| Summary: | Dance is represented in the main contents of the physical education curriculum in the upper secondary school but teaching dance can be a challenging task for PE-teachers because of large groups, student motivation, limited competence, lack of time or uncertainties of the benefits of dance. To gain more knowledge and possible solutions semi-structured interviews were performed with three PE-teachers, regarding their experiences of teaching dance. Data was analysed thematically leading to seven themes: teacher background, contents, dance identity, teacher/student experiences, challenges and solutions, motivation, and assessment. Experiences of teachers related to classroom management, students performance, student experiences, and previous experiences of dancing themselves. Further teacher training was requested for confidence and variation. Benefits of dancing was described as sense of rhythm, coordination, motorics, balance, flexibility, joy of movement, group connection, confidence or usefulness. Students sometimes experience discomfort when facing dance performances, body contact or dance norms, potentially leading to avoidance. The discomfort seems to be related to fear of shame and status depreciation. Suggestions that appeared for improving motivation are to downplay dancing, choose recognizable music, begin without announcing exercises as dance, explain the benefits, choose surmountable contents, demand performances, do group assignments where everyone contributes, and use inquiry-oriented tasks.
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