Diljit Dosanjh’s Tour Was a Success. What About Its Dancers?
The Punjabi artist sold out North American arenas. Claims that he didn’t pay his dancers have reignited an age-old debate.
Over 20,000 people wait in anticipation in a dark stadium. Suddenly, the lights turn red, as do their LED wristbands. “Diljit Dosanjh” flashes on the screen, and the artist emerges from beneath the stage in his signature black fit. His viral hit song, “G.O.A.T.,” plays as Bhangra dancers join him on stage. The show begins.
Over the last few months, that scene has played out across North American arenas as part of Dosanjh’s Dil-Luminati Tour. It’s been a wildly successful 13-concert run that’s included a performance at Vancouver’s 50,000-seater BC Place Stadium, the largest Punjabi music show outside India. Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau even attended the final performance in Toronto on July 13, while Jimmy Fallon introduced Dosanjh as the “biggest Punjabi artist on the planet” a few weeks earlier.
Dosanjh has earned praise for putting Punjab and India on the map. Now, the tour is mired in controversy, with some claiming the production company didn’t pay dancers. That has unleashed a larger conversation about the plight of South Asian professional dancers.