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USA
Dance: Our history and mission Purpose
and Early Years The United States
Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association, Inc., known nationwide as USA Dance,
was formed in 1965 to promote the acceptance of ballroom dancing into the
Olympics. At that time the late Norman Martin, a leading social and
competitive dancer and ballroom dance champion, organized a group of
interested amateur dancers to petition the Olympic Committee for inclusion of
Ballroom Dancing into the Olympics. Those early efforts
to get into the Olympics failed but in developing the USA Dance bylaws, it
was realized that the dance world of the American Amateur went far past
accommodating the "International Style" competitors who were
interested in the Olympics. As the founders of USA Dance worked on defining
the dancing guidelines and needs to be considered in developing the Bylaws,
the American Style competitor and a vast number of serious and dedicated
Social Dancers suddenly came into view. The resultant Bylaws
of USA Dance addressed three very important areas of association: the
International Style competitors, the American Style competitors and the
Social dancers. Those early-on plans of USA Dance, while helping the
competitors to compete nationally and internationally, also helped set the
stage for the availability of floors, music and venue for the Social dancers
which then were and still are, the backbone and strength of USA Dance. USA
Dance Becomes a National Organization During its early
years USA Dance consisted primarily of a small number of members in the
greater New York area, a few in the Washington, DC section of the country,
plus a small number on the West Coast. In 1978 the Mid-Eastern Chapter was
formed and actions were initiated to take USA Dance into other parts of the
country and to commence creating a national organization. National elections
were held in 1979 and the next few years saw the beginning of the present
organization, with chapters being formed in several states. During the 1980s
efforts were made to bring all other amateur ballroom dance organizations
into USA Dance. In 1985 USA Dance reorganized and was granted tax-exempt
status by the Internal Revenue Service. New Bylaws were formulated providing
for a national organization with a regional and chapter structure. In 1987, a
unification election was held that brought all amateurs into one national
organization which then was recognized by the international world governing
body, now known as the International DanceSport Federation (IDSF). Since then
USA Dance has functioned as the National Governing Body for all forms of
amateur ballroom dancing in the United States. Activities
and Growth During the last 12
years USA Dance focused on promoting the growth of all styles and forms of
ballroom dancing, both competitive and recreational social dancing. This
included a program to establish a network of chapters in each state. These
efforts were very successful with major growth each year in the number of
dancers, chapters and related activities such as competitions, workshops and
social dances. Much labor and resources were devoted to promoting ballroom
dance and DanceSport in colleges and secondary schools, a long term project
that will extend over many years. USABDA organizes and
supports educational programs among the public about the healthful aspects of
recreational ballroom dancing and Dancesport, the competitive form of
ballroom dancing.
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USA DANCE HISTORY AND
MISSION |