Why Teaching? Vietnamese Dance Teachers' Experiences, Motivations, and Professional Challenges

This paper explores ten Vietnamese female dance teachers’ experiences, motivations to become dance teachers, and the professional challenges they encountered as they pursued dance teaching in the Vietnamese context. The findings reveal the dance teaching career was a way for the participants to maintain their passion in dance and bring them job satisfaction and financial security. The challenges and opportunities that the participants grappled with as dance teachers and female teachers are unique, but they could successfully navigate their professional and personal roles to thrive in the dance industry. Supporting artists and arts education such as dance teachers and dance education is the key to building a vibrant cultural life. Therefore, we highlight the need for a more proper understanding of artists’ lives in Vietnam, including professional dance teachers.