The International Dance Teachers Association (IDTA) is a dance teaching and examination board based in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Operating internationally, the IDTA currently has over 7,000 members in 55 countries. The IDTA is recognised by the national qualifications regulators in England and Wales,

Ofqual The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) is a non-ministerial government department that regulates qualifications, exams and tests in England. Colloquially and publicly, Ofqual is often referred to as the exam "watchdog ...

and the Council for Dance Education and Training, and is also affiliated to the

British Dance Council The British Dance Council was formed in 1929 as the Official Board of Ballroom Dancing (OBBD). The name was changed in 1985 to the British Council of Ballroom Dancing and in 1996, the name was changed to British Dance Council. The BDC is the reco ...

, the

Central Council of Physical Recreation Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and the Theatre Dance Council International. The IDTA works in partnership with the

Royal Academy of Dance The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) is a UK-based examination board specialising in dance education and training, with an emphasis on classical ballet. The RAD was founded in London, England in 1920 as the Association of Teachers of Operatic Danci ...

. The IDTA publishes a print and online magazine for members titled ''Dance International'' four times a year.

History

The International Dance Teachers Association was formed in 1967 as the result of a merger between the Dance Teachers' Association (DTA), and the International Dancing Masters Association (IDMA). Both of these organisations were formed from the merging of older dance teaching associations, with the earliest being established in 1903. The IDTA subsequently celebrated its centenary in 2003. The earliest predecessor of IDTA was the Manchester and Salford Association of Teachers of Dancing, founded in 1903. This later became known as the Empire Society, (ESTD), in 1938. In 1920, another group of teachers in Birmingham formed the Midland Association of Teachers of Dancing (MATD), which eventually merged with the Empire Society in 1961 to form the Dance Teachers' Association. In the early post-

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

years, a number of other small dance organisations were formed: the English Dancing Masters Association (EDMA), the Premier Association of Teachers of Dancing (PATD), the Universal Association of Dane Teachers (UADT), and the Yorkshire Association of Dancing Masters (YADM). These four organisations merged in 1930 to form the International Dancing Masters' Association. After their merger in 1967, the organization was renamed the International Dance Teachers' Association.

Notable people

Ballroom branch

* Walter Laird – Former dancer and teacher of Latin American Dance and author of "Technique of Latin American Dancing" *

Len Goodman Leonard Gordon Goodman (25 April 1944 – 22 April 2023) was an English professional ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance competition adjudicator. He appeared as head judge on the UK television programme ''Strictly Come Dancing'' – in w ...

– Former Ballroom Dance Champion, now a teacher, examiner and adjudicator. Goodman was head judge on the BBC1 series

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

from its inception in 2004 until he retired from the position in 2016. He also judged on the American equivalent series

Dancing With The Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

Theatre branch

Deborah Bull, Baroness Bull Deborah Clare Bull, Baroness Bull, (born 22 March 1963), is an English dancer, writer, and broadcaster, and former creative director of the Royal Opera House. She joined King's College London as Director, Cultural Partnerships in 2012. In 201 ...

– Former Principal dancer with

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

. Studied IDTA prior to joining the

Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

* Vanessa Hooper – Former dancer with the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

and

Northern Ballet Theatre Northern Ballet, formerly Northern Ballet Theatre, is a dance company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a strong repertoire in theatrical dance productions where the emphasis is on story telling as well as classical ballet. The compan ...

. Senior

examiner Examiner or The Examiner may refer to: Occupations * Bank examiner, a kind of auditor * Examiner (Roman Catholicism), a type of office in the Roman Catholic Church * Examinership, a concept in Irish law * Medical examiner * Patent examiner * ...

of the IDTA and dance tutor for the television series ''

Ladette to Lady ''Ladette to Lady'' is a reality-based series that aired in the United Kingdom on ITV between June 2005 and August 2010. Overview The second series of ''Ladette to Lady'' was aired in the United Kingdom in October 2006 on ITV. The show had ...

'' *

Jennifer Ellison Jennifer Lesley Ellison is an English actress, former glamour model, television personality, dancer and singer. Ellison is perhaps best known for playing Emily Shadwick in the television soap opera '' Brookside'' until 2003, and as Meg Giry in ...

– British actress and model, who won titles at the IDTA Theatre Dance Championships in 1996 and 1997, later training at the Royal Ballet Lower School *

Kevin O'Hare Kevin Patrick O'Hare, CBE, (born 14 September 1965) is a British retired ballet dancer and current Director of The Royal Ballet. He succeeded Monica Mason in the role in 2012. Early life O’Hare was born in Kingston upon Hull to Northern Iris ...

– Studied IDTA and at the

. Danced with

Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the co ...

and

and is now Director of The Royal Ballet

Honorary members

Arlene Phillips Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, theatre director, talent scout, former television judge, presenter, and dancer. She reached mainstream fame on television as a judge on ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (2004-2008) a ...

was admitted as an honorary member of the IDTA in 2006, in recognition of her work in the field of dance. Phillips is credited with the creation of 70s dance troupe

Hot Gossip Hot Gossip (1974–1986) was a British television dance troupe and recording group. Formation Arlene Phillips moved to London to teach American jazz dance routines, working at Pineapple Dance Studios and the Italia Conti Stage School. ...

, and is the renowned choreographer of award-winning West End and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

musicals including

The Sound Of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

Starlight Express '' Starlight Express'' is a 1984 musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern locomotives of diesel and el ...

, Grease,

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American Dance in film, dance Drama (film and television), drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian Americans, Italian-America ...

and

We Will Rock You "We Will Rock You" is a song by the British rock band Queen from their 1977 album '' News of the World'', written by guitarist Brian May. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 330 of " The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and the RIAA it p ...

. She is most famous today as a judge for television talent shows, such as

and

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

. * Sir Ken Dodd was admitted as an honorary member of the IDTA in recognition of his contribution to the entertainments industry. Dodd who died in 2018 was a well-known British comedian, most famous for traditional music hall style entertainment, although he also appeared in drama and was a songwriter. *

Rosemarie Ford Rosemarie Ford (born Rosemarie Poundford; 5 March 1962) is an English actress, singer, dancer and television presenter. Television and film Ford is best known for her stint as the hostess of the BBC 1 game show ''The Generation Game'' with Bruc ...

is a well-known British television personality from the 1990s, particularly recognised as Bruce Forsyth's co-presenter of

The Generation Game ''The Generation Game'' is a British game show produced by the BBC in which four teams of two people from the same family, but different generations, compete to win prizes. The game There are eight competitors, hence the catchphrase "Let's me ...

. Rosemarie Poundford, to give her full name, trained as a dancer with an IDTA teacher from a young age and in 1978, won the prestigious title of "Miss Dance of Great Britain". In 1998, she performed the role of 'Bombalurina' for the official film production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical "Cats".

References

{{Reflist

External links

IDTA Official WebsiteMiss Dance of Great Britain
Dance education organizations Dance organisations in the United Kingdom Dance education in the United Kingdom

Dance Teachers Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

Organisations based in Brighton and Hove 1967 establishments in the United Kingdom Arts organizations established in 1967