This research takes place in a professional dance school in Athens. Audiovisual data from a contemporary dance class and interviews with the teacher and 4 students are produced. The analysis begins from a microscopic view of the interaction that highlights the relations between the participants through the prism of multimodality, deepens on analysing pedagogical practices and issues of power in the dance classroom and concludes with macroscopic implications linking the educational process to broader social and political issues in the dance field. The methodology of conversation analysis through a multimodality perspective is used, highlighting the importance of a holistic approach to interaction, where language and body are in interaction and in a non-hierarchical relationship with each other. The paper draws on a multitude of theoretical approaches and interpretations (Goffman – dramaturgical model, Bernstein – pedagogical codes and pedagogical relations, Foucault – discipline, surveillance, etc.) in order to address dance teaching as a holistic and multilevel process that permeates all aspects of those involved in learning. The focus of research interest is the interconnection of the local context of teaching with wider socio-political conditions and the emergence of the importance of the pedagogical knowledge in professional dance education.