Dancesport is a dancing competition which includes ballroom dancing and is different from the exhibition dance. All the dancers perform their dancing skills along with athletic abilities, delivering captivating performances. The World Dancesport Federation (WDSF) is the highest international governing body of the sport.
WDSF regulates all national and international events. The competition was organized to be a part of the Olympic Games. The sport has international variations, especially the American style. The major dancing categories include the International Latin, International Smooth, American Smooth and American Rhythm.
The participants perform the Dancesport competition in pairs. They try to perform their entire choreography on a piece of particular music, maintaining the tempo. They are required to perform their choreography with complete grace and poise. The pair that reflects the quality and grace in their dancing, scores maximum point and wins the match. The music should be played continuously for the time duration from 1:30 seconds to 2:00 minutes. The judging criteria involve proper timing, quality footwork, synchronized alignment, direction uniformity and rise and fall.
History of Dancesport
In 1901, the first ballroom contest was organized in Paris for the first time. After the first World War, the ballroom dance was organized on a bigger scale. The participating teams included dance clubs. The game was highly performed in France, Italy, Germany and England. In 1957, the first ballroom dance contest was organized in the Soviet territory. In 1909, the first Dancesport World Championship was held. Later in 1932, Olive Ripman organized the first team for ballroom competition. In 1960, the sport was broadcasted on television for the first time, which was viewed by numerous spectators.
