Just a couple of comments about the popularity of Ballroom Dancing. Recently in the UK Two and a Half million people took the trouble to send in a phone vote for a Professional with Celebrity Competition. See Dance News Uk. At this present time there are 2,800 entries for the German Championships being held in Suttgart starting on the 17th of this month, which is today. They expect to top the 3,000 mark according to their web-site. Practise. A 20 minute brisk walk to the studio. 10 Rumba's 10 Cha's 10 Sambas, 10 Paso and 10 Jives. A further 5 Rumba's to warm down, and then a slow jog home. This is six days a week.A Japanese couple were interviewed, their style of dancing is Modern . They trained 7 days a week for 7 hours a day.
Depending on which country the competition is being held, they could fill a Ice Hockey stadium, something like 10,000 people if it was held in Germany.

Hi! I'm also in high school (9th grade.)I've been ballroom dancing for well over a year and I believe that what makes it a sport is how physically active it is ,and among many other things, is how your competing against other couples at your level to win a title, whether that title is 1st in the nation or the winner of rising star in American Smooth... so on and so forth. In football a team is competing against another team to win, just like dancing. Football also calls for intense training and focus, just like dancing. The whole goal of football is to win, or just to have fun trying, just like dancing.Yet football is accepted around the nation and the world as a sport, and ballroom dancing rises conflicts of whether it is a sport or not. I believe that ballroom dancing is both a sport and an art. It combines the physical activeness and many other qualities of a sport. However, it has the grace, poise, and beauty of an art. It's mainly in how you look at it. I think that ballroom dancing should totally be an olympic sport. Skating is much like dancing and its an Olympic sport. And I just saw a commercial the other day that POKER is trying to become and Olympic sport! POKER!!!! All that it is is a bunch of people giving eachother mean "poker faces" and taking their money. It's entertaining to watch but poker (in my opinion) should NOT be an olympic sport. I believe that many people would love watching ballroom dancing on the media and stuff. Whenever somone finds out I'm a dancer they always tell me how much they love seeing old competitions that are aired on PBS. And if it were on the Olympics it would also encourage many other people to start dancing. I dont understand what you mean by a direct "emphasis" on youth. But, seeing as I am a teenager that dances, I see many examples of how it helps teenagers and younger children. It teaches us manners and grace. Helps us keep physically fit (it gives us GREAT posture!!), and provides us with something to look forward to. Ex. being a teacher or maybe even one day national champion. It gives us a hobby and lets us get to know all types of people along the way. It teaches us culture and etiquette. It's extremely helpful to all people that dance but most of all the youth. It's a great way to start a good life for yourself. The question of how long it takes to master a dance just depends on how advaced the dancers are that are learning it, how difficult the dance is, and how often they practice. I believe that dancers train as hard or even harder than other athletes. And once more, the week of training just depends on the couple and the routine. Sorry my reply is SOOOOOO long, but I have answered all your questions, and hopefully have helped you with your report. This is all my opinion so if you find any of it insulting (like the poker remark) than I am very very sorry. I hope that this helps and if u need anything else just email me, saleenstar1312@yahoo.com. Goodluck and hope u ace ur report!