World Ballroom Dance Champions

This page lists the official World Champions – Professional Ballroom of the World Dance Council (WDC), and its historical predecessors. The championships are authorized and organized under the auspices of the WDC. The designation Ballroom replaces the previously used Modern or Standard in WDC terminology; it does not include the latin dances.

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.[1] The World Championships were held in France from 1925 to 1939, in Paris except for one year in Nice.[2]

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.

World Champions

Professional Standard World Champions

1922 Victor Silvester & Phyllis Clarke England
1923 no contest held
1924 Maxwell Stewart & Barbara Miles England
1925 Maxwell Stewart & Barbara Miles England
1926 Maxwell Stewart & Pat Sykes England
1927 Edward Blunt & Doris Germai England
1928 Maxwell Stewart & Pat Sykes England
1929 Herbert Jemull & Gerti Hepprich Germany
1930 Maxwell Stewart & Pat Sykes England
1931 Arthur Milner & Norma Cave England
1932 Marcel & Mme Chapoul France
1933 Sydney Stern & Mae Walmsey England
1934 Marcel & Mme Chapoul France
1935 Marcel & Mme Chapoul France
1936 Marcel & Mme Chapoul France
1937 Arthur Norton & Pat Eaton England
1938 Arthur Norton & Pat Eaton England
1939 Arthur Norton & Pat Eaton England
1947 Victor Barrett & Doreen Freeman England
1948 Bob Henderson & Eileen Henshall England
1949 Bob Henderson & Eileen Henshall England
1950 Bob Henderson & Eileen Henshall England
1959 Desmond Ellison & Brenda Winslade England
1960[3] Bill and Bobbie Irvine Scotland
1961 Harry Smith-Hampshire & Doreen Casey England
1962 Bill & Bobbie Irvine Scotland
1963 Bill & Bobbie Irvine Scotland
1964 Bill & Bobbie Irvine Scotland
1965 Bill & Bobbie Irvine Scotland
1966 Peter Eggleton & Brenda Winslade England
1967 Bill & Bobbie Irvine Scotland
1968 Bill & Bobbie Irvine Scotland
1969 Peter Eggleton & Brenda Winslade England
1970 Peter Eggleton & Brenda Winslade England
1971 Anthony Hurley & Fay Saxton England
1972 Anthony Hurley & Fay Saxton England
1973 Richard & Janet Gleave England
1974 Richard & Janet Gleave England
1975 Richard & Janet Gleave England
1976 Richard & Janet Gleave England
1977 Richard & Janet Gleave England
1978 Richard & Janet Gleave England
1979 Richard & Janet Gleave England
1980 Richard & Janet Gleave England
1981 Michael & Vicky Barr England
1982 Michael & Vicky Barr England
1983 Michael & Vicky Barr England
1984 Michael & Vicky Barr England
1985 Michael & Vicky Barr England
1986 Stephen & Lindsey Hillier England
1987 Stephen & Lindsey Hillier England
1988 Stephen & Lindsey Hillier England
1989 John Wood & Anne Lewis England
1990 Marcus & Karen Hilton England
1991 Marcus & Karen Hilton England
1992 Marcus & Karen Hilton England
1993 Marcus & Karen Hilton England
1994 Marcus & Karen Hilton England
1995 Marcus & Karen Hilton England
1996 Marcus & Karen Hilton England
1997 Marcus & Karen Hilton England
1998 Marcus & Karen Hilton England
1999 Luca & Loraine Baricchi England
2000 Augusto Schiavo & Caterina Arzenton Italy
2001 Luca & Loraine Baricchi England
2002 Christopher Hawkins & Hazel Newberry England
2003 Christopher Hawkins & Hazel Newberry England
2004 Christopher Hawkins & Hazel Newberry England
2005 Mirko Gozzoli & Alessia Betti Italy
2006 Mirko Gozzoli & Alessia Betti Italy
2007 Mirko Gozzoli & Alessia Betti Italy
2008 Mirko Gozzoli & Alessia Betti Italy
2009 Arunas Bizokas & Katusha Demidova USA
2010 Arunas Bizokas & Katusha Demidova USA

See also

References

  1. ^ Early dates and names verified by Wainwright, Lyndon 1997. The story of British popular dance. International Publications, Brighton. p15
  2. ^ Wainwright, Lyndon 1997. The story of British popular dance. International Publications, Brighton. p16
  3. ^ The modern series of WDC events starts here: http://sports123.com/dan/wsta.html