Istoria dansului

The history of the appearance and development of

DanceSport
At the European level, the first ball-room dance contest was organized in 1901 in Paris (France). In
the years after the First World War, ballroom dances were largely performed in all the big cities from
Europe. New pro-grams included waltz, tango etc., as well as Latino American dances – practiced by
different clubs, societies and ensembles. The activities were organized, especially, for couples.

The dance clubs began to form in the 60’s – ‘70’s. They were receiving support particularly in France,
Italy, Germany and England.

For the first time, on the soviet ter-ritory, a ballroom dance contest was organized only in 1957, at
the (Students and youth Int. Fest.).

The ‘60’s and ‘70’s brought to Moldova the scent of an as-piration to everything that was new and
fresh, but also to the reconstitution of the authentic cultural traditions. The older gen-erations –
personalities who for a long period didn’t have the possibility to express themselves – were sending
their experi-ences to the youth, who were eager to get involved in certain domains of culture and
artistic expression. New theaters were built and new creative collectives were formed in the
country. Courses were taught and discussions regarding the possibility to diversify the national
cultural and artistic landscape were ini-tiated in educational institutions. The youth were involved
active-ly, with passion and abnegation in these activities – people felt maybe, at the subconscious
level, that they had to work hard in order to create a base for their growth as personalities, to
participate in the formation of a healthy cultural and intellectual climate in Moldova.

An appropriate example was the mentioned above ensem-ble, Tinere\ea, which activated within the
Politehnic Institute from Chișinău. The leader of the dance ensemble was Viktor Rijikov (a
distinguished artist and a former dancer of the ensemble Joc and at the Opera and Ballet Theater
from Odessa). The direc-tor of the folk orchestra was the eminent musician, Isidor Burdin. These two
great art masters managed to gather around them dozens of students, many of whom later engaged
in profession-al orchestras. Others, after achieving spiritual growth, became music and dance
amateurs, in the good meaning of this word: one cannot understand properly the efforts of the great
artists if they don’t try to do the same thing and don’t know the essence of their favorite art. This
ensemble, in which Petru Gozun acti-vated, was as a prototype for the current club Codreanca.

At those times, the specific of the supposed ballroom or fes-tive dance practiced in USSR was closer
to that of the musical dance, both in its aspect and composition. One of the reasons is that the soviet
ideology did not admit it as an integrated part of the art in general, and qualified it with cynicism as
a bour-geois dance, therefore prohibiting its promotion. The ballroom dance was practiced
informally by its admires as a competition of principle with themselves. Still, there existed, officially,
sever-al couples which trained individually. Also, there existed some small clubs which activated in
Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine, Rus-sia and, a few, more advanced, in the Baltic Republics. The leaders of
those clubs launched shy initiatives to organize larger competitions and festivals, at which,
eventually, students and the youth could participate. However, their initiatives were blocked by the
leadership structures.
Dancesport denotes competitive ballroom dancing,[1] as contrasted to social or exhibition
dancing. In the case of wheelchair dancesport, at least one of the dancers is in a wheelchair.

Dancesport events are sanctioned and regulated by dancesport organizations at the national and
international level, such as the World DanceSport Federation.

The name was invented to help competitive ballroom dancing gain Olympic recognition.[2] The
physical demand of dancesport has been the subject of scientific research

The first unofficial world championship took place in 1909,[7] and the first formation team[8] was
presented in 1932 by Olive Ripman at the Astoria Ballroom, London.[1][9] Dancesport was first
broadcast on TV in 1960.[10]

Styles[edit]
The term dancesport applies to the International Style,[11] as well as American Style of
competitive ballroom. It includes the following categories:

 International Standard
 International Latin
 American Smooth
 American Rhythm

These categories apply to both individual couples and formation dance.

International governing organizations[edit]

World Dance Council[edit]
Main article: World Dance Council

The World Dance Council (WDC) is a registered limited company, and the legal successor to
the International Council of Ballroom Dancing (ICBD), which was formed in 1950 in
Edinburgh.[7] The WDC operates through a general council and two committees:

 The World Dance Sport Committee regulates professional dancesport at the international
level.
 The World Social Dance Committee "deals with all matters of the dance profession that
relate to the activities of Dance Schools and Dance Teachers".[12] It does not regulate social
dance directly – that is the business of individual organisers, the dance teacher
organisations, such as the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, and the chains of dance
teaching schools in the United States.

In 2007 the WDC Amateur League was created.[13] This organisation runs a number of
competitions and has its own world ranking system for amateur dancers.

Each member country in the WDC has its own national organisation, such as the British Dance
Council, which acts as a forum for the many interested parties in that country. The national
bodies decide on their delegates to the WDC.
World DanceSport Federation[edit]
Main article: World DanceSport Federation

The World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), formerly the International DanceSport Federation
(IDSF), is the internationalgoverning body of dancesport, as recognised by the International
Olympic Committee (IOC).

Founded in 1957 as the International Council of Amateur Dancers (ICAD), it took up the name
IDSF in 1990. In 2011 it was renamed to WDSF to emphasise the global character of the
organization.

In the past, the focus of the IDSF was on administering amateur dancers and competitions.
However, in 2010 the IDSF Professional Division was created (formerly known as the IPDSC),
which extended this focus to professional dancesport.[10]

WDSF members are not permitted to dance in competitions unless they are granted by the
WDSF, or one of its member federations.[14]

 This policy was revoked in 2012 at the Annual General Meeting by vote of the members.
The WDSF now supports an athlete's "right to dance".

Competitions[edit]

Junior cha-cha-cha competition in Czech Republic

There are a wide variety of dance competitions. They range from the well known Blackpool
Dance Festival, an event open to all, to competitions conducted exclusively for university
students, such as those hosted by the Inter Varsity Dance Association in the UK.

Amateur competitions commonly include events that group dancers by age, experience, or both.
For example, events might group young dancers by age, such as: juvenile (<12yrs), junior (12-
16yrs), and youth (16-19yrs). Events may sometimes cover a wide range of ages, with groupings
such as: under 21yrs, adult, senior I (Over 35yrs), senior II (Over 45yrs), senior III (Over 55yrs,
and senior IV (Over 65yrs).

Competitors may also be grouped by experience level, with categories such as Beginner, Novice,
Intermediate, Pre-Amateur and Amateur. These generally correspond to the number of the
dances to be performed in the competition, with Beginners performing one dance, and those at
Amateur level performing five. In some competitions these are categorized into grades from A to
E, with "A" the equivalent of the Amateur level, and "E" corresponding to the "Beginner" level.

WDSF minimum competition dance area size standard[edit]

WDSF governing bodies in different countries have the flexibility to decide on the dance area
size for competitions held in the country.

Location Official Standard Compare Square Meter Compare Square Feet

Europe 26m x 16m 416 4478

China 23m x 15m 345 3714

USA 60' x 36' 201 2160

Canada 60' x 35' 195 2100

In December 2011, the WDSF Open and the Australian Nationals were held at the Hisense
Arena located within the Olympic park in Melbourne. The floor was at 84 by 37.7 meters which
was 7.61 times the size of what WDSF requires.

Rules[edit]
The World Dance Council (WDC) rules for international competitions are lengthy and
detailed.[15] The music for competitions is kept confidential until the event. The music always
follows a strict tempo and, for a couples competition, it will have a duration of no less than 90
seconds, and no more than two minutes.

Some elementary competitions are restricted to "basic" steps, but international competitions are
open as to choreography, within the limits of the traditional style of the individual dances. Only
the Viennese waltz has defined choreography: it is limited to seven well-specified figures. Lifts
are not permitted, except for Show Dance titles. The tempo for each dance is defined. In the
finals, couples are marked under the skating system and judged by timing, footwork, rise and fall,
alignment, direction and floor craft. Competitors must meet World Anti-Doping Agency rules.

Dancesport as an Olympic event[edit]

After a long campaign, the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), formerly IDSF, was
recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the sole representative body for
dancesport, on September 5, 1997.[16][17] At that point, many dance organisations changed their
titles to incorporate the word sport. This recognition gives the IDSF, potentially, a unique status.
The WDSF website shows letters and certificates from the IOC that recognise dancesport as an
eligible sport for inclusion pursuant to rule 29 of the Olympic Charter.[18] [19]

On its website, the IDSF gives an upbeat appraisal of the chances of dancesport being included
in a future summer Olympic Games.[20] However, dancesport has not been included as an official
event at the Olympics since its recognition,[21] and there are many who doubt that it ever
will.[22][23] The 2008 Beijing Olympics did not include ballroom dancing and neither did the
2012 London Olympics.[24] However, it was announced in December 2016 that the dancesport
discipline of breakdancingwould form part of the programme for the 2018 Summer Youth
Olympics, with men's, women's and mixed-team events included in a one-on-one battle format.[25]

Physical demands[edit]
Ballroom dancing is a partnered activity with a male and female counterpart. Over the years,
competitive ballroom dancing has evolved so much in its choreography, requiring a higher level
of athleticism. Many individuals that spectate or dance socially often underestimate the physical
attributes and demands of ballroom dancing. In order to compete at a world level, elite
competitive dancers undergo rigorous training to help and enhance their competition
performance. These dancers seem to perform at such a high level of energy expenditure that a
deeper understanding of these energy demands may help build specific training programs used
to sustain a high quality dance performance consistent over a few rounds of a competition.

In 1988, an Australian study was conducted to determine the heart rate and estimated energy
expended during ballroom dancing.[26] Professors Blanksby and Reidy of the Department of
Human Movement and Recreation Studies at the University of Western had ten competitive
ballroom dance couples simulate a dancesport competition, dancing their competitive routines in
either the Latin American or Standard division.[26] After administrating all required laboratory tests
(in order to record their height, weight, body fat percentage, fat free mass and the
resting/maximal heart rate and VO2 values), the couples danced a five-dance final, given a 15 to
20 second break between each dance.[26] Throughout the final their heart rates were telemetered
and recorded. The purpose of this study was to estimate the energy requirements from heart
rates acquired during competition simulation and previously recorded measures of VO2 and HR.

The average heart rate for male dancers in Standard was 170 beats min−1 and 168 beats min−1 in
the Latin American.[26]Females elicited 179 beats min−1 and 177 beats
min−1 respectively.[26] Astrand and Rodahl (1977) classify any exercise being extremely heavy if it
results in a heart rate above 150 beats min−1.[27] They also classify an exercise as extremely
heavy if oxygen consumption is higher than 2.0L min−1.[28] All but the females in the Standard
dance sequence didn't exceed an oxygen consumption level of 2.0L min−1.[26] Finally, the energy
expenditure for male athletes was estimated to be 54.1 ± 8.1 kJ min−1 for Standard and 54.0±
9.6kJ min−1 in the Latin American dances.[26] For females it was 34.7 ± 3.8 kJ min−1 and 36.1 ± 4.1
kJ min−1 respectively.[26]

Two other similar experiments were conducted exhibiting very similar results and
analyses.[29][30] In all three of the experiments, significant differences in the energy expenditure
between the male and female athletes were noticed. Generally males had a higher energy
expenditure than their female counterparts. This is evident due to the anthropometric differences
between the two sexes and the oxygen transport capacity.[29]

Comparing the mean gross energy expenditures (in kJ min−1) between ballroom dancing and
other sports, it is evident that competitive dancing is equally as demanding in comparison to
other sporting activities such as basketball (35.83 kJ min−1) or cross-country running (44.37kJ
min−1) (Consolazioetal,1963),[31] and that ballroom dancing requires a cardiovascular system to be
able to work at a high energy level in order to match the given physiological strain.
DanceSport ( competitive ballroom dancing )

Is one of the most popular leisure activities in the world. DanceSport has an almost universal appeal,
since ballroom dancing, from which it developed, is both tremendously enjoyable and a great social
asset, especially here in the Philippines where ballroom dancing is very popular both in its and
competitive aspect.

DanceSport is a team sport generally defined as the pairing of male and female dancers as a couple (
or a group of couples combining as a team ), using the required technique together with floorcraft
and artistic interpretation to produce a highly disciplined dance performance.

Today, DanceSport has broadened its scope to include sections such as the Standard section, the
Latin American section, the Ten Dance section and the Rock 'n' Roll section.

Here, you can read about the updates and events concerning DanceSport such as competitions,
meetings, dialogues, competition results, and many more. This page will be updated frequently so
be sure to check it out regularly so you won't miss out on any DanceSport event!

IDSF World DanceSport Championships are held in each of the four section mentioned above:

Standard Championships are contested in Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Slow Foxtrot and the
Quickstep.

Latin American Championships are contested in the Samba, Cha Cha Cha, Rumba, Paso Doble and
the Jive.
Ten-Dance Championships are contested in all ten dance of the Standard section and Latin American
section.

Rock n Roll Championships are contested in three separate style of Rock n Roll, Boogie Woogie and
Lindy Hop; these Championships are conducted under the rules and regulations of the World
Rock'n'Roll Confederation (WRRC).

DanceSport Championships in the standard and Latin American sections are conducted both for
couple and for formation teams. DanceSport Championship are conducted for couples only.

The top two couples in each section from each IDSF members country are eligible to take part in the
relevant World or Continental Championships, except in the Ten Dance Championship, in which only
one couple from each IDSF members country is eligible to take part.

Each World Championship stand alone. There is no pyramid of IDSF championship events.

IDSF World Formation Championships are contested by team of six or eight couple dancing a fixed
choreography to music of their own choice, in either the standard or the Latin American discipline
(with a specified maximum amount of music outside of the nominated discipline).

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The IDSF World Ranking List

The IDSF licenses a number of international events in the Standard and Latin American sections as
world ranking (full points) or international ranking (half points) or open ranking (less points) events.
These IDSF World Ranking List Tournament are given the little of IDSF World Open, IDSF
International Open and IDSF open respectively, and are open to any couple registered with an IDSF
member country.
The IDSF Computer World Ranking List is updated monthly and shows the cumulative result of
performance at World Ranking List Tournament during the past 12 months. The Ranking List include
the result of the IDSF World Championships, IDSF World Open, IDSF International Opens and IDSF
Opens.

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How DanceSport competition are organized

The principal DanceSport competitions have enough entries to be dance in successive rounds. In
larger competition, such as IDSF World Ranking List Tournament, couples are organized into heats in
each round. Judge are required to select a set percentage of couples to progress to the next round.
Couple must dance the required number of dances in each round (five for Standard, five for Latin
American, and ten for the Ten-Dance.

The selections of all judges are aggregated and those couples receiving the highest number of
“callback” selection are returned to the next round. By contrast, in the Final where normally six to
eight couples complete, each couple is given a numerical ranking from first to last. The aggregate of
these rankings from each judge over each dance determine the ultimate placings. The “Skating
System” of calculating placings is used by the Scrutineers in determining the final result.

The music used in a DanceSport competition is confidential until the competition begin (other than
information championships), but the tempo and basic rhythm for each dance is defined and the
duration of each dance is a minimum of one and a half minutes.

These are strict rules regulating and controlling the style of competition dress.

DanceSport Technique
These are many technique books which define the all of the technical elements of the DanceSport
discipline. Technical elements are defined for each step in a group, and it is combination s of groups
that couples demonstrate in competition. Couple choose their groups “in real time” during the
course of a competition, depending on the floor space available and the need to demonstrate
floorcraft.

Technical elements include timing, footwork, rise and fall, alignment and direction, all of which
underpin the impression of the couple acting as a single cohesive unit.

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Marking System

Through elimination rounds, the numbers of couple taking part in a DanceSport competition is
reduced to a final round, usually comprising six couples.

In prior rounds, and up to semi-final, the judge compare the performance of the couples in each
dance and select those couples whom they consider should pass into the next round because of
their superior performance. Each judge’s selections (also highest number of selection marks is the
best!).

In the Final round of each dance, the judge individually rank each couple in their considered order of
merit, and mark their ranking on their judging cards. For example, in a six couple final, the judges
would be ranking from 1 to 6, with number 1 being the best mark. A judge may not give two couple
the same ranking.

Using a methodology known as the “Skating System” (based upon majority opinions) a ranking order
is established in each separate dance. (Low numbers are better, and number “1” is the best).

Couple Number The Rankings of Seven Judges in this dance for each couple
The couple finishes 10 1 1 2 5 1 2 1 1. Place (majority of "1") 15 2 2 1 3 2 1 2 2. Place (majority of "2")
16 3 3 3 1 3 3 6 3. Place (majority of"3")

The aggregate of the individual dance ranking determines the overall result of the event, the winner
being couple with lowest aggregate total, or in the case of a tie the couple winning the most number
of dances.

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Judging Criteria

DanceSport has been describe as the sport made for television. However because of the increased
scrutiny that TV broadcasting brings, with its action replays and multiple camera views, the TV
viewing public is much more focused on the role of the judge.

The TV viewing fan in all sports now question decisions of judge/referees/umpires. DanceSport is no
exception and the IDSF has focused its attention on developing DanceSport judging criteria which
are clearer to the DanceSport fan.

DanceSort judge must make observation of the competing couples, and apply some criteria to that
observation to form a judgements. All the judgements are comparative assessment of the couples in
the competition, rather than assessment against a hypothetical standard. Couples are compared on
their performances in a number of areas:

¨ Timing and basic rhythm : In all dances , timing and basic rhythm take precedence over the
other concern, so that if a couple repeatedly makes mistakes in this area, their comparative
assessment must be downgraded.

¨ Body line : The term “body line” relates to the couple as a unit, both during movement and in
“picture step”.
 ¨ Movement : The judge must determine whether movement is in keeping with the character of
the dance being performed, and assess the arise and fall, and swing and balance of the couple. For
example, a greater swing only justifies better marking if the movement is controlled and balanced.

¨ Rhythmic Interpretation : The judge must assess the quality of the rhythmic interpretation of the
music, so as to ascertain a couple’s capacity for choreography and movement is controlled and
balanced.

¨ Footwork : The judge must assess the quality and control of applied footwork.

¨ Floorcraft : The judge must assess the ability of the couple to manoeuvre their choreography so
as to avoid interruption to their own progression and that of other couples.

The IDSF has committed itself to developing and seeking general acceptance of a universal
DanceSport judging methodology that upholds the principles of transparency, objectivity and
accountability, including ethical principles.

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History

1909 First "World Championship" in Paris 1932 First time that a Formation Team danced
competitively, at London's Astoria Ballroom 1935 Foundation of the International Amateur Dancers
Federation (IADF) in Prague 1947 First Latin-American Dancesport World Championship (ICAD) 1956
New Name: International Council of Amateur Dancers (ICAD) 1960 First TV broadcast of a
DanceSport competition, in Germany 1973 First World Formation Team Championship, in New York
1988 ICAD adopts the term DanceSport 1988 First approach to GAISF 1990 New Name: International
DanceSport Federation (IDSF) 1991 Provisional Recognition by GAISF 1992 Full Recognition by GAISF
1992 Application submitted for recognition by International Olympic Committee (IOC) 1995
Provisional Revognition by IOC 1995 Membership in IWGA 1995 Membership in ARISF 1997 An 11-
year Joint-Venture Agreement for telemedia development signed by international media giant
IMG and IDSF 1997 Full IOC Recognition of DanceSport and of IDSF as solo representative body 1999
IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch attends IDSF World Latin Championship 2000 Application for
inclusion as Medal Sport in the Summer Olympic Games 2000 DanceSport in included in the Closing
Ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games 2000 IDSF presents a demonstration of Dancesport to
more than 100 top official of the OIC

The Next Decade for DanceSport

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DanceSport, a New Dimension to the Summer Game!

¨ The Summer Games are a feast of sport. The addition of DanceSport will add a new dimension in
the same way that ice Dancing has in the Winter Games.

¨ DanceSport is one of the few sports contending for inclusion in the Olympic program, that could
be included without a significant increase in the number of athletes and officials. A maximum of 160
participants including Athletes, Adjudicators, Coaches and Officials would be required for a
successful competition in all disciplines.

¨ DanceSport does not require major construction, because competitions can held in a wide range
of existing venues.

¨ Olympic DanceSport Competition will likely only take two days to complete.

¨ DanceSport has 100% Gender Parity, and moreover is a Sport in which male and female athletes
compete against each other at the same time on the same surface.

¨ DanceSport attracts millions of TV viewers all over the World and is particularly attractive to
female viewers. An 11-year Joint Venture contract with IMG (1997-2008) guarantees the worldwide
television distribution of DanceSport.

¨ DanceSport observes and conforms to the strict anti-doping programmes of the IOC and WADA.
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Medical Research into DanceSport

¨ In 1999/2000 a study was undertaken by Marcello Faina M.D. of the Institute of Sport Science of
Italian National Olympic Committee and member of the Medical Commission of the Italian
DanceSport Federation and Serena Bria of the Institute of Sport Science of the Italian National
Olympic Committee to better understand the characteristics of DanceSport and the physiological
qualities of the top DanceSport athletes. (A Summary of this study see at: www.idsf.net – then click
onto Press Room).

¨ This study follows the groundbreaking 1986 study by the University of Freiburg (Germany) which
compared the heart and breathing rates of DanceSport athletes to swimmers and cyclist, and a 1989
West Australian University Study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

¨ The IDSF is intent on promoting more research into the medical aspects DanceSport over the
coming decade.

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The Aims of IDSF

1. To promote, protect and advance the character ,status and interest of DanceSport internationally
and to be a well regarded member of the Olympic.

2. To develop and maintain international standard and classification of accreditations, attainment

and qualification for DanceSport coaches, judge and officials.
3. To make the rule of DanceSport competition clearer and easier to understand , and make it
attractive to a world wide television audience.

4. To protect and develop its co-operation with IDSF’ s Joint-Venture marketing partner, IMG

5. To provide standardized rule governing all International Competition organized by its members,
and codes of behavior governing its international competitors and officials.

6. To advise and assist our members with their work in their own countries.

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IDSF's Achievements and Successes

Membership growth

1970 Membership of 22 National Member Country Associations

1999 76

2001 77

2004 81

53 member countries are already accepted as member of their National Olympic Committee
IDSF represents more than 4 million athletes

Associate Member

- World Rock n Roll Confederation

Members GAISF / ARISF / IWGA / IOC

Since 1989, IDSF has been represent at all major GAISF meetings , and since 1995 it has also been
invited to all Major meeting of the IOC, ASOIF, AROSF and the IWGA.

IDSF’ s DanceSport athlete competed in a full program of medal competition at the 1997 and 2001
IWGA world games in Lahti, Finland and Akita, Japan, and will complete in the medal program at the
2005 IWGA World Games in Duisburg, Germany.

History

The chronology of the World DanceSport Federation's emergence and the consolidation of dance as
sport is outlined below. The complete history of WDSF and DanceSport is available under the menu
on the left.

1935

Fédération Internationale de Danse pour Amateurs (FIDA) is founded in Prague, CZE.

1956

FIDA is dissolved.

1957

IDSF is founded under the name of International Council of Amateur Dancers (ICAD) in Wiesbaden,
GER.

1960

First TV broadcast of a DanceSport competition airs in Germany.

1990

ICAD changes its name to International DanceSport Federation.

1992
IDSF becomes a member of the General Association of International Sports Federations
(SportAccord).

1995

IDSF and DanceSport are provisionally recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

World Rock 'n' Roll Council (WRRC) joins IDSF.

IDSF becomes a member of the the International World Games Association (IWGA).

1997

IDSF and DanceSport are granted full recognition by the 106th Session of the International Olympic
Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland.

IDSF becomes a member of the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations
(ARISF).

IDSF enters into a representation agreement with the International Management Group IMG for the
production and worldwide distribution of DanceSport television coverage.

DanceSport premieres in The World Games held under the auspices of IWGA and the patronage of
the IOC.

2001

IDSF establishes an Anti-Doping Commission and subscribes to the World Anti-Doping Code.

2003

IDSF creates the Grand Slam Series for Latin and Standard.

2004

International Dance Organisation (IDO) joins IDSF.

2006

IDSF establishes an Athletes' Commission and a Disciplinary Council.

2007

IDSF celebrates the golden jubilee of its founding at the Annual General Assembly (AGM) held in
Barcelona, ESP.

IDSF presents its development plan VISION 2012 to the AGM.

IDSF launches the Eurovision Dance Contest in association with the European Broadcasting Union.

IDSF assists professional athletes in creating their own organisation, the International Professional
DanceSport Council (IPDSC), and collaborates with it in all matters pertaining to competitions, rules
and compliance with the Anti-Doping Code.
2008

IDSF starts implementation of the VISION 2012 plan.

2009

IDSF VISION 2012 Working Group meets for the first time.

IDSF beats all existing attendance records with the DanceSport events at The World Games 2009
Kaohsiung, TPE.

IDSF draws up the first blueprints for games of the artistic sports under the working title “Sport &
Art” and involves SportAccord in their development.

2010

IPDSC dissolves and becomes the IDSF Professional Division. IDSF urges all National Member Bodies
to organise tournaments for professional athletes within their competition structures.

DanceSport premieres in the Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China.

2011

The IDSF Annual General Meeting held in Luxembourg agrees to change the name of the federation
to World DanceSport Federation - WDSF.

2013

The World DanceSport Games were held in Kaohsiung, Taipei.

2016

On 6th December Breaking was accepted into the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

2017

Marked the 60th Anniversary for the WDSF.

Competitive ballroom dancing, as distinct from the leisure activity, has recently been renamed
throughout the world as "dancesport" (the sport of competition dancing).

Dancesport has a highly organized international competition structure and is conducted at the
highest competitive level. Dancesport will be included in the 2000 Olympics as a demonstration
event.

Dancesport is categorized in a complex way.

There are four styles:

Modern (or "Standard", as it is now known internationally), incorporating the waltz, tango, slow
foxtrot, quickstep and Viennese waltz;

Latin American, incorporating the cha cha cha, samba, rumba, paso doble and jive;

New Vogue, sequence dances Of Australian origin set to various rhythms involving the quick waltz,
foxtrot, tango and march time. There are currently 14 New Vogue Championship dances.

Old Time Dancing, covers sequence dances mostly of English origin, some of which use foot positions
based on ballet. Not all the Old Time Dances are necessarily old at all, but the style of dancing is
based in the old time tradition, rather than in the modern style.

Competitions are divided into amateur and professional categories. Amateur dancers are divided up
as Juvenile (under 13 years), Junior (13 and under 16), Adult (16 year and over) and Senior (over 35).
Eligibility is determined generally by the age of the older partner, and it is not uncommon to have
further special age divisions such as under 11, for the tiny tots, and youth categories of 16 to 19
years.

Within each of these age divisions, there are five recognized levels or grades ranging from A (top
grade) to E in each dance style. When an event is termed "open", it is open to all competitors within
the age group, irrespective of their grading. Competitors can improve their grades in each style, e.g.:
be a C grade in Modern and a B grade in Latin American.

Stamina: dancesport competitors proceed through heats to semi-finals and finals. In each
championship section, competitors must perform five two minute dances a round. From an athletic
viewpoint, a 1986 study conducted by the University of Freiburg, Germany, demonstrated that the
muscle exertion (measured by the production of lactic acid) and breathing-rates of competitors
performing one competition dance of about two minutes were equal to those of cyclists, swimmers
and an Olympic 800 metre runner over the same period of time.

Abstract

The present investigation was aimed to study international level dancesport dancer's aerobic
capacity during incremental test and competition simulation in relation to the gender, dance style
and international ranking. A total of 30 couples (12 Standard, 7 Latin American and 11 Ten Dance;
aged 22.8±6.6 years male and 22.0±6.4 years female) performed an incremental treadmill test and
competition simulation. In this study for the first time we carried out longer than one round
competition simulation and compared three different dancesport styles (Standard, Latin American
and Ten Dance). The results showed that dancers of these three dance styles had similar aerobic
capacity values. The average maximal oxygen consumption ([Vdot]O2max) values were 59.6±5.1 and
51.2±6.2 ml·min−1·kg−1 for male and female dancers, respectively. Competition simulation showed
that Latin American Dance discipline is physiologically more intensive compared to Standard and Ten
Dance styles especially for the female dancers. It appeared that male and female Standard dancers
tended to perform at lower intensity than anaerobic threshold (AT) during competition simulation
(male 97.3±2.9%; female 97.9±3.6%), while Latin (male 101.4±2.9%; female 106.7±5.9%) and Ten
Dance (male 100.7±6.4%; female 99.2±5.6%) competition intensity was higher compared to AT level
of athletes. The highest heart rate during competition simulation was always found during the last
dances (Paso Double, Jive or Quickstep) and in the last round of each dance style. No significant
relationship between [Vdot]O2max values and international rankings was registered.

Keywords: Ballroom dance, dancesport, aerobic capacity, Latin American Dance, Standard Dance,
Ten Dance