United Country Western Dance Council
The United Country Western Dance Council (UCWDC) is an organization that promotes Country-western dance worldwide both as art form and as a competitive dance sport. It was established in 1989 in Grantville, Pennsylvania, United States and was incorporated in 1990 as a non-profit organization in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.
UCWDC sanctions and promotes dance competitions and workshops, maintains a uniform set of rules for competitions, surveys and certifies judges.
As of 2006, the UCWDC has over 50 sanctioned events in 10 countries, and hosts an annual World Championship.
The Council has several committees that oversee specific issues: judge certification, rules, ethics, line dance, teams and the business team.
Competition dances
UCWDC competitions cover the following couple dances:
- Two Step
- Waltz
- Triple Two
- Polka
- East Coast Swing
- West Coast Swing
- Cha Cha
- Nightclub
Line dances are split into the following categories:
- Rise & Fall: A dance using Rise and fall and Swing and Sway motions.
- Lilt: A dance using Lilt motion.
- Smooth: A dance using Flat motion.
- Cuban: A dance using Cuban or Latin motion,
- Funky: A dance demonstrating footwork and bodywork that is consistent with theatrical Hip-Hop, Jazz, Modern, etc.
- Novelty: A dance that may have acombination of movements and demonstrate a novel, performance choreographed to a song.