Founded by Tessa Findlay and Linh Rateau, Dancenter opened its doors at 46/2 Nguyen Cuu Van, Binh Thanh District. The motivation was to have a place where we can meet and exchange our passion for dance. Fellow team members who have been with us since day 1 are: John Huy Tran (teacher and choreographer), Tien (Office manager), Hoang and Hung (guardians).

Dancenter presented its first show titled ‘100% Dance’ at NVHTN gathering our first 300 students to share their passion for Dance. Today, we split our students into 4 shows as Mini Kids Show, 2 Kids & Teens and 1 Adult Show otherwise the show would be almost 7 hours long!

Urban Dance Group (UDG) was created by John Huy Tran and performed for the first time at the BBGV charity Gala. Since then, UDG have performed more than 200 times in Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia. John is highly recognized and has become a major influencer in the Vietnam dance scene. As a judge for several TV dance competitions, he’s regularly invited to share his passion all over Vietnam and he was recently invited as a speaker for TED Talks Vietnam.

Dancenter organized its first Day of Dance charity event to raise money for the well-known NGO Koto founded by Jimmy Nguyen. Since then, we are proud to be one of Koto’s supporters for their charity gala and graduation events, and today we partner with their team for our 10th year anniversary.

Dancenter’s goal is also to produce dance performances for the growing audience in HCMC. Our 1st show production was Spotlight performed by UDG and choreographed by John Huy Tran. After this first success, UDG presented Jazz! in 2012, followed by Song, Life is a Game proudly presented by Gameloft at Nha Hat Hoa Binh in 2014 and our most recent performance was Between Us performed at The Factory of Contemporary Arts in 2016.

Dancenter moved to a new home in District 2, a modern and comfortable space that allowed us to welcome our growing number of students, to become a residency place for artists from abroad and to hold events for our members. Dancenter was designed by Julien Smith (Less is More), built by Duc Tran (ML Building) and decorated by Lisa Auligny (Idee). In 2015, we extended our space with the neighboring space for a third studio.

We organized our first team building holiday in Ho Tram and since then we regularly reunite all the team with joy, solidarity and family spirit! We love to cook together, eat together and sing together when we aren’t working hard together! Dancenter has a family spirit and we are very proud of that.

John Huy Tran was invited as a choreographer and judge for the Vietnamese version of the world famous TV Dance Competition: So You Think You Can Dance. The show was broadcasted live on 6 TV channels on Saturday and Sunday prime time and followed by millions of viewers, making John a popular and recognized role model. Since then, John has continued to be a key figure in the dance development in Vietnam.

Dancenter is the official partner of the International Dance Festival in HCMC. Since its inception, it has become our goal to share our passion by teaching but also supporting the dance scene and community in Vietnam. Lately, we co-operated with the Institut Francais du Vietnam for several events, such as the Hip Hop competition for the Autarcie event with the company Par Terre, the Memories X movement event and Krossing Over Festival with Kerman Company, and soon with UZUMAKI company for the performance of Je suis TOI. Developing co-operation and exchange is our goal for the coming years.

Linh Rateau was named top 5 finalists over 2000+ candidates over the world as best Overseas French Entrepreneur by Trophee des francais de l’Etranger. In the same month, Linh was the Anlene Ambassador and danced with UDG for her favorite group Pink Martini during their Private concert in HCMC. Life is always full of surprises!

Sabra Johnson, international dancer and choreographer, travelled in Vietnam and met John, UDG and Dancenter. A great relationship was born and she decided to stay with us. We gave Sabra carte blanche to create and direct Between Us, a unique conceptual show that ravished the audience. Save the date if you missed it or want to see it again: 1st and 2nd December 2017 at The Factory! Stay tuned!

We proudly celebrate our 10 years with all of you. Our goal is to support the dance development. Our motto is DANCE FOR ALL, for you dancers who want to learn, for you teachers who want to share, for you choreographers who want to create, for you the audience who want to enjoy more dance performances.

Ms. Linh Rateau becomes an Official Member of the International Council of Dance of UNESCO. CID is the official umbrella organization for all forms of dance in all countries of the world. It brings together the most important international, national and local organizations, as well as select individuals active in dance. CID cooperates with national and local governments, international organizations and institutions. Its members are the most prominent federations, associations, schools, companies and individuals in over 170 countries. CID is official partner of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

37 kids and teens students joined the A.T.O.D International Dance Competition in Bangkok and they brought home 15 awards! Our first ever competition, what a SUCCESS! 6 Gold, 3 Silver, 2 Bronze and 4 Honorable Mentions.

We are very happy to introduce our 4th studio! 84 sqm and fully equiped with sound system, portable ballet barres, sprung marley dance floor and air conditioning and fans, studio D is now ready for the new dance season!

EMBRACING DIGITAL DANCE: Dancenter quickly adapted to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic by transitioning to a fully online learning platform. Within a short time, we launched over 50 online dance classes, ensuring that our students could continue their dance education uninterrupted. The positive response from our community was overwhelming, as parents and students alike expressed their gratitude for the continued access to dance instruction.

DANCING FOR A CAUSE DESPITE: the ongoing difficulties of lockdowns and restrictions, Dancenter remained committed to providing dance education and giving back to the community. We continued to offer online classes and supported the "Co Len Vietnam" charity organization by hosting virtual disco dance parties that brought together over 200 people. In addition to our student classes, we also expanded our offerings to include online dance workshops for businesses, schools, and institutions.

CELEBRATING FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT: As restrictions eased and in-person gatherings became possible again, Dancenter was thrilled to reunite with our students and community. To celebrate our newfound freedom of movement, we hosted the "Under the Sky" show, an outdoor performance featuring 12 talented artists. The event was a resounding success, attracting 240 attendees with 4 shows and creating a memorable experience for all involved.

LAUCHING TDC - Top Dancers Company: A significant milestone in Dancenter's history was the launch of TDC, our student-led dance company. Under the mentorship of Alexa Sinclair, Danielle Nicole and Sabra Johnson, TDC was born and produced the acclaimed show "I'll Be There," showcasing the talent and dedication of our 12 young dancers. The company's performance earned recognition and the dancers received multiple awards at the ATOD international competition, further solidifying Dancenter’s reputation as a leading dance studio.

JOINING ATOD - Global Recognition: Dancenter continued to strive for excellence in dance education by becoming an official member of ATOD (Australian Teachers Organization of Dance). This affiliation ensures that our ballet students are following a globally recognized curriculum and have the opportunity to earn prestigious ATOD certifications. For students aspiring to pursue professional dance careers, ATOD exams provide a valuable credential that is widely recognized in the industry.