Emerging Patterns of Phygital Experience in Professional Dance Training: Early Empirical Insights Toward the DPCX Framework
(A2026-133698)

AUTHORS

Sarah Ahmadi, Australian Institute of Business/Pro Merita Learning Communities; Svetlana De Vos, Australian Institute of Business; Bora Qesja, Australian Institute of Business; Samaneh Soleimani, Australian Institute of Business

ABSTRACT

Hybrid learning is reshaping professional dance education, yet existing customer-experience (CX) models overlook the embodied and relational dynamics of phygital training. This exploratory study investigates how students experience hybrid dance programs, using semi-structured interviews analysed thematically. Four interrelated themes emerged, organised through two experiential structures: Bonds (motivational, relational, and emotional ties) and Connectors (structural, sensory, digital, and pedagogical mechanisms linking physical and digital modes). Students described identity-driven motivations, embodied–digital tensions, relational and emotional safety, and expectation–reality gaps. These findings extend CX theory into embodied hybrid contexts and provide early empirical grounding for the emerging Digitalisation–Physicalisation Customer Experience (DPCX) framework.