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.
Dancesport events are sanctioned and regulated by dancesport organizations at the national and international level, such as the World DanceSport Federation.
Competitive dance is a popular, widespread sport in which competitors perform dances in any of several permitted dance styles—such as acro, ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, modern, musical theatre, tap, and improv—before a common group of judges. This is in contrast with other activities that involve competition among dancers based on purpose, or specific dance styles or genres, such as pom squad and dancesport (competitive ballroom dance).
The competitive dance industry largely consists of competition production companies—also sometimes called dance competition companies and dance competition lines—that conduct regional competitions at stops along their annual, nationwide tours. Dancers who compete at these regional competitions are students ranging in age from approximately five to eighteen years old. After competing regionally, qualifying routines and studios go on to compete nationally towards the end of their season. Dance schools (often referred to as dance studios) arrange for their classes to compete in a range of disciplines as solos, duets, trios, or in a small group dance in addition to or in place of large group routines. Competitions typically begin in January and end in July or August.
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.
Ballroom dance may refer, at its widest definition, to almost any recreational dance with a partner. However, with the emergence of dance competition (now known as Dancesport), two principal schools have emerged and the term is used more narrowly to refer to the dances recognized by those schools.
Latin dance is a general label, and a term in partner dance competition jargon. It refers to types of ballroom dance and folk dance that mainly originated in Latin America, though a few styles originated elsewhere.
The category of Latin dances in the international dancesport competitions consists of the Cha-cha-cha, Rumba, Samba, Paso Doble, and Jive.
Wheelchair dancesport, also known as Para dance sport, is a form of competitive dancesport where at least one of the dancers is in a wheelchair. The sport corporates the rules of the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF).
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).
Founded in 1957 as the International Council of Amateur Dancers (ICAD), it took the name IDSF in 1990. In 2011, it was renamed to WDSF to emphasise the global character of the organization.
Breakdancing competitions at the 2024 Summer Olympics ran from 9 to 10 August at Place de la Concorde, marking the sport's official debut in the program and the first dancesport discipline to appear in Summer Olympic history. Following its successful debut at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, breaking was confirmed as one of the three additional sports, along with sport climbing and surfing, approved for Paris 2024. The competition saw a total of thirty-three breakers (sixteen b-boys and seventeen b-girls) staged in face-to-face single battles. IOC president Thomas Bach stated that breaking was added as part of an effort to draw more interest from young people in the Olympics.