The UCWDC successfully completed its fifth presentation of the World Championships of country & western dancing in early January, 1997 at the Disneyland hotel in Anaheim, California. What exactly makes it the “World” championships and what is a World Championship title anyway?

The first question is easy to answer. The UCWDC has over 60 Fully Sanctioned Licensed Affiliate events worldwide including several in Canada, Holland, England, Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium. All of these countries had some kind of representation at this year’s World event.

By meeting certain qualifications throughout the year you are eligible to then dance at Worlds. Although the UCWDC introduced line dance competition this year the contest is built on couples dancing. There are enough couples in fact that the UCWDC offers 22 divisions in which the title “World Champions” can be earned. These divisions are divided under 2 broad categories that are then separated by age and skill level.

How it works

These broad categories called Classic and Showcase are like two ladders. At the bottom of the level is Classic IV which is the entry level for most competitors. As you go up the ladder each division of dancing has a Classic & Showcase counterpart. There is no Showcase IV however. For instance, Division III, Il, & I are each offered in both Showcase and Classic. At the top of the ladder are the 2 pinnacles of competition. The Masters division on the Showcase side and its Classic counterpart called Champions.

These levels of competition are dominated primarily by couples in their twentysumthins. As these couples advance to the tops of their respective categories you can bet that they are practicing hard and are investing handsomely in their dancing. At the Division I levels and especially at the Champions/Masters level there are very few of these competitors that are not deriving a full-time income from dancing and teaching.

If you are not twenty something you’re still in luck because there are divisions for the 30/4O somethings called Diamond, the 40/50 somethings called Silver, and the 50 plus called the Gold division. There are divisions for the younguns too; Junior Youth and Junior Teen.

Classic & Showcase

The categories of Classic and Showcase are the main differences though. The Showcase ladder is distinguished primarily because these competitors have their competition music in advance and are therefore expected to have their dancing choreographed to their music. This means responding to the rhythmic accents and nuances in the music and interpreting through dance movement some of the lyrical concepts. Movement coordinated to the music can make even a small move take on new meaning and the entertainment value of this is very crowd- pleasing. At the Masters level you are required to create a solo medley in the 5 minute range in addition to competing in 2-Step and Waltz. As you might expect this very time intensive in terms of practice and requires a steady diet of coaching.

On the Classic side you don’t get your music in advance. In fact, you don’t even hear it until just prior to stepping on the floor. This is appealing to the vast majority of dancers for many reasons. On an everyday level you don’t have to be constantly refining choreography to match prereleased music and you can concentrate on refining techniques and style. The kinds of movement that you are allowed to do is limited and this is a blessing for many dancers. You can’t do pantomime, splits, drops, etc., and Classic keeps the dancing tied to its social roots. It’s not social dancing though at all without being able to choreograph to pre-released music where small movements can be made big, a routine must stand on its own merits in terms of dynamics and general excitement and like Showcase is very tightly choreographed.

At the top of the Classic ladder is a division called Champions. As a format, Champions is actually sort of halfway between Classic and Showcase. Like Masters you compete in 2-Step, Waltz, and a solo. Like all of the other Classic divisions you do not receive your 2-Step and Waltz in advance. You are allowed to pick your own music for your solo but it is slightly shorter in length. It contains most of the movement limitations associated with Classic though.

The World Championships

The UCWDC has fought tough internal growing pains and withstood continuing criticism from the outside but it has endured, grown, and now produces the most exciting dance event in all of country dancing. The UCWDC has had only one President, JEFF BARTHOLOMEW, since it’s inception 9 years ago and the by-laws that he introduced included a Worlds Championship event even when it seemed almost a ludicrous faraway fantasy. The first five Worlds events have had only one event director, STEVE ZENER, and he has not only made sure that the event is profitable (and it is an expense-laden affair) and a gala affair but also has assured the integrity of the titles awarded. Both Jeff and Steve are elected officials and thus have the support of the UCWDC event directors.

The 6th Annual World Championships will be held in Nashville, Tennessee in January 1998 and the line dancing arm of the competition is expected to blow through the roof with the help of JO THOMPSON, SCOTT BLEVINS, and MAX PERRY.  With the UCWDC team rules that encourage more participation than ever before expect a whole weekend of team competition.  Most important look for Europe to create its biggest presence yet. In the near future Europeans will start to take home some of these Worlds titles and that will give a new and proper definition to “What exactly is the Worlds Championships anyway?”