America’s Ballroom Challenge 2008

Fridays at 8 pm on NJN1, beginning January 1, 2010

Friday, January 1 at 8 pm – American Smooth
Friday, January 8 at 8 pm – American Rhythm
Friday, January 15 at 8 pm – International Standard
Friday, January 22 at 8 pm – International Latin
Friday, January 29 at 8 pm – Grand Finale

America’s Ballroom Challenge is the exciting series that brings together top ballroom dancers from around the world to compete across dance styles for the title of “America’s Best.” Shot in high definition at the world’s largest ballroom dancing competition in Columbus, Ohio, the series returns for a third season with five one-hour episodes.

Hosted by actress and dancer Jasmine Guy and seven-time U.S. National Latin Dance Champion Ron Montez, America’s Ballroom Challenge once again takes viewers onto the dance floor and behind the scenes as 24 world-class couples compete for the ultimate dance title. Each of the first four programs will focus on one of the four major styles of competitive ballroom dancing: American Smooth, American Rhythm, International Standard and International Latin. The six finalists in each style will first compete as a group, performing the five standard dances in the category, with expert judges scoring their performances. Then the dancers will have an opportunity to shine, performing a show dance solo. Each program will end with the crowning of one couple, named champions in that style.

In the fifth and final program, the four champions will compete across dance styles for the coveted title, with each couple performing two pull-out-all-the-stops solos.

Only one couple will be named “America’s Best.”

In addition to the competition on the dance floor, America’s Ballroom Challenge will include other exciting program elements such as:

• A behind-the-scenes look at the remarkable competition where the series is filmed.
• Exhibitions featuring other top couples in each style of dance, from precocious children to Pro-Am champions to theatre arts champions.
• Footnotes: Short pieces on different aspects of the world of ballroom dancing, from the art of designing a costume to the secrets of judging.
• Style Points: A look at the distinctive features of the different styles of ballroom dancing, as described below.

American Smooth
Picture Fred and Ginger gliding across the screen, sometimes together, sometimes apart, but always in perfect time. This is American Smooth. Adapted in America from the traditional standard dances of Europe, American Smooth includes four dances that are also performed in the International Standard: waltz, tango, foxtrot and Viennese waltz. While the Standard dancers must remain in contact throughout, American Smooth couples are allowed to separate, and even perform solo moves, before rejoining. This “open hold” gives them more creative freedom and leads to a distinctly different kind of expression than is seen in the International Standard style.

American Rhythm
The dances in the American Rhythm division consist of the cha cha, rumba, swing, bolero and mambo. With the exception of swing, which started in America, these sultry, sexy dances originated in Africa and Cuba. The essential ingredient is the suggestive hip rotation, referred to as “Cuban motion.” This is the only division in which the mambo, bolero and swing are danced competitively.

International Standard
When one conjures an image of ballroom dancing, International Standard is the style that most often comes to mind: sweeping ball gowns, men in tails and formal, regal dancing. With steps that date back hundreds of years to the royal courts of Europe, it is ballroom’s oldest style, its most recognizable and, some would say, its most elegant. The competition includes five dances: waltz, tango, Viennese waltz, foxtrot and quickstep. All five must be danced in the “closed position,” meaning that the man and woman must remain in contact at all times — in contrast to their American Smooth counterparts, who are allowed to separate and rejoin while performing many of the same steps.

International Latin
Dancing doesn’t get any hotter than International Latin. Dazzling footwork, provocative moves and skimpy costumes define this sizzling style. The couples perform five dances — cha cha, samba, rumba, paso doble and jive — each one in its own way reflecting the timeless dance of seduction between a man and a woman. The fiercely competitive Latin couples attract the judges’ attention with flamboyant hair and makeup, dazzling accessories … and costumes that leave just enough to the imagination.

Grand Finale
The winners of the American Smooth, American Rhythm, International Standard and International Latin competitions go head to head in the battle for the coveted title of America's best ballroom couple.