WDC World Ballroom Dance Championship

WDC World Ballroom Dance Championship

Started Year
: 1909
Game
: Ballroom dance
Current Champion
: Arunas Bizokas & Katusha Demidova
 

History Of WDC World Ballroom Dance Championship

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.The World Championships were held in France from 1925 to 1939, in Paris except for one year in Nice.

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.


WDC World Ballroom Dance Championship Archieve

1922-Victor Silvester & Phyllis Clarke

1924-Maxwell Stewart & Barbara Miles

1925-Maxwell Stewart & Barbara Miles

1926-Maxwell Stewart & Pat Sykes

1927-Edward Blunt & Doris Germai

1928-Maxwell Stewart & Pat Sykes

1929-Herbert Jemull & Gerti Hepprich

1930-Maxwell Stewart & Pat Sykes

1931-Arthur Milner & Norma Cave

1932-Marcel & Mme Chapoul

1933-Sydney Stern & Mae Walmsey

1934-Marcel & Mme Chapoul

1935-Marcel & Mme Chapoul

1936-Marcel & Mme Chapoul

1937-Arthur Norton & Pat Eaton

1938-Arthur Norton & Pat Eaton

1939-Arthur Norton & Pat Eaton

1947-Victor Barrett & Doreen Freeman

1948-Bob Henderson & Eileen Henshall

1949-Bob Henderson & Eileen Henshall

1950-Bob Henderson & Eileen Henshall

1959-Desmond Ellison & Brenda Winslade

1960-Bill and Bobbie Irvine

1961-Harry Smith-Hampshire & Doreen Casey

1962,1963,1964,1965-Bill & Bobbie Irvine

1966-Peter Eggleton & Brenda Winslade

1967-Bill & Bobbie Irvine

1968-Bill & Bobbie Irvine

1969,1970-Peter Eggleton & Brenda Winslade

1971,1972-Anthony Hurley & Fay Saxton

1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980-Richard & Janet Gleave

1981,1982,1983,1984,1985-Michael & Vicky Barr

1986,1987,1988-Stephen & Lindsey Hillier

1989-John Wood & Anne Lewis

1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998-Marcus & Karen Hilton

1999-Luca & Loraine Baricchi

2000-Augusto Schiavo & Caterina Arzenton

2001-Luca & Loraine Baricchi

2002,2003,2004-Christopher Hawkins & Hazel Newberry

2005,2006,2007,2008-Mirko Gozzoli & Alessia Betti

2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015-Arunas Bizokas & Katusha Demidova

Top