USA Dance, formerly the United States Amateur Ballroom Dance Association (USABDA), is a national governing body for DanceSport (the competitive version of ballroom dancing) in the United States. It is recognized as such by the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), and the Amateur Sports Act of the United States Congress. [1] In addition to promoting ballroom dancing as a recreational activity, USA Dance also promotes DanceSport nationally and internationally.
USA Dance organizes and hosts the annual USA Dance National DanceSport Championships which awards United States National titles and the opportunity to represent the U.S. at the IDSF World Championships. [2] The 2010 championships were held in Los Angeles, CA and the 2011 championships will be held in Baltimore, MD. [3] [4] The organization has approximately 25,000 paying members and has a connection and outreach to an estimated 200,000 dancers. [5]
Ballroom dance is a set of European 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.
Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to entertain the audience, or for competition. Cheerleading routines typically range anywhere from one to three minutes, and contain components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting.
The World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), formerly the International DanceSport Federation (IDSF), is the international governing body of DanceSport and Para DanceSport, as recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
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 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has more than 700,000 members nationwide, including more than 100,000 volunteers. The philosophy of the AAU is "Sports for All, Forever."
USA Track & Field (USATF) is a United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running, and racewalking. The USATF was known between 1979 and 1992 as The Athletics Congress (TAC) after its spin-off from the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), which governed the sport in the US through most of the 20th century until the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 dissolved its responsibility. Based in Indianapolis, USATF is a non-profit organization with a membership of more than 130,000. The organization has three key leadership positions: CEO Max Siegel, Board of Directors Chair Steve Miller, and elected president Vin Lananna. U.S. citizens and permanent residents can be USATF members, but permanent residents can only participate in masters events in the country, and they cannot win USATF medals, prize money, or score points for a team, per World Athletics regulations.
USA Roller Sports (USARS), formerly the United States Amateur Confederation of Roller Skating, is the national governing body of competitive roller sports in the United States. It is recognized by the International Roller Sports Federation (FIRS) and the United States Olympic Committee.
USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugby." USA Rugby is responsible for the promotion and development of the sport in the U.S., and promotion of U.S. international participation.
The 8-day Blackpool Dance Festival is the world's first and most famous annual ballroom dance competition of international significance, held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, England since 1920. It is also the largest ballroom competition: in 2013, 2953 couples from 60 countries took part in the festival.
Brian Fortuna is an American professional ballroom dancer, choreographer and instructor.
Jean-Marc Généreux is a French Canadian ballroom dance champion, choreographer and television personality from Longueuil, Quebec, Canada. He is most prominently known for his roles as judge and choreographer on the American and Canadian versions of So You Think You Can Dance, the French version of the hit television series Dancing with the Stars, and TVA’s hit dance competition series Révolution.
Elena Grinenko is a professional ballroom dance champion, choreographer, and instructor. She is best known as one of the professional dancers on the American television series Dancing with the Stars.
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.
The annual United States Dance Championships (USDC), previously called the United States Ballroom Championships (USBC) and the United States DanceSport Championships (USDSC), is recognized by the National Dance Council of America (NDCA) and the World Dance & DanceSport Council (WD&DSC) as determining the majority of the United States national professional ballroom dance champions.
Pole dance combines dance and acrobatics centered around a vertical pole. The origins of pole dancing can be traced back to the ancient Indian sport of Mallakhamb. This performance art form takes place not only in gentleman's clubs as erotic dance, but also as a mainstream form of fitness, practiced in gyms and dedicated dance studios. Pole dancing enthusiasts are of all ages; although many who perform this dance and acrobatic form are adults, that does not stop younger children from learning and performing in competitions. Amateur and professional pole dancing competitions are held in countries around the world.
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.
The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Olympics, World Athletics Championships, Pan American Games, NACAC Championships, or an IAAF Continental Cup, the championships serve as a way of selecting the best athletes for those competitions.
The Ballroom Dancers' Federation was founded in 1958 to give a voice to competitive ballroom dancers. A previous organisation, called the Competitors' Federation had been disbanded soon after its formation in 1946. The purpose of the BDF is:
Sports are widely practiced in Austria, both in professional and amateur competitions. The most popular sports are association football, alpine skiing and ice hockey.