World Dance Council facts for kids
The World Dance Council (WDC) is a company that helps organize and promote dance around the world. It's like a big club for professional dancers and dance competitions. It started a long time ago, on September 22, 1950, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Back then, it was called the International Council of Ballroom Dancing.
The main goal of the WDC when it began was to create fair rules for world championships in ballroom dance competitions. They definitely achieved that! At first, only a few countries were part of it, but now the WDC is a top group for professional dance. It has members in many countries all over the world. Each country gets one vote on important decisions. As of 2006, there were 59 member countries. The main group that leads the WDC is called the Presidium, which includes a President and several Vice-Presidents.
The WDC also includes different groups like the Competitive Dance Committee, the Dancesation Committee, and a partnership with the WDC Amateur League (WDCAL).
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How the WDC Works
The WDC makes decisions in a fair way, like a democracy. This means that for most big choices, each full member country gets one vote. Some other groups, like the Ballroom Dancers Federation International, are also members but might have different roles.
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 how these competitions are run.
- The Dancesation Committee focuses on dance schools and teachers. It also looks after other dance styles like 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 part of the WDC has its own national dance group, like the British Dance Council. These national groups help decide who represents their country at WDC meetings. The WDC also has a special system in some countries called the WDC National Dance Council. This system helps different dance organizations in those countries work together.
WDC Dance Events
The WDC sets the rules for many exciting dance events that happen in different countries each year. Some of the main ones include:
- World Championship – Professional Ballroom
- World Championship – Professional Latin
- World Championship – Professional 10-Dance
- European Championship – Professional 10-Dance
- European Championship – Professional Latin
There are also other events that are open for many dancers to join. These events are licensed to different countries to organize them. Some examples are:
- WDC Amateur League Open Amateur World Championships & Professional Cups.
- World Masters Latin
- WDC World Cup. For example, in 2009, a WDC World Cup event in Shenzhen, China, had more than 2,000 dancers!
The WDC rules also allow for professional competitions in special dance styles like:
- 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 extra couples from the World Series Ranking List are invited. Other dancers who are registered with the WDC can also join as open entries.
Presidents of the WDC
Here are some of the people who have led the WDC over the years:
- 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 learn more about the champions in these dance styles:
- World Ballroom Dance Champions
- World Latin Dance Champions
- World 10 Dance Champions
- World Ballroom Dance Champions Amateur
See also
- World DanceSport Federation
- Ballroom dance
- Competitive dance
- Ballroom Dancers' Federation
- Dancesport
