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.
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
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