Annual Day, Livestream and the Borrowed Step
For the annual day, a group of eight Class 9 students plans a four-minute dance on a hit film song. One member, Farhan, wants to open with a Lavani step 'because it looks powerful'; no one in the group has learnt Lavani. Another group will stage a short play based on a newspaper report about a farmer's suicide in the district. The media teacher wants to livestream the whole programme on the school's YouTube channel. A parent has offered to sponsor costumes if the group displays the parent's shop name on a banner. During rehearsal, a student films a disagreement between two performers and posts it in a class group. The principal has asked the cultural secretary for a written note on what to do before the show.
1. Identify the ethical and legal issues in the annual-day plan and rank them by urgency.
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The issues are: copyright and performance permission for the film song, including the sound recording and any choreography copied from the film; consent for livestreaming minors, including the audience and the performers in the play about a real person; sensitivity and privacy in the farmer's suicide play, which could identify a family; cultural respect in using Lavani without training or context; sponsorship influence, because a shop banner at a school event can look like advertising to children; and the filmed disagreement posted in a class group, which is a consent and bullying issue.
Urgency order: stop the circulation of the filmed clip and check both students' consent today; settle livestream consent before anything goes online; obtain music permission or replace the track; then review the play and the Lavani item. Sponsorship and banner placement can be decided by the principal. The test is harm and rights, not whether the audience will enjoy it.
2. Advise the group on the Lavani step and the play about the farmer's suicide. What should they keep, change or drop?
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On Lavani: keep the energy, drop the imitation. Lavani is a specific Marathi performance tradition with its own music, costume and comic or heroic conventions. A four-minute film-style item that borrows a step without context can turn a living form into a gimmick. Better options are to invite a Lavani teacher or performer to explain the form, to perform a short authentic piece with credit, or to choose a different opening.
On the play: the subject is legitimate and important, but the treatment must avoid identifying the family, showing a suicide method, or using a real person's name without consent. The group should research the report, speak to a teacher or counsellor, include a content note, and end with helpline information or a discussion. They should not depict the death on stage. Keep the play if it is handled with care; change the script to focus on the family's aftermath and the community's response. Drop any scene that exists only for shock.
3. Draft the consent and permission steps the cultural secretary should recommend for the livestream and for the filmed clip.
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First, the clip: ask the student who filmed it to delete it from the class group, confirm that both performers withdraw consent, and speak to them separately about what happened. Do not forward it. Second, the livestream: the school needs written consent from a parent or guardian for every student who will be identifiable, including performers, backstage crew and anyone in the play. Consent should state the platform, the date, whether the video will stay online, and how to withdraw. Students can decline without losing marks or a role.
Third, the audience: put up notices at the gate that the event is being streamed, and keep the camera away from audience seating where possible. Fourth, music and script: keep written permission or a licence for the song, and a script approval note for the play. Fifth, a named teacher should check the stream before it goes live and have the authority to stop it. The secretary should present this as a one-page checklist to the principal, not a speech.