International Dance Organization
The International Dance Organization (IDO) is an official, independent, politically neutral, non-profit, world dance and dance sport federation, registered in Slagelse, Denmark, for Performing Arts, Street and Couple Dances. Members of the IDO are national dance federations; only non-profit organizations can join. The biggest IDO competitions, running for more than a week, are World Dance Olympiad in Moscow around 1 May and the Dance Week in Riesa with Tap Dance and Show Dance in the end of November.
 | |
| Founded | 1981 |
|---|---|
| Type | Dance sport |
| CVR 27 02 52 93 | |
| Focus | Dance sport, competitions, festivals, education |
| Location |
|
Area served | World |
Members | over 90 worldwide |
Official languages | English |
Key people | President: Michael Wendt Senior Vice President: Kirsten Dan Jensen |
| Website | www |
History
IDO was founded on September 18, 1981, by four countries: France, Gibraltar, Italy and Switzerland. The founder and first General Secretary was Moreno Polidori from Italy.
Leading the IDO:
- IDO General Secretary Moreno Polidori, Italy (1981 – 1998)
Since 1998 the IDO is headed by the IDO President:
- Nils Hakan Carlzon, Sweden (1998 – 2008)
- Bill Fowler, USA (2008 – 2011)
- Jörn Storbraten, Norway (2011 – 2014)
- Michael Wendt, Germany (since 2014)
Structure
The IDO Executive Presidium (EPM) runs the daily business and consists of the President, the Senior Vice President and the Executive Secretary.[1] The IDO Presidium consists of the EPM and 6 Vice Presidents with specific duties.[2]
Nils Hakan Carlzon and Bill Fowler have been honored as Honorary Lifetime Presidents.[3]
The presidium is elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in a staggered election every year with 3 officers each year. The President and two Vice Presidents for a three-year term, the following year the Senior Vice President and two Vice Presidents for a three-year term, and the following year the Executive Secretary and two Vice Presidents for a three-year term. The three Department Directors, Performing Arts, Street Dance and Couple Dance, are elected every three years at their Annual Department Meeting (ADM) and also serve on the Presidium.
The AGM is also responsible for all changes in the statutes and by-laws. The ADMs are responsible for the Dance Sport rules, which are ratified by the AGM. To enable the experts in each specific field to discuss their department matters at the level where the dancers are, IDO has installed the following committees and departments:
- Adjudication committee
- Disciplinary committee
- Education committee
- Latino/Couple Dance department
- Performing Arts department
- Street Dance department
- Chairperson of scrutineers
Worldwide memberships and structure
IDO has more than 90 member nations and contacts on all six continents, representing more than 250,000 dancers worldwide.[4] To ensure growth and focus on existing intercontinental and new countries worldwide, the IDO has installed ambassadors to develop the IDO idea and structure in
- Asia / Asia-Pacific and Africa - Michael Wendt, Germany,
- Africa - Kirsten Dan Jensen, Denmark,
- Central Asia and neighbouring countries - Andrey Kokoulin, Russia,
- The Americas - Bonnie Dyer, Canada.
and an area representative
- Gibraltar, Spain and Portugal – Seamus Byrne, Gibraltar.
Affiliation to world dance federations
From 1991 until 2013, IDO was an affiliated member of the World Dance Council (WDC), in London. From 2006 to 2012, IDO was also an affiliated member in the International DanceSport Federation (IDSF). This enabled IDO to have its titles officially recognized. When the IDSF changed its name to the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF), the IDO decided not to become an affiliated member thereby holding its independence. In 2013 for the first time IDO worked together with the World DanceSport Federation which is member of SportAccord and recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) organizing their dancers to participate in Salsa at the WORLD GAMES 2013 in Cali, Colombia and in Hip Hop & Caribbean Dances at the World Dance Sport Games in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Besides running competitions and festivals, IDO established its Hall of Fame[5] to honor dance celebrities, dancers and dance enthusiasts who have made significant contributions to IDO’s Dance World.
IDO also follows the anti-doping requirements requested.
Dance disciplines and competitions
Each year the IDO organizes World, Continental and Regional championships and cups[6] in the IDO dance disciplines.
Age divisions
- Mini Kids
- Children
- Juniors
- Adults
- Adult 2
- Seniors
Categories
- Solo female
- Solo male
- Duo
- Couples
- Trio (Tap Dance only)
- Small group/teams (3-7 dancers)
- Formation (8-24 dancers)
- Traditional dance Ensembles(6-15)
Dance styles
PERFORMING ARTS DISCIPLINES
- Acrobatic Dance
- Ballet
- Belly Dance/Oriental
- Bollywood
- Flamenco
- Folk Dance Show & Folk Dance Festivals
- Jazz Dance/Lyrical
- Modern and Contemporary Dance
- Show Dance
- Tap Dance
- Mini/large productions
STREET DANCE DISCIPLINES
- Break Dance
- Electric Boogie
- Hip Hop
- Hip Hop Battles
- Disco Dance
- Disco Dance Freestyle
- Disco Dance Show
- Street Dance Show
- Techno
- Mini/large productions
COUPLE DANCE DISCIPLINES
- Argentine Tango (Tango, Milonga, Tango Vals and Tango Fantasia)
- Bachata
- Caribbean Dances (Salsa, Merengue, Bachata)
- Couple Dance Formations
- Couple Dance Teams
- Disco Hustle/Disco-Swing/Disco-Fox
- Jitterbug
- Latino Show
- Merengue
- Salsa
- Salsa Rueda de Casino
- Salsa Shines
- Synchro Dance
- West Coast Swing
- Mini/large productions
References
- IDO Executive Members
- IDO Vice Presidents
- IDO Honorary Presidents
- "IDO World Wide Members". IDO World Wide. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
- IDO Hall of Fame
- "IDO Event Calendar". IDO Event Calendar. Retrieved July 7, 2014.