Competitive Ballroom Dancing
Ballroom Dance Competitions
The majority of ballroom
dancers take part in dancing as a social
activity. However there are many dancers who are
a bit more serious and perform at various levels
of competition. These competitions are also
known as Dance Sport, and many dancers from the
novice to the more advance, as well as the
general public, enjoy watching the serious
dancers compete. Many of these dance
competitions take place on a world-class level.
These types of competition are not only for the
more elite class of dancers, as there are
competitions at virtually all levels of ability.
These dance classifications may include, in
order of easiest to most difficult: Newcomer,
Pre-Bronze, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Novice,
Prechampionship to Championship. The levels of
"E" to "S" are used in Europe and Australia, and
if dancers achieve a certain amount of wins or
top-three finishes at official competitions, it
will "bump" the dancers up to the next level.
Both American style and International style
competitions are held. The most well-known
international style competitions are held in
Blackpool, England.
Competitive ballroom dance is now recognized by
the International Olympic Committee, however, it
is not yet a part of the Olympic Games.
The former USSR had competitions for ballroom
dancing called the Soviet Ballroom dances or
Soviet Programme.
A form of dance called Australian New Vogue is
recognized both socially and competitively and
there are currently about 15 recognized New
Vogue dances, which the competitors perform in
succession.
Less formal dance competitions may be held in
local clubs. This give dancers a chance to
compete even if they are not very skillful or
daring enough to compete in a more formal
environment. There are categories for
professionals who have their own competitions,
some of which are called Rising Star and Open
Professional.
Medal exams take place so that dancers may be
recognized for their abilities. This activity is
done according to more conventional standards.
With the medal exam competitions, the dancers
perform at least two dances of a certain genre,
such as the International Standard, before a
judge. The medals given in North America include
bronze, silver and gold. Usually medal exams are
performed by students are not as advanced as
competitive dancers. For example someone, who
passes a bronze exam would probably not compete
at the bronze level in formal competition.
However, those dancers taking part in the medal
exams still earn recognition for their
achievements.
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