Learn ballroom, from the first lesson to the first final
A plain-language glossary and step-by-step checklists for dancers, families, teachers and studio owners. Free to read, free to print.
Glossary · 263 terms 22 dances 4 checklists 4 guides
Look it up
The words you hear in lessons and at competitions, explained plainly.
- Glossary 263 terms
Ballroom glossary
From heat and recall to CBM and the Skating System, in plain language, with where the international and US worlds differ.
Open - Glossary 22 dances
Dance styles explained
International Standard and Latin, American Smooth and Rhythm, and the social dances: what defines each style, side by side.
Open
For dancers
Checklists for the big firsts, from a first showcase to a full competition season.
- Checklist 32 items
Your first competition
Entries, costume, shoes, the heat list, warm-up, your number and how recalls work, from three months out to the day after.
Open - Checklist 25 items
Plan a competition season
Choosing competitions, a budget, a week of lessons, coaching and camps, peaking and rest.
Open - Checklist 17 items
Your first showcase
Choosing the dance and the music, rehearsing for an audience, and enjoying the night.
Open
For studios and teachers
For the people who welcome new dancers and get them on the floor.
Guides
Longer reads on how the ballroom world is organised.
- Guide
A short history of ballroom and dancesport
How the waltz, the tango and the foxtrot turned from social dances into a judged sport: the English teachers who wrote down the technique, the Blackpool championships, the two international styles, the American styles, and the bodies that run competitions today.
Open - Guide
Dancesport federations explained
Who runs ballroom competition: the international bodies (WDSF, WDC, WDO), the national bodies under them, and what sanctioning, licences, judges' qualifications and world rankings actually mean for a dancer or a studio.
Open - Guide
Ballroom levels, age groups and categories
The styles and their dances, how age groups are named and why the names differ from one organisation to the next, the skill levels from Newcomer and Bronze to Open and Championship, the European class systems, and the three kinds of couple: Amateur, Pro-Am and Professional.
Open - Guide
How US ballroom competitions work
Why the American competition scene looks different from the rest of the world: Pro-Am, single-dance entries, scholarships, Rising Star and Top Teacher awards. How a big competition is organised and sanctioned, how entries and teacher fees are paid, and how studios plan a season.
Open
Plan the season where the lessons already are
DanceFlow keeps a studio's lessons, students, packages and competition plans in one place, and each student sees their own. Free to start.