Under the Scope

 Back to DanceSport

Wheelchair Dance Sport

March 2009
 

Wheelchair Dance Sport is a fast growing sport, and there is a positive development in the integration of Wheelchair Dance Sport events and Dancesport events.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the governing body and agreements are in place between the IPC and the IDSF to further develop Wheelchair Dance Sport.

Australia has a well established Wheelchair Dance Sport scene, and for those interested, we have listed some links at the bottom to get you started.

Wheelchair Dance Sport usually covers the 5 dances we know for both Standard and Latin, namely Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Slow Foxtrot, Quickstep and Cha Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive.

Wheelchair dancing as a whole is not limited to the Dancesport dances and there are many other dance styles for Wheelchair dance enthusiasts.

While we were in China, we had the privilege to watch a Hip Hop Wheelchair performance – pretty awesome!

Maxim, pictured right also competes with his partner Svetlana in the WDS Latin discipline.

Classification, Combi & Duo

Classification
There are 2 classes for competitors to compete in. Class I and Class II are based on the physical ability of the competitor. A number of criteria are assessed by a qualified classifier. Each criterion is given a score, and the total score will determine the class for the competitor. According to the classifier we talked to in Beijing, there is a review of the classification process scheduled for 2009. As we understand it, competitors with a score below a certain threshold will dance in Class I and above the threshold will dance in Class II.

Combi
In Combi-dancing, a wheelchair competitor competes with a “standing” partner. Male and female wheelchair users compete in the same event (obviously with opposite sex partners)

Duo
In Duo-dancing, both competitors are wheelchair users. At the point of writing, classification of Duo couples is based on a combined score.

Formations & Teams

Links

Wheelchair Dancesport Australia
http://www.wheelchairdancesport.com.au/home.php

The Sporting Wheelies and Disabled Sport and Recreation Association of Queensland Inc.
http://www.sportingwheelies.org.au/page.htm?ID=135

IPC
http://www.paralympic.org/release/Main_Sections_Menu/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheelchair_dance_sport

Wheelchair Sports Association of South Australia
(No Wheelchair Dance Sport listed at time of publishing)
http://www.wheelchairsports-sa.org.au/

Konstantin Vasilyev from Russia has been kind enough to share some of his great wealth of Wheelchair Dance Sport knowledge with us and there is some useful information on the Russian website here:
http://wdr.ru/eng/news/readnews.html?id=90