The Youth Division of DanceSport is a competitive division of Ballroom Dancing. Youth category competing in "International Style Latin", "Standard" and 10 Dance. Youth: Reach 16th- 18th birthday in the calendar year. Youth II, also known as a Under 21 category.
The British Dance Council (BDC) was formed in 1929 and is the official full member federation of the World Dance Council for Britain. It is the recognized governing body for Ballroom, Latin, Sequence Dancing & Freestyle/Disco dance in the United Kingdom.
The British Association of Teachers of Dance (BATD) is a UK-based dance examination board, with its Head Office in Glasgow, Scotland. The officially recognised date for the formation of the society is 30 November 1892, making it the first professional dance organization of its kind in the United Kingdom, and the second oldest in the world.
Zdenek Fencak is a former Professional Ballroom dancer specializing in both the Standard and Latin dance styles. Zdenek has represented two countries during his competitive career - Austria and the Czech Republic. Currently, with wife and partner Jana Fencak, he is the owner of the Starstep Dance Studio located in Třebíč, Czech Republic, where he trains National Champions of various age groups. Aside from being a National Adjudicator of the Czech Dance Sport Federation, he is also an "A" and "PD" Licensed WDSF Adjudicator.
Brian McDonald, known for his contribution, devotion and dedication to ballroom dancing in the United States and worldwide, is a former Professional ballroom dancer, specializing in International Style Standard. With wife Christine McDonald, he is a former 3-time Scottish National Amateur Champion, a 3-time European Professional Standard finalist, a European Professional Standard runner-up, as well as a 4-time United States National Professional Standard Champion. Brian has been the President of the National Dance Council of America since 1994 and one of the organizers of the Embassy Ballroom Championships since 1980.
Zouk is a musical style originating from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique and popularized by the French Antillean band Kassav' in the 1980s. Very rapid in tempo, the style lost ground in the 1980s due to the strong presence of Compas / kompa and kadans, the main music of the French Antilles. Today, zouk is the French Antilles compas (Kompa), also called zouk-love.
Brazilian zouk dance is a partner dance originating from Brazil. Also known as zouk-lambada, the dance is a descendant of lambada, the music & dance style that swept over the world like a storm in the late 1980's. Brazilian zouk is characterized by the dancers’ undulating bodies and the girls' flowing hair. Depending on the style of Brazilian zouk, you can see a close connection embrace and long graceful steps, strong hip movements, body isolations and upper-body torsions, wild spins and whip-like head movements. While the dance is often called sensual, it is not sexual or erotic. It is danced by people of all ages in night clubs, dance schools and events around the world!
The Brazilian Samba is a lively, rhythmical dance of Afro-Brazilian origin that originated from a dance known as the Maxixe.
Boyko (originally from Bulgaria) is a former competitive Ballroom Dancer who specialized in both the Amateur Latin and Standard divisions. He is the founder and owner of one of the most prestigious design brands of hair styling in the DanceSport world, Boyko & Co.
Lindy Hop evolved in the early 1930s. It is a dance of African American origin characterized by a high degree of physical vigor. It is characterized by an 8-count circular basic or "swing out" and has an emphasis on improvisation and the ability to easily adapt to include other steps in 8-count and 6-count rhythms. The name "Lindy Hop" is often attributed to "Shorty" George Snowden during an interaction with a reporter who asked him what kind of dance they were doing. Because Charles Lindbergh had just made his famous solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, Shorty George is said to have replied, "the Lindy Hop." Whether it was Shorty George who coined the name is disputed by some writers, but, in any case, the name stuck. The Savoy Ballroom in Harlem was the home of the Lindy Hop. As its popularity increased, professional troupes were formed. These troupes toured the United States and Europe performing versions of the Lindy Hop.
The Liberty Ball is a one-day competition hosted annually in Pennsylvania (USA) since 2015 around the months of October/November.
