About us
“Our mission: The World Dance Group is dedicated to improving the world by sharing the beauty and passion of Latin dance with dancers and fans worldwide. By empowering a global and diverse community of dancers through latest technologies and promoting Latin dance by hosting professional dance competitions, the innovative company is democratizing Latin dance, providing a global stage for elite dancers and raising the visibility of the positive benefits and value of dancing whether as a recreational activity or for professional competitions. By uniting the world in the celebration of Latin dance, together we are changing the world one dance at a time. “
The main event produced by the WDG is the World Salsa Championships (WSC). The WSC is an international salsa dance competition that brings together some of the best salsa dancers from around the world for what some call the “Olympics of Salsa”. The WSC was established in 2005. Previous Championships have been hosted in Las Vegas, Nevada, Disney Resorts in Orlando, Hollywood, Florida and most recently in Atlanta, GA. The events have been broadcast via ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPN International and other international networks. In previous events, the company partnered with Trans World International (TWI), a division of International Management Group (IMG), to distribute the WSC shows in territories not covered by the ESPN broadcast agreement, thereby broadening the event’s international visibility. TWI successfully arranged the broadcast of the WSC programs in France, Korea, China, Thailand, South Africa, Ukraine, and Russia. During the same period, the event organizer sold additional program rights to Direct TV Latin America and Pony Canyon, Inc., a major Japan-based corporation.
The 5th edition of the World Salsa Championships (WSC) was held December 9th – 10th in Atlanta, Georgia after celebrating previous editions in Las Vegas (twice), Disney and Miami. There were five divisions: Salsa On-1, Salsa On-2, Cabaret, Same Gender, and Teams. The WSC features “invite-only” couples and teams who placed high in various competitions throughout the year. Attendees also enjoy daily salsa lessons from world-renowned dance instructors and nightly parties featuring the famous salsa bands. ESPN Deportes and ESPN International televised the event achieving the highest ratings. Countries represented include the United States, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Panama, Ecuador, New Zealand, Slovenia, Italy, Spain, and others. The WSC TV show was also sold to TLN (Telelatino Canada) and to Channel 52x in Mexico. The 2016 WSC event received extensive media coverage by CNN, Atlanta Magazine, Global Atlanta, Univision, Telemundo and aired on ESPN Latin America to more than 50 million homes with the highest ratings during the first quarter of 2017. Events organized by the WDG reunited several associations towards a big purpose creating alliances with diverse, philanthropic, charity and business community groups like the Latin American Association, Latin American Chamber of Commerce, LGBT Community, US Army, American Heart Association and Delta Airlines amongst others.
The World Dance Group also operates SalZOOM.com, the largest social network, and app to connect Latin music lovers in the world. In other words, the WDG is the intersection of technology, sports and media of a dancesports that is ready to become the next big thing. Salsa ballroom dancing is becoming more and more recognized as a global dancesport. After years of campaigning to get ballroom dancing officially classed as a sport, the International Olympic Committee now recognizes it as a ‘DanceSport.’ The World Games now recognizes ballroom and Salsa as part of their competitive sports. This is a huge step forward for one day to become an official medal sport and as a matter of fact, some of the WSC champions made Gold, Silver, and Bronze in the 2017 World Games in Poland. The WDG, the producer of the WSC, already started working on the next edition of the WSC that will take place in 2020. The bidding process is underway to select the host city. At the same time, the company is launching an official petition via change.org to persuade The International Olympic community to incorporate Salsa into the world’s biggest sports competition for 2024.