Litigious Dancing Fools

Too much time and money on their hands:

IT was supposed to symbolise the unbridled joy pulsing through an innocent young girl who lives for the thrill of performance.

Instead, a choreographed three-minute dance to Gloria Estefan's Turn The Beat Around, created for Brisbane seven-year-old Caitlyn Armstrong, has led to a $38,000 legal battle.

Her parents, Kylie and Stephen, and dance teacher Sharlene Ponzo, who created the routine, took Springwood's Wild Child Acting and Dance Studios to court last year after becoming incensed by the studio's attempts to stop them performing it.

The complainants said the youngster's winning up-tempo routine – which netted 10 section titles over two years at eisteddfods across the southeast – was owned by its creator Ms Ponzo because she crafted it while a contractor to Wild Child.

But Wild Child co-owners Philip and Julie Jones argued Ms Ponzo was an employee and not a contractor – and therefore the dance was the company's intellectual property, unable to be performed by others without their permission.

The gloves came off when Ms Ponzo left Wild Child in August 2005 and Caitlyn began performing the song at eisteddfods without Wild Child's permission.

Repeated clashes between the parties on the eisteddfod circuit became commonplace, each accusing the other of stealing the act.

Legal action began after an eisteddfod at Logan City in June last year when Caitlyn's performance was followed by a young contestant from Wild Child wearing the same costume and performing the same routine.

...But last Thursday, Federal Court magistrate Michael Burnett admonished all parties for bringing the matter before the courts.

Lawyers for both parties agreed to settle out of court.