This page lists the official World Champions – Professional Latin of the World Dance Council (WDC). The championships are authorized and organized under the auspices of the WDC, and held annually in the last quarter of each year. The competition comprises five dances: Cha-Cha-Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble and Jive, as defined in ballroom dancing terms.
Official World Championships have been held in the Latin section of ballroom dancing since they were organised by the ICBD in 1959. The ICBD was renamed WD&DSC and has been renamed again to its present title. The WDC represents all the major professional DanceSport countries. Unofficial world championships were held, usually in Paris, by several organisers pre-World War II. Some of these events included one or two Latin dances in the same competition as ballroom dances. As these events had no official standing, they are not noticed here. There is one earlier international Latin dance championship; it started in 1953 at the Elsa Wells International Dance Championships in London (see International Latin American Dance Champions). Both series have continued annually.
World Champions
YearCoupleCountry+ Professional Latin World Champions1959Leonard Patrick & Doreen KeyGreat Britain 1960 Bill and Bobbie Irvine South Africa 1961 Scotland 1962 Walter Laird & Lorraine Reynolds England 1963 1964 1965 Walter & Marianne Kaiser Switzerland 1966 Bill & Bobbie Irvine Scotland 1967 Rudolf & Mechthild Trautz Germany 1968 Bill & Bobbie Irvine Scotland 1969 Rudolf & Mechthild Trautz Germany 1970 1971 1972 Wolfgang & Evelyn Opitz 1973 Hans-Peter & Ingeborg Fischer Austria 1974 1975 1976 Peter Maxwell & Lynn Harman England 1977 Alan & Hazel Fletcher 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 Espen & Kirsten Salberg Norway 1983 1984 Donnie Burns & Gaynor Fairweather Scotland/England 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Hans-Reinhard Galke & Bianka Schreiber Germany 1998 Donnie Burns & Gaynor Fairweather Scotland/England 1999 Bryan Watson & Carmen Vincelj Germany 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Michał Malitowski & Joanna Leunis Poland 2009 2010 Riccardo Cocchi & Yulia Zagoruychenko USA 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020Title not held — COVID pandemic 2021 Dorin Frecautanu and Marina Sergeeva Great Britain 2022 2023 20242025
See also International Latin American Dance Champions Rhythm World Champions Smooth World Champions U.S. National Dancesport Champions (Professional Latin) U.S. National Dancesport Champions (Professional 10-Dance) World 10 Dance Champions World Ballroom Dance Champions
References