backup dancer for Diljit Dosanjh's 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," she claimed.
The British-Indian dancer then referenced an earlier controversy regarding Dosanjh's US tour over the non-payment of money owed to the dancers in July, an allegation the singer's manager denied at the time.
According to Sajan, she and fellow dancers found out that Dosanjh's team offered 80 GBP (Rs 8,800 approximately) for the tour's European leg. "... and we had to cover our own travel and accommodation costs for 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 (sic)" she wrote.
The dancer claimed the team didn't communicate properly with the dancers. "Everything was a mess, there was no respect or communication and we were left stressed for days on end. 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. "Even though I was willing to give this a chance, I just couldn't continue encouraging this poor standard in the dance industry," she wrote.
When reached out for a comment, the source close to the tour team dismissed Sajan's claims.
"It's baseless and untrue, with a superstar like Diljit it's easy for anyone and everyone to comment and make news out of it," the source said. After wrapping up the European leg of the tour, Dosanjh will embark on "Dil-Luminati India Tour 2024", set to begin in the national capital from October 26.
