This research will support existing and emerging dance companies to develop long-lasting and sustainable strategies by merging and implementing innovative business models exemplified by two innovative and impactful art companies, namely Akram Khan Company and Cirque du Soleil. The culmination of this research will provide a framework titled "The Dymond Process" to assist dance companies to build, orient, and reorient their activities as their own strategies based on Design Thinking methodologies that drive them in their quest toward sustainability, bridging the gap in the dance literature that is at the crossroads of dance entrepreneurship, business strategy, and digital transformation. The inspiration for this thesis arises from my lived experiences as a dancer, instructor, and choreographer as well as my observations of dance companies’ lack of economic resources, organizational strategies, and audience attendance, in conjunction with the difficulties that a dancer faces when not receiving sufficient remuneration to make a living.

Keywords: Dance Companies, Artists Entrepreneurs, Design Thinking, Business Model Innovation, Audience, Customer-Centric, For-Profit, Nonprofit.