2010 German Championship - Formation Standard & Latin

1. TC Ludwigsburg A
2. Braunschweiger TSC A
3. OTK Schwarz-Weiss 199 Berlin 1922 imSport Club Siemensstadt Berlin A
4. TSC Rot-Gold Casino Nurnberg A
5. TSC Schwarz Gold Gottingen A
6. TC Ludwigsburg B
7. TC 'Der Frankfurter Kreis' A
8. TC Blan-Weiss Berlin A

Dance show teams which performed exactly same routines in a synchronous manner existed between 1920s and 1930s in European countries, but the couples did not arrange themselves into complex patterns typical of formation dance in modern understanding.
The creation of formation dancing is attributed to Olive Ripman, who introduced it under the name "pattern dancing" in England in 1932. Soon it became a competitive dance form. Later, Frank and Peggy Spencer's formation teams have eventually led to the creation of the BBC's Come Dancing Program. One of the early BBC teams was Frank and Peggy Spencers' Penge Formation Team.

The choreography of a formation team includes both choreography of a dancesport routine of an individual couple and the overall pattern of movements of the couples on the floor. All couples are expected to follow the beat of the music and movements should be executed simultaneously. Teams are marked on their synchronicity.

Latin Dancesport formation is a medley of dances that include the 5 International latin dances: Cha Cha, Rumba, Jive, Paso Doble and Samba.

Standard or Ballroom formation is a medley of the 5 international ballroom dances Waltz, Quickstep, Tango, Viennese Waltz and Foxtrot.

In Germany 10 dance formation teams also exist

The routines generally feature at least some free-form choreography in the walk on and walk off, which may include movements from jazz dance, ballet, or any other type of dance. This is clearly marked by a gong. A complete routine usually lasts a total of 6 minutes.

Formation routines allow dancers to show off their own technique in addition to their ability to move as a team. Unlike individual competitions tricks such as "round abouts", "chain reactions" form a large section of the choreography.

Shapes (also known as patterns or images) that are an accepted part of choreography are diamons, squares, diagonals, circles and lines. The routine is judged by the distribution of competitors across the floor, how "readable" the patterns are and the transitions between these pattterns.

Specialist formation choreographers include Ona Skaistute Idzeleviciene, Roberto Albanese, Horst Beer and David Mallabone

Music usually follows a theme (Current themes include "Bond" and "Night Fever"). There is no restriction on the music chosen, provided the accepted style of the dances is represented. An optimal maximum of 16 bars of any particular dance style is usually observed.

Clothing for men is usually dark to ensure maximum contrast to parquet flooring, however in standard formation the colour of costume is restricted to dark colours.

The international governing body is the International DanceSport Federation (IDSF) (which has olympic recognition). Competing teams must be a member of one of its member organisations such as the English Amateaur Dancesport Association (EADA)

The following is a summary of the IDSF rules for European and World Formation competitions.
Each member country may send 2 formation teams to compete in each of the 2 international styles (Latin and Standard).
These are selected by national competitions, such as the British National Championships at the Blackpool Dance Festival.
International competitions have a minimum of 4 countries
The usual sporting anti-doping rules apply.
All competitors must be amateurs.
Each team must contain between 6 and 8 couples.
In the standard section Men's dress must be black or midnight blue.
In Latin men may wear coloured shirts but all men must dress the same.
In standard formation, solo work is restricted to 8 bars. This does not apply in Latin where solo work usually plays a part.
Lifts are not allowed in the main "judged" part of the routine, but are usually allowed in the walk on and walk off, which is clearly marked by a gong.
A routine is a maximum of 6 minutes long including entry to and from the floor (a walk on and walk off). Only 4 and a half minutes of this is judged so a gong is used to clearly signify which sections are to be judged.
Competing teams are judged by those experienced in formation.

In early rounds, judges mark if they believe teams should go through to the next round. In final rounds teams are ranked and the skating system applies.

Other competitions of note are the Blackpool Dance Festival and the Donaupokal Invitational Competition Vienna. Germany is notable in having several leagues of formation teams, and holds several competitions each year.