- World Ballroom Dance Champions
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This page lists the official World Champions – Professional Ballroom of the World Dance Council (WDC), and its historical predecessors. The championships are authorized and organized under the auspices of the WDC. The designation Ballroom replaces the previously used Modern or Standard in WDC terminology; it does not include the latin dances.
World Championships of a sort have been held in ballroom dancing since 1909 when Camille de Rhynal held annual championships in Paris. Records of the years prior to the First World War are sketchy, and it is only since 1922 when the sport split into professional and amateur levels that complete records have been kept. The 1922 championships were also the first to award a single 'world championship' as opposed to titles in the individual dances.[1] The World Championships were held in France from 1925 to 1939, in Paris except for one year in Nice.[2]
These annual competitions only became official in 1936, and since 1937 the title was held by dancers from the United Kingdom for the rest of that century. With the outbreak of the Second World War, the championships were put on hold for six years. Following its revival, the professional ballroom dancing world was becoming more and more fragmented as competing organizations vied for domination. Finally, in September 1950 the ICBD (International Council of Ballroom Dancing) was founded, becoming the world's first international professional dance organisation, and all other competitions claiming to be the 'World Championships' were boycotted by member nations.
The Championships returned once again in 1959 under the control of the ICBD, though that year was something of a trial run. The first officially awarded championship of the new series came in 1960, and have continued since then. The ICBD was renamed as the World Dance & DanceSport Council (WD&DSC), and renamed again as the WDC.
The Professional Ballroom section (occasionally called Professional Modern in British tradition) of DanceSport) covers the dances waltz, foxtrot, quickstep, tango and Viennese waltz.
World Champions
Professional Standard World Champions
1922 Victor Silvester & Phyllis Clarke England 1923 no contest held 1924 Maxwell Stewart & Barbara Miles England 1925 Maxwell Stewart & Barbara Miles England 1926 Maxwell Stewart & Pat Sykes England 1927 Edward Blunt & Doris Germai England 1928 Maxwell Stewart & Pat Sykes England 1929 Herbert Jemull & Gerti Hepprich Germany 1930 Maxwell Stewart & Pat Sykes England 1931 Arthur Milner & Norma Cave England 1932 Marcel & Mme Chapoul France 1933 Sydney Stern & Mae Walmsey England 1934 Marcel & Mme Chapoul France 1935 Marcel & Mme Chapoul France 1936 Marcel & Mme Chapoul France 1937 Arthur Norton & Pat Eaton England 1938 Arthur Norton & Pat Eaton England 1939 Arthur Norton & Pat Eaton England 1947 Victor Barrett & Doreen Freeman England 1948 Bob Henderson & Eileen Henshall England 1949 Bob Henderson & Eileen Henshall England 1950 Bob Henderson & Eileen Henshall England 1959 Desmond Ellison & Brenda Winslade England 1960[3] Bill and Bobbie Irvine Scotland 1961 Harry Smith-Hampshire & Doreen Casey England 1962 Bill & Bobbie Irvine Scotland 1963 Bill & Bobbie Irvine Scotland 1964 Bill & Bobbie Irvine Scotland 1965 Bill & Bobbie Irvine Scotland 1966 Peter Eggleton & Brenda Winslade England 1967 Bill & Bobbie Irvine Scotland 1968 Bill & Bobbie Irvine Scotland 1969 Peter Eggleton & Brenda Winslade England 1970 Peter Eggleton & Brenda Winslade England 1971 Anthony Hurley & Fay Saxton England 1972 Anthony Hurley & Fay Saxton England 1973 Richard & Janet Gleave England 1974 Richard & Janet Gleave England 1975 Richard & Janet Gleave England 1976 Richard & Janet Gleave England 1977 Richard & Janet Gleave England 1978 Richard & Janet Gleave England 1979 Richard & Janet Gleave England 1980 Richard & Janet Gleave England 1981 Michael & Vicky Barr England 1982 Michael & Vicky Barr England 1983 Michael & Vicky Barr England 1984 Michael & Vicky Barr England 1985 Michael & Vicky Barr England 1986 Stephen & Lindsey Hillier England 1987 Stephen & Lindsey Hillier England 1988 Stephen & Lindsey Hillier England 1989 John Wood & Anne Lewis England 1990 Marcus & Karen Hilton England 1991 Marcus & Karen Hilton England 1992 Marcus & Karen Hilton England 1993 Marcus & Karen Hilton England 1994 Marcus & Karen Hilton England 1995 Marcus & Karen Hilton England 1996 Marcus & Karen Hilton England 1997 Marcus & Karen Hilton England 1998 Marcus & Karen Hilton England 1999 Luca & Loraine Baricchi England 2000 Augusto Schiavo & Caterina Arzenton Italy 2001 Luca & Loraine Baricchi England 2002 Christopher Hawkins & Hazel Newberry England 2003 Christopher Hawkins & Hazel Newberry England 2004 Christopher Hawkins & Hazel Newberry England 2005 Mirko Gozzoli & Alessia Betti Italy 2006 Mirko Gozzoli & Alessia Betti Italy 2007 Mirko Gozzoli & Alessia Betti Italy 2008 Mirko Gozzoli & Alessia Betti Italy 2009 Arunas Bizokas & Katusha Demidova USA 2010 Arunas Bizokas & Katusha Demidova USA See also
- Dancesport World Champions (smooth)
- Dancesport World Champions (rhythm)
- U.S. National Dancesport Champions (Professional Standard)
- U.S. National Dancesport Champions (Professional 10-Dance)
References
- ^ Early dates and names verified by Wainwright, Lyndon 1997. The story of British popular dance. International Publications, Brighton. p15
- ^ Wainwright, Lyndon 1997. The story of British popular dance. International Publications, Brighton. p16
- ^ The modern series of WDC events starts here: http://sports123.com/dan/wsta.html
Categories:- Competitive dance
- Ballroom dance
- Dance competitions
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