The 2011 U.S. National Amateur Dancesport Championships will be held at Brigham Young University Thursday through Saturday, March 10-12, in the Marriott Center.
Ticket prices vary according to seat location and competition day and cost from $8 to $50, available at byutickets.com. For a full schedule of events, visit byudancesport.com.
The Dancesport competition is one of the largest in the country and will feature more than 30 different divisions, including American and international ballroom and a country-western division for preteens, juniors, amateurs and adults. National amateur titles will be awarded in Latin, standard, smooth, rhythm, cabaret and formation in all age categories.
“This is real reality TV,” said ballroom dance faculty member Claudia Hill. “People can come and watch some great dancing, pick their favorite couple and see if they can place them like the judges would.”
The Dancesport Championships are sponsored by BYU’s Ballroom Dance Program, which sprang out of the first social dance class held at the university in 1953. Since then, the program has rapidly progressed and is considered the most comprehensive study of ballroom dancing in a university setting in the world.
With seven studios and more than 100 classes taught yearly, the program offers instruction and training from beginning to advanced and competitive levels in international style Latin, standard ballroom and American social dance. More than 5,000 students each year participate in the Ballroom Dance Program, taking part in group classes, dance labs and practice sessions. Students and non-students alike compete in the Dancesport Championships, held twice a year.
For more information, contact Claudia Hill at (801) 422-1687 or claudiabeckhill@gmail.com or call the Ballroom Dance Office at (801) 422-4623.
Writer: Philip Volmar
