How much will you help your partner financially ?

If it's an once-in-a-while coaching lesson, then I'd go for the 2/3 - 1/3 split.

There are many ways to save money on far away comps namely, sharing room with multiple people.
 
I'd say the 2/3 option. Both partners are contributing what they can, and it's not something that happens on a super regular basis. However, if it does happen on a regular basis, then the partners need to discuss what they are comfortable providing and accepting, and make sure they agree.

Personally, I will lend my partner money to cover things, but, as we are both students, will not pay for him beyond spotting a few bucks.
 
Dancing Irishman said:
That's a really nice way to handle a long-distance partnership! I'll have to keep that in mind if I don't succeed finding a partner locally.

I'd feel uneasy about helping a partner financially, but I'd probably be willing to do it for an established partner who had been hit by hard times if I felt she was really contributing everything she could financially.
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My, how things change! The way I now approach it is that I budget $X from my monthly income towards dance, and that money is mine and my partner's to use as a team, deciding as a team how many lessons to take from which teachers/coaches, which competitions to attend, how much we can spend on costumes, etc. I expect my partner to contribute whatever she can afford, but we don't worry as a team about getting to parity, just using our financial resources wisely.

It took a lot of discussion with my coach/mentor to arrive at my perspective. I don't know which book he got the idea from (maybe dancing to your maximum?), but he made a point of reminding me that while each partnership needs several ingredients (including money) to achieve competitive success, the ingredients need not come in equal measure from each partner. It helps that he has experience doing an uneven split of expenses with multiple partnerships now, so it really normalized the idea for me.
 
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Loki said:
50-50. If I want to pay for a partner, I'll dance pro-am.
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There is a huge cost difference between am/am dancing (total for the partnership for the year for a given number of lessons and comps, regardless of who is paying for what) and pro/am (total for the am for a similar number of lessons and comps). The experience is different too, of course. It could be much less expensive to do a 60/40, or even 80/20 am/am partnership than to do pro/am. I think this is one reason why some people are open to considering it for the right partnership. Both partners need to be comfortable with the arrangements, of course, and there is the potential for added tension or bad feelings.
 
raindance said:
There is a huge cost difference between am/am dancing (total for the partnership for the year for a given number of lessons and comps, regardless of who is paying for what) and pro/am (total for the am for a similar number of lessons and comps). The experience is different too, of course. It could be much less expensive to do a 60/40, or even 80/20 am/am partnership than to do pro/am. I think this is one reason why some people are open to considering it for the right partnership. Both partners need to be comfortable with the arrangements, of course, and there is the potential for added tension or bad feelings.
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Another way of looking at it: if the financial resources both partners bring to the table would lead to an 80/20 split, sticking to a 50/50 one would lead to the partner with more money only spending 25% of the dance budget they could (80/20 implies a 4:1 ratio of the two partners' budgets). Taking an econ bent on it, the marginal utility of spending a little more than the strict 50/50 split is probably pretty high for the more financially well-off partner, and probably also exceeds the marginal utility of the next best thing it could be spent on, therefore it could still make sense for the financially better-off partner to pay more for dance things for the partnership than a strict 50/50 split would dictate. The utility maximizing point might come before the full 80/20 split in the partnership, but it may not, too.
 
If:
1. I had the money
2. I had no doubts about DP's talent and commitment to our partnership
3. I see the partnership going somewhere,

I would absolutely spend every dime I could.

I think it's easy us to say we would or we wouldn't. But if you found THAT partner which you, and probably your teachers/coaches feel is THE ONE, and you had the money, you wouldn't let the person go. Each situation might present a unique combination of factors/challenges which would influence our decision.

But generally, I'm more willing to spend than not.

UMASSshoesandcostumes said:
I do support our partnership a great deal-- it's one of those things where I have a job that pays me relatively well for a part time job and I don't really spend that much, so I tend to have savings he doesn't have. This means when we invest in lessons or new ballroom music or whatever else we might put money into often I end up paying for it. This coming semester I may even end up paying some competition fees for both of us because he's just moved off campus and is worried about having the money to eat much less pay entrance fees.

The thing is that we have a very committed partnership, and by investing in us I'm just bringing us closer to mutual goals and I'm not letting us be limited by his financial situation. Initially my partner was very hesitant to let me do that, but once I pointed out that if he had the money and I didn't he'd want to do the same thing to keep us dancing-- which is true-- then he was willing to live with it. Additionally I owe him a bit (although he insists that that's not true). Last semester I was moving up to Silver without a partner and he took me on as a project despite the fact he'd been competing Silver for a full year and was asked by more experienced Silver followers to partner with them. He put so much time and energy into moving my dancing up to a Silver level and now we're on a vaguely level playing field. Had he not partnered with me then I would not have been able to find a partner on my team, because everyone else at both Bronze and Silver was either already partnered up or they were not interested in competing seriously. I feel like supporting us is sort of my way of giving back for all the hours and hours of work that he put into me.
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You guys seem to be both sweet and generous.
 
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