The MyDance Alliance Annual General Meeting is coming up! Do you have questions?
Yes, I have questions! How is the committee chosen?
During the Annual General Meeting, current MyDance members vote for the new committee, from the list of nominees. One ordinary member has one vote. One organisational member has one vote. Student members are not entitled to vote. The winners are chosen by a simple majority, using a secret ballot.
Who is on the list of nominees?
The list of nominees is compiled before the meeting. People can be nominated for a particular position in the committee (i.e. President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer) or just for a general committee position.
How can I add someone to the list of nominees?
You can nominate yourself to the list, or you can nominate someone else. (Please get that person’s consent before you nominate them; please do not nominate people who are not willing to be committee members, as it’s a waste of everyone’s time.)
Nominees must be Malaysian citizens (unless you get a special release) and must be members of MyDance Alliance. Student members are not eligible. To become a member, see here. You can also renew your membership at the AGM.
To nominate someone to the list, fill out this form and return it by email to contact@mydancealliance.org, by 5 May.
[Tip: you don’t need to fill out the whole form. Just make nominations for the person you want. For example, if you want to nominate Ms Tan to the post of Treasurer, put Ms Tan’s name next to Treasurer, and submit the form (don’t forget the two signatures). You don’t need to nominate someone for the other posts of President, Vice President, etc…]
I’m interested to be a MyDance committee member. But what do committee members do?
The 10-person committee decides the directions and organizes the activities of the organization (other members can also organize activities!)
The committee is a group of volunteers — they do not get paid for their work. So they cannot be forced to do any work. However, committee members should think of their responsibilities as the following:
- To respond to occasional emails and Whatsapp messages from the President and other committee members requesting information or feedback. This includes voting for Small Grant applications.
- To organize one project for MyDance once a year.
- To help out with other MyDance projects, if they can.
- To represent a part of the dance community to MyDance Alliance, and vice versa.
I can answer emails and Whatsapp messages, but my schedule is crazy, so I can’t come to meetings. Can I still be a committee member?
Yes, you can! The committee hardly ever meets physically. Most of our business is conducted through electronic means: either email or Whatsapp.
What kind of project for MyDance does a committee member need to do?
The project can be small or large. It can consist of a performance platform, workshop, talk, forum, publication or other activity. It should:
- provide a service to the larger dance community (i.e. not just for you, as a dance artist)
- be a volunteer project. It should not make money for the organizing committee member. It can raise funds for MyDance, but this is optional.
- be branded as a MyDance project. It can also be carried out in partnership with other organizations.
Examples of previous MyDance projects which have been spearheaded by MyDance committee members are Dancebox, Dancing in Place: City Site, the online magazine Langkah, Kongsi-kongsi discussion sessions, and workshops by visiting choreographers (for workshops, in general, the artist giving the workshop, if not the committee member, gets 60% of proceeds, the venue gets 15% and MyDance gets 15%).
As a committee member, how can I help out with other MyDance projects?
Committee members need each others’ help to run projects! There are lots of ways you can help out, by being stage manager or front of house manager for performances, by helping with promotion of events, or by helping to proofread publications.
As a committee member, how do I represent my part of the dance community to MyDance?
MyDance Alliance attempts to build bridges between different parts of the dance community. Depending on who else is on the committee, you may find yourself representing a particular school, dance company, ethnicity or language group, or type of dance (i.e. ASWARA, Kwang Tung Dance Company, Indians or Tamil-speakers, ballroom dance).
This means that during discussions you should remember that you are representing a group that is bigger than yourself. The choices that you make should reflect the needs and perspectives of your group, as well as your own opinions.
You should also inform the committee about news, activities and projects from your particular group — and vice versa! So make sure you inform your group about activities that MyDance is running, and encouraging your group to participate and take up opportunities.
I think I want to be Treasurer. What do the particular officers in the MyDance committee have to do?
The officers have extra responsibilities:
- President: Coordinates the entire organisation, takes responsibility for the organisation, and provides leadership; signs cheques.
- Vice President: Substitutes for the president when the president is absent, advises the president, provides leadership; signs cheques.
- Secretary: Takes minutes during the Annual General Meeting, submits documentation to the Registrar of Societies, checks the MyDance post box regularly; signs cheques.
- Treasurer: Receives bank statements, keeps the organisation’s accounts, provides updates from the accounts where necessary for Small Grant considerations, etc, prepares and signs cheques.
- Media & Publications Officer (this role does not need to be filled, and may be empty): Communicates about MyDance activities to the media, coordinates publications.
In addition to the officers, there are 5 (or 6, if not M&P Officer) ordinary committee members. They have no extra responsibilities.
Okay, I’m ready to nominate myself to be a committee member! What do I need to do?
Great! Make sure you have completed the nomination process (send in the form).
If there is a vote on meeting day (if there are only 10 nominations, then there may be no vote), all the candidates should give a brief presentation to the attending members:
- Introduction to self, including own biography in the dance community, and what part of the community they will be representing.
- If current committee member seeking re-election, present what you have done for MyDance since the last AGM.
- Propose an idea or two for your future projects for MyDance.
- Anything else you would like to add, to help the members consider you as a fit candidate.
I have other questions which aren’t answered here.
Sorry about that, but we’d love to hear from you! Please email any questions to contact@mydancealliance.org or Whatsapp the President at +6017 310 3769.
Photo montage by Loh Weijun