HOW TO? educational program series for young dance artists vol.IV: MANAGE

Our last guest of this season’s program series was Anikó Rácz who is working for SÍN Arts and Culture Center. We got richer with super useful and interesting informations concerning the topics of freelancing, contracts, own business, and of organizations helping artists in Hungary. Making some ground definitions clear, the participants have shared some personal experiences. We learnt from them as well by reflecting on the stories and making a conclusion. Some important bulletpoints:

About freelancing:

• Combining different jobs: find out what are your employers expecting from you, ask, ask how much do you excatly have to work, what is the schedule, what can you do besides that
• Put everything down on paper, after a personal discussion send a summery of the meeting via email
• Importance of daily training
• Communicate, be curious, ask

Bulletpoints of a contract:

• Whom are the parties
• What is the contract about
• What is the exact period of time
• Salary: how much money, how the payment is scheduled, what is the payment method (cash or bank transfer).There should be each time the possibility for you to ask for modification in the contract. A contract is an equal agreement, you are just as important as your employer. The employer needs you as much as you need the employer.

What are the positive aspects of being able giving invoice?

• There is a legal proof of your professional works (if you are not in a contract, then on paper your job did not happen)
• If you’d get injured with a contract on your name is proving that you were actually there
• Your name is in the contract, then you can ask for modification, you can represent yourself legally
• Internationally there are different solutions, but this is a safe practice in Hungary

About dance/cultural organisations (it was an open question round, and now we are asking you):

• What do we now about them?
• In what type of topics can they help me?
• Some to look at: Nemzeti Táncszínház, Trafó, Mu Színház, SÍN Kulturális Központ, Katlan Csoport, L1, Műhely Alapítvány
• Some programmes: Ismeretlen Kutatása, Nulladik lépés, IZP program – what do you need in order to apply for them?

And this is how the first series of HOW TO? educational program series ended its first season. We certainly hope that everyone could have found some useful informations, and freshly learnt definitions/thoughts will help guiding you in the -sometimes awfully difficult- different parts of the dance industry. We are planning on continuing from September, come then, let’s get smarter together!