Background

Although dancesport has been around for a long time and some of its recognized disciplines date back many years, it wasn’t until 1935 that the first major organization was created to represent dance as a sport: Fédération Internationale de Danse pour Amateurs (FIDA – International Federation for Amateur Dancers).  This association was the first step in what would become the WDSF (World DanceSport Federation), the sports federation that has been recognized by the International Olympic Committee since 1997, thus cementing decades of the WDSF’s efforts to make dancesport a major sport.  In 2020, all these efforts were materialized with Breaking – a competitive form of breakdancing – scheduled to make its debut at the 2024 Olympics.  The WDSF currently consists of 107 national member bodies (61 in Europe, 24 in Asia, 13 in America, 5 in Africa, 2 in the United States and 2 in Oceania), 68 of which are recognized by the International Olympic Committee.

Dancesport has grown steadily over the years, and the excitement building up in the world of dance this past decade has undeniably propelled dance to become one of the most popular and spectacular sports in the world. New and increasingly acrobatic disciplines and dance rhythms have allowed a number of countries to contribute to the evolution of dancesport and its content.

Dancesport refers to the following disciplines:

International Dance– Standard and Latin

Artistic dance:

  • Show Dance
  • Choreographed Dance (Standard and Latin)
  • Synchro Dance (Standard and Latin)

Caribbean dance:

  • Salsa for one Merengue Bachata
  • Salsa for two

Folk dance:

  • Flamenco
  • Belly Dance

Performing Art dance:

  • Ballet Jazz – fast tempo, Ballet Jazz – slow tempo
  • Modern and contemporary dance
  • Ballet

Smooth and Rhythm dance

Street Dance:

  • Breaking (Breakdance)
  • Popping
  • Krump
  • Hip Hop
  • Electro
  • Commercial Choreography
  • Locking, Waacking, House

Disco dance and acrobatic disco

The various types of dancesport are extremely popular around the world, especially in Europe and are now part of several major international games, such as the World Games.

DANCEPORT IN QUÉBEC

DanseSport Québec (DSQ) was founded in 1972 to ensure Québec was represented in this movement. DSQ is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and growth of dancesport. The federation is recognized by the Ministry of Education of Québec as well as by SPORTSQUÉBEC. DSQ is also a member of Canada DanceSport (CDS), which represents us around the world through the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF). DSQ has evolved in the same way as the WDSF and now represents the same disciplines.

Initially, just like the WDSF, DSQ only represented two specific styles: Latin dance and Standard dance. Since then, several other disciplines, such as Urban Dance and Performing Arts, have been added to the classification of dancesports.

Each year, DanseSport Québec organizes two major competitions that bring together talented amateur athletes. These events have historically been known both nationally and around the world for producing exceptional athletes.

Dancesport, which has also seen a huge rise in uptake in recent years mainly in the United States and Europe thanks to various dance programs such as “Dancing With The Stars”, “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Revolution”, has been responsible for making people aware of the various dance disciplines in Québec.