You have found someone else who holds a similar mission, vision, aesthetic, and passion for dance. You are doing this together, whether it is a company, collective, festival, or workshop. Partnership. Collaboration. Teamwork.

Here are some crucial ideas and questions to consider, discuss, and put down in writing. Grey areas around money most likely will lead to stress, disagreements, and pulling focus from the most important time and details of creating dances.

1. Sketch out – together – a budget for the year or next project. Look at it together. In person. (Any red flags or disagreements yet?) See example of a budget here ( Download Dance Company Budget for 2015).

2. Based on this budget, what are some upfront costs already – studio rentals, theater deposit, website creation? Can you split these costs 50/50? (Save all receipts. Make a shared Google Doc spreadsheet so people can access figures anytime, anywhere. Note who paid for which expenses.)

3. Have a heart-to-heart, in person (not email) conversation about the budget. What if you do not meet your goals with donations and ticket sales? 

Can you make a Plan B and a Plan C? (i.e. leaner budgets)? 

If you don't break even after your show, will you split the final expenses 50/50? (Write down the date and meeting notes for when you discussed this.)

4. In general, how do you each feel about the budget and the risk of losing money? How would each person involved in the project describe his/her comfort level for taking financial risks? (Have this conversation. In person.)

5. Related to the previous comment, create action steps to ease stress and discomfort. This might mean

• A weekly meeting
• A weekly phone check in
• Updating the Google spreadsheet with profit/expenses each week or each month

Based on my experience, these steps will set you on a clear, professional path that will then allow you and your artistic partner to focus on the most important ideas of art making. The following document can serve as a worksheet to talk through these concepts:

Download Artists' Financial Agreement Worksheet

—————————-