Dancers’ stories: A narrative study of professional dancers

•Dancers reported positive recognition by others as their greatest career moments.•Working and retired dancers differ in how they remember beginning dance training.•Question of how to best train young dancers discussed. Are current methods too abusive?

The lifestyles, identities, and motivations of professional dancers are not well documented in the literature. This study used a grounded theory qualitative methodology combined with a modified Life Story Narrative script to assess professional dancers’ life stories and identities. Twenty professional dancers from the U.S. Midwest were interviewed. During the interviews, dancers recounted emotionally vivid memories related to their dance careers. Data analysis revealed that most dancers emphasized the importance of personal recognition and chose the dance profession at a relatively young age. Variances between working [currently performing] dancers and retired [no longer performing] dancers were found regarding agency of entering the dance field, challenges within the career, and interest in teaching new dancers. Finally, a dichotomous description of appropriate teaching approaches emerged; some dancers expressed concern that past teaching methods were too harsh, whereas others conveyed that extreme measures better prepared students today for the professional realm. This study provides a deeper understanding of a unique population of people as well as evidence that time affects narrative stories; both of these implications are useful to inform public awareness and clinical practice.