Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television.
Dancesport is competitive ballroom dancing, as contrasted to social or exhibition dancing. In the case of Para dancesport, at least one of the dancers is in a wheelchair.
The World Dance Council Ltd (WDC), is a registered limited company, the legal successor to the International Council of Ballroom Dancing, and was established at a meeting organized by Phillip J. S. Richardson on 22 September 1950 in Edinburgh, Scotland. From 1996 to 2006 the WDC was known as the World Dance & Dance Sport Council Ltd (WD&DSC). The stated mission of the World Dance Council is to inspire, stimulate and promote excellence in education for the World Dance Council and Amateur League community.
This page lists the official World Champions – Professional Latin of the World Dance Council (WDC). The championships are authorized and organized under the auspices of the WDC, and held annually in the last quarter of each year. The competition comprises five dances: rumba, samba, paso doble, cha-cha-cha and jive, as defined in ballroom dancing terms.
Paul Killick is a British professional ballroom dancer and an International Latin American Dance Champion. He appeared in the first two series of the television show Strictly Come Dancing. Killick specialises in Latin dance and has won international titles including The World Cup, World Trophy, World Masters, World Series, Universal and British Professional Latin American DanceSport Championships.
Louis van Amstel is a Dutch-American ballroom dance champion, professional dancer, and choreographer who appears on the U.S. reality television series Dancing with the Stars. He is the creator of the popular dance fitness program LaBlast.
Walter William Laird was a major influence in the development of Latin American dancing in Britain after the Second World War. He was World Professional Latin Dance Champion three times. He coached many successful dancers including Allan Tornsberg, Vibeke Toft, Espen Salberg, Jukka Haapalainen, Sirpa Suutari, Donnie Burns & Ian Waite. Peter Maxwell & Lynn Harman were amongst his first major champions and a couple on which much of his ultimate technique was developed. Laird was a Fellow and Examiner of the IDTA, and until 2000, he was Secretary of the Ballroom Dancers' Federation.
Carmen Vincelj is a German professional dancer.
Gaynor Fairweather MBE is a British professional ballroom dancer. She and her partner, Donnie Burns, were 16-time Professional World Latin Dance Champions and 11 times Professional International Latin American Dance Champions. This is by some way the record number of wins in both these top competitions. On their retirement from competition dancing they were both appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to the performing arts in the 1991 Birthday Honours.
BillIrvine(30 January 1926 – 13 February 2008) and Bobbie Irvine were British professional ballroom dancers. Bobbie Irvine was born Bobbie Barwell in Oudtshoorn, South Africa, while Bill Irvine, born William, was from Low Craigends in Kilsyth. His father was a miner, as was his grandfather, and Bill served in the Royal Navy before starting his dance career. As a young dance teacher he spent a period in South Africa, which led to his meeting Bobbie. They were married in 1957. The pair became South African champions, and later settled in London.
Hazel Catherine Newberry MBE is one of the United Kingdom's leading ballroom dancers and dance teachers. She was three times undefeated World Professional Ballroom champion, dancing with Christopher Hawkins (2002–2004).
Nicole Cutler is a professional ballroom dancer and former World Amateur Latin-American champion. She was born Nicole Westdyk in Durban, South Africa and after taking up ballet at the age of four, first tried out ballroom and Latin-American dancing at the age of twelve.
The BYU Ballroom Dance Company originates in the Department of Dance of the College of Fine Arts and Communications at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. It has been a part of BYU for nearly 50 years and competes and performs throughout the world.
Nina Hunt (1932–1995) was a Manx Latin American dance coach and choreographer. She had a high reputation for coaching competitive Latin dancers.
The International Latin American Dance Championships were created after the Second World War in England by Elsa Wells, and are now organised by Dance News special events. The current full title is the Elsa Wells International Dance Championships, and includes all categories in Standard and Latin American ballroom dance.
Sammy Stopford MBE is a professional ballroom dancer and teacher, and winner of the Professional International Latin American Dance Championship.
Yulia Zagoruychenko is a ten-times undefeated Latin Dance Champion and the current World Latin Dance Champion with her partner/husband, Riccardo Cocchi.
Joanne Kirsty Clifton is an English professional dancer, presenter, actress, and singer. She won the World Ballroom Showdance Championship in 2014, and won the European Professional Ballroom Championship and World Dancesport Games. She was a professional dancer on the BBC TV series Strictly Come Dancing from 2014 to 2016, winning the Christmas Special in 2015 with Harry Judd who was series 9 champion and the fourteenth series in 2016 with Ore Oduba. She also appeared as an expert presenter on Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two in 2015 and 2019.
Barbara Joanne McColl Stopford is an English professional ballroom dancer, teacher, and adjudicator. She specializes in International Latin. With Sammy Stopford, she won in the professional Latin category four times at the Blackpool Dance Festival and three times at the UK Open. She is the Organizer of The World Championship WDC AL.
