Dance instructor Eric Rush is now sitting in jail for criminal cha-cha lessons. This might be hard to explain to fellow inmates who can boast manslaughter or car-jacking for their earning their bones, but Rush literally danced his way into jail by violating an order not to teach dance under an agreement with his former employer Arthur Murray. Judge Roach in Texas did not like Rush’s stomping around on a dance floor and sent him to jail where he is now desperately trying to look like a psycho gang banger.
Rush, whose dancing name is Eric Romero (you can’t teach dance it appears without a Latin name), worked at Arthur Murray in Plano until December. He signed a non-compete clause, which seems pretty restrictive in effectively blocking his ability to stay within his chosen profession. Indeed, he states that that without Tangos, he is nothing — even suggesting that it is a sin. It is like asking a doctor not to practice medicine. . . . [If i stopped] it would be like blasphemous.”
District court Judge John Roach Jr. stopped the music. Roach appears to see contempt in Rush’s dance moves when he taught dance (before the 2009 deadline) at the Tango & Cha Cha’s dance studio in Dallas. A client signed the incriminating affidavit, identifying Rush as the man who took her through the unlawful dance moves.
For the full story, click here
For a video interview, click here.
Thanks to my wonderful colleague Susan Karamanian for sending me this gem of a story. For those interested in Gene Kelly’s view, see below:
Don’t bring a frown to old Broadway
Ah, you got a clown on Broadway
Your troubles there, they’re out of style
‘Cause Broadway always wears a smile.
A million lights, they flicker there
A million hearts beat quicker there
No skies are gray on that great white way,
That’s the Broadway Melody!
[BROADWAY BALLET]
Don:
Gotta dance!
Gotta dance!
Gotta dance!
Don and Chorus:
Gotta dance!
Gotta dance!
Gotta dance!
Don:
Broadway rhythm’s got me, ev’rybody dance.
Broadway rhythm’s got me, ev’rybody dance.
Out on the gay white way and each merry café
Orchestras play taking our breath away,
Broadway rhythm’s got me, ev’rybody sing and dance.
Oh, that Broadway rhythm…
Oh, that Broadway rhythm.
When I hear that happy beat
I feel like dancin’ down the street
In that Broadway rhythm writhing, beating rhythm…
Chorus:
Gotta dance!
Don:
Gotta dance!
Chorus:
Gotta dance!
Don:
Gotta dance!
[BALLET]
Boy:
Gotta dance!
Gotta dance!
Don:
Gotta dance!
Gotta dance!
Gotta dance!
[BALLET]
Don:
That’s the Broadway Melody!
I can only say that there is only one reason Eric is in jail. It is Arthur Murrays attempt to control not only their students but their teachers as well.
Eric must possess a raw talent such as personality, charm, charsima and honest sale skills. I have heard that Arthur Murray Plano was nothing but a bunch of control freaks. I dont understand that a studio that employees 12 instructors could not stand up against this one person…so they pursue to jail him…. Oh !!!We of Little Little Faith!!!!
rafflaw –
I really don’t know those specifics. With a “company” like Arthur Murray, though, they probably did their homework on their legal protections. How else could they have survived so long by issuing paper footprints with numbers written on them? But as you said, it is Texas we’re talking about and it’s almost a little country unto itself. I suppose most anything is open to interpretation.
Mojo,
I understand the difference between a right to work state, but I am curious as to the state of Texas law as to the enforceability of the restrictive covenant in question here. Do you know if the judge has the ability to reduce the geographic scope and/or duration of the restrictive covenant if he/she determines is too broad or in effect too long? That can be done in Illinois and it seems to be the fairer approach for a worker. Of course, it is Texas that we are talking about.
rafflaw –
Texas is a ‘right-to-work’ state, which sounds good except what it basically means is right-to-work for less and without union protections. Not all unions are that great, in fact some are pretty awful and do little for the employee members. However, this ‘dancing fool’ may have confused the right-to-work law as meaning his non-compete clause was unenforceable, but he would be wrong. Signing that paper and not abiding by it was a mistake he’ll likely not be making again.
But at least he has a captive audience to entertain for a while.
I am not surprised that this is happening in Texas. Earlier this year I was “let go” from the bank that had purchased the bank that I was working for and they would not provide a severance package unless I signed a non-compete agreement that tried to restrict me from acting as a trust officer for a period of one year with an unlimited geographic scope! Of course, in Illinois that overly broad restrictive covenant would be unenforceable, but the employer was attempting to bully me into not working in my chosen profession. Luckily, another employer eventually understood that this attempt by my former employer could not be enforced, but they did succeed in keeping me out of the market place for several months. Employers use this technique to hold the employee hostage and it looks like this judge in Texas is allowing them to do that here. Of cours, I do not know if Texas law allows a judge to reduce the length of time and geographic scope of the restrictive covenant like Illinois does. I would not be surprised if the enlightened state of Texas does not protect the worker like Illinois does.