Here in Utah, we have the benefit of an extraordinarily large youth ballroom community. This is thanks in no small part to BYU and UVU alumni building programs into the elementary, middle, and high schools as well as local studios.

Formation dancing is broken up into the following groups:

• Latin/Rhythm Showdance
• Ballroom/Smooth Showdance
• Swing
• Large Group
• Cabaret
• Novelty
• Latin Medley
• Ballroom Medley

The most challenging and most competitive formation dancing is what are called medleys. Latin and Ballroom medleys are a mix of dance styles and songs that include 3-5 styles (see list above). The national championships for these medleys are held at BYU each year in March – in Utah we call this event Nationals because it is the U.S. National Amateur Championship.

The event is broken up into the open categories Pre-teen, Junior and Youth. When there are more than 7 groups competing, the organizers will typically break up the teams at Nationals after a qualifying event into divisions: division I being the most competitive.

Teams can consist of 4-8 couples. Junior and Pre-teen teams are not allowed any stones, fringe, feathers, etc on their costumes

• International Style

  • International Style Ballroom/Standard (the main difference between Ballroom and Smooth is dancers in the International Ballroom style must maintain the dance frame for the entirety of the dance)

    • Waltz – Slow and elegant dance defined by 3/4 timing and the rise and fall of the dancers

    • Tango – Very dramatic dance with sharp movements mostly danced with bent knees

    • Foxtrot – Smooth gliding action across the floor – jazz or big band music

    • Viennese Waltz – A faster dance set to 3/4 timing that turns around the floor continuously

    • Quickstep – Very energetic dance filled with hops, skips, and fast footwork

  • International Style Latin

    • Cha Cha – A faster Latin dance with quick foot action and sharp movement

    • Samba – Inspired by the Brazilian dance and “Carnival” – bounce created by knee and ankle action

    • Rumba – Slowest in this style meant to emphasize hip and body action as well as connection with the partner

    • Paso Doble – Dramatic dance inspired by Flamenco dancing, the Matador, etc.

    • Jive – Quickest dance in the style with high kicks, lots of energy and personality

• American Style (also lumped into social dancing)

  • American Smooth

    • Waltz – Slow and elegant dance defined by 3/4 timing and the rise and fall of the dancers

    • Tango – Very dramatic dance with sharp movements mostly danced with bent knees

    • Foxtrot – Smooth gliding action across the floor – jazz or big band music

    • Viennese Waltz – A faster dance set to 3/4 timing

    • **Peabody** – Never danced in traditional competitions but similar to a Quickstep or Charleston

  • American Rhythm

    • Cha Cha – A faster Latin dance with quick foot action and sharp movement

    • Rumba – Faster than it’s international counterpart – still focusing on hip and body action or Cuban action

    • Swing (East Coast) – Very energetic, lots of turns and and spins for both partners

    • Bolero – Slowest of the rhythm dances incorporating a graceful rise and fall

    • Mambo – Fast toe taps, flicks, ticks to accentuate music – danced on the “2”

• Additional Social Dances

  • • Salsa – Very popular social dance with turns, hip action and styling – can be danced on the “1” or “2”

    • Merengue – One of the easiest Latin dances to learn with recognizable foot-to-foot weight transfers

    • Bachata – Popular Latin social dance with hip action and body movement

    • Argentine Tango – Characterized by the close embrace-hold, foot and leg tricks, as well as an often moody styling

    • Lindy Hop – One of the original swing dances, quick foot action, triple-steps, and often tricks

    • West Coast Swing – Derived from the Lindy Hop but with a more sleek-styling, improvisation and elastic hold

    • etc. (Certainly there are styles that are not listed above but this covers the majority of what you might find on team or at competitions)

Competitions for individual competitors are broken up into 2 divisions, Syllabus and Open and styles International Ballroom, International Latin, American Rhythm and American Smooth (see above).

The syllabus division is bound by what are known as ‘syllabus figures’ or the basics for learning each style. These syllabus figures are further broken up into Bronze (beginning), Silver (intermediate), and Gold (advanced) levels. You can see a list of those figures here. All coaches are familiar with this standardization in both International and American styles and should help guide individual competitors to the appropriate steps.

Age divisions for syllabus are identified by Elementary, Junior High, High School and College. For specific age classifications, talk to your coach. In order to further even the playing field, competitors in syllabus events are required to wear black for the ladies (top and skirt) and black slacks, white shirt, and black tie for the men.

Within the Syllabus division, there is also a group called Newcomer. As the name indicates, this is an especially good starting place to begin competing as most of your fellow competitors are also fairly new to ballroom dancing. Once you place in the final of an NDCA sanctioned event (if your local that’s typically the BYU events as well as Utah Dancesport Championship), you are not allowed to compete in the Newcomer category at any further events. You may still compete in the syllabus events that are not classified as Newcomer.

Once you and your coaches feel it is appropriate, you will move into what is called the ‘Open’ category. This is where you will see the costumes, rhinestones, fringe, feathers, colors, tail suits, and latin shirts. In this category, competitors can take more choreographic liberties. If you are competing in an open category, you may not compete in any syllabus category with the same dance. You can however compete in Rhythm while you are in a syllabus international cha cha or compete International Ballroom while you are in an American Foxtrot. Ask your coach if you have questions.

These Pre-Teen (through the 11th birthday), Junior (12th-15th birthday), Youth (16th – 18th birthday), Under 21 and Adult/Amateur (19th birthday or older). There are also Senior categories for those competitors in their 30’s.

Furthermore, there are competitive divisions to help further differentiate ability levels in the open category, these include Novice (beginning), Pre-Champ (intermediate) and Championship/Amateur/etc. (advanced). Competitions will add these options at their own pleasure. For example the Novice category is typically only seen in the adult category.