Abstract

Following the question of what it means to be a dance pedagogue, the aim of this paper was to examine some determinants of the profession of dance pedagogue and to establish the meaning and understanding of the way dance pedagogues speak about the ‘pedagogical’ in their profession. By applying qualitative research and the method of in-depth interviews with dance pedagogues who work in different fields of education and art, we tried to describe and analyse the area of their work, their educational activities, and values they promote in their work. As a result of the qualitative analysis and the interpretative phenomenological analysis of the rich narratives, we have identified five topics: the notion of dance as a dimension of artistic and educational activity; the determinants of pedagogical work; the meaning of pedagogical role; the transformation of artistic practice into pedagogical practice; the distinguishing characteristic of the educational method. The results point to the conclusion that dance pedagogues see their work as a primarily educational work that combines art and pedagogy. The pedagogical knowledge of the dance pedagogues is an inseparable part of their professional habitus.