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World Dance Council facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The World Dance Council (WDC) is a big organization for dance around the world. It's a company that took over from the International Council of Ballroom Dancing. It was started by Phillip J. S. Richardson on September 22, 1950, in Edinburgh, Scotland. For a while, from 1996 to 2006, it was called the World Dance & Dance Sport Council Ltd.

The main goal of the WDC is to encourage and improve dance education for everyone involved in the World Dance Council and its Amateur League. When it first started, its main job was to create fair rules for world championships in competitive ballroom dance. They have definitely achieved this goal!

At first, the WDC had members from nine countries in Europe and three other countries. Now, it's the top group for professional dance competitions. It has members in many countries all over the world. Each country gets one vote in decisions. In 2006, there were 59 member countries. The main group that runs the WDC is called the Presidium. It includes a President and several Vice-Presidents. In 2014, seven Vice-Presidents were chosen.

The WDC has different parts that help it run. These include the Competitive Dance Committee, the Dancesation Committee, and a partnership with the WDC Amateur League (WDCAL).

How the WDC Works

The WDC makes decisions in a fair way, like a democracy. For most big choices, each full member country gets one vote. Most of the full members are individual countries. There are also some other members, like the Ballroom Dancers Federation International.

The WDC works through a main council and two special committees:

  • The World Competitive Dance Committee sets the rules for professional dance competitions. It handles everything about these competitions and their rules.
  • The Dancesation Committee looks after all parts of the dance profession. This includes things like Dance Schools, Dance Teachers, and other dance styles such as performing arts, Hip Hop, and Argentine Tango. It doesn't directly control social dancing, as that's usually up to local organizers.
  • The WDC Amateur League started in 2007. It organizes and approves World and continental championships for amateur dancers. It also gives licenses and sets rules for amateur dancing.

Each country that is a member of the WDC has its own national dance organization. For example, the British Dance Council is the one for the UK. These national groups help different dance organizations in their country work together. They also choose who will represent their country at the WDC.

WDC Dance Events

The WDC sets the rules for these big dance events, which are held in different countries each year.

  • World Championship – Professional Ballroom
  • World Championship – Professional Latin
  • World Championship – Professional 10-Dance (this means dancing 10 different styles)
  • European Championship – Professional 10-Dance
  • European Championship – Professional Latin

There are also other events that the WDC licenses to local organizers. Dancers can sign up for these events.

  • WDC Amateur League Open Amateur World Championships & Disney Professional Cups
  • Kremlin World Cup Latin
  • World Masters Latin
  • WDC World Cup. In 2009, this event in Shenzhen, China, had over 2000 dancers!

The WDC rules also allow for professional competitions in these styles:

  • Ballroom Show Dance
  • Latin American Show Dance

WDC Competition Rules

  • WDC Championships are open to many dancers.
  • Each country's national dance group can choose their two best dance couples to compete.
  • Also, three "Wild Card" couples from the World Series Ranking List are invited.
  • Any dancer registered with the WDC can also join as an open entry.

WDC Presidents

Here are some of the people who have been President of the WDC:

  • P. J. S. Richardson MBE
  • Alex Moore MBE
  • Bill Irvine MBE
  • Leonard Morgan
  • Robin Short
  • Karl Breuer
  • Donnie Burns MBE

World Championship Winners

You can find more about the winners of these big competitions:

  • World Ballroom Dance Champions
  • World Latin Dance Champions
  • World 10 Dance Champions
  • World Ballroom Dance Champions Amateur

See also

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World Dance Council Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.