We are less than two years away from the World Games 2021 taking place in and around Birmingham. Many are likely unfamiliar with the sports in the World Games, so Alabama NewsCenter is explaining what you can expect to see. Today, we look at DanceSport.

DanceSport consists of competitive ballroom dancing that requires strength, agility, coordination, stamina, discipline and teamwork. This sport originated in England and is a combination of advanced American and international style ballroom dancing. There have been three categories associated with the sport: Latin, Rock ’n’ Roll and Standard. Moldova, Poland and Germany were the winners for the 2017 World Games Championships.

In 2021, though, the World Games in Birmingham will include a fourth genre, Breaking. The 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina, marked the debut of the sport at the Youth Olympics. As the name suggests, Breaking is break dancing, a form of street dance that originated in New York City in the 1970s. During competitions each dancer, or breaker, takes turns incorporating various acrobatics into a dance routine.

DanceSport will unveil a new genre when the World Games come to Birmingham in 2021. (contributed)

The three traditional genres of DanceSport show a wide variety of styles. In the Latin genre, there are five dances: samba, cha-cha-cha, rumba, paso doble and jive. Its heritage consists of Latin America, Hispanic and American backgrounds, with similar expressiveness and emotion. In Standard, the five dances are: waltz, tango, Viennese waltz, slow foxtrot and quickstep. Rock ‘n’ Roll is a more upbeat and faster-paced genre requiring physical strength. Kicks, lifts, jumps, throws and flips are all aspects needed to fulfill this dance.

DanceSport is governed by the World Dance Sport Federation, which was founded in 1957. The first unofficial Dance Sport World Championship occurred in 1909, while the first television broadcast of a DanceSport competition aired in 1960. The mission of WDSF is to regulate, administer and develop DanceSport. The sport included only Latin and Standard dances for over five decades but decided to expand its horizons to become more accessible and relevant.

To learn more visit: https://www.theworldgames.org/sports/DanceSport-9