The European Tournament for Dancing Students is an international Ballroom (Standard and Latin) competition with a long history. It is held regularly every 6 months since its beginning in Braunschweig, Germany in 1989. So far this tournament was held only in Germany and Netherlands. Now for the second time it will be hosted in the Czech Republic in Brno.
This tournament is not very similar to regular dancesport competitions and has several rules and specifics which make the event full of fun:
Blind dating program
You don’t need a dance partner to participate 🙂 All participants are encouraged to choose their dance partners on the spot, only few hours before the tournament. You will meet many new people, and after you decide who is the best partner for you, you can register for the tournament. Blind dating is recommended for the Breitensport level.
No competition clothing
You don’t have to take your competition dress or tailsuit across half of Europe. Since many dancers are only beginning their dance careers and there is a lot of “envy” concerning expensive and new dresses on regular dance competitions, you are only allowed to dance in a dress that is without rhinestones. Comfortable dresses, like the ones you use for regular trainings, are recommended. Feel free to check pictures from previous events to get the feeling of the competition:)
Great atmosphere
As this is a closed event (there won’t be any outside spectators like at a normal competition), all the participants are dancers who are competing on ETDS with you. Thanks to many new connections, big and small teams from all over Europe, more than 300 dancers will be cheering on everyone across all tournaments:) You will meet many new friends from many teams and dance for 3 full days, evenings and nights with them.
Possibility to compete on all levels
There are many people for which the ETDS was their first dance competition; and others who have danced for years in a dancesport federation of some kind. Our class system has been created so that everyone will be able to compete against dancers on the same level.
Adjudication experience for more skilled dancers
If you have a competition license and you would like to participate as a judge in some competitions, you have that chance with us. The ETDS is adjudicated by people who participate in it as we do not invite any external adjudicators. This stands for a great opportunity for skilled dancers, who want to try to see competitions from a different perspective.