The roots of country dancing in America go back to the 1920s. At that time, a variety of music, dance, and culture was entering the USA with immigrants from many other places. 

Over time, solo and partnered country dancing and country music developed into a unique culture. It was celebrated in dance halls, clubs, and bars all over the nation. In the 1980s, country music diversified and flourished in urban centers. Country dance lessons and competition events emerged across the country. 

Country Dancing Organization 

Many of the people who were teaching country dance lessons also organized local competition events. They shared a desire to unite competitive country dance events under one set of competition rules and dance standards. They met in Las Vegas in 1988 and developed the North American Rules. 

The next year, 21 independent country dance event directors met in Grantville, Pennsylvania, USA and formed the United Country Western Dance Council^® (UCWDC^®). They granted full sanction to the 23 events that used these rules in their entirety. That historic one-day meeting in November 1989 ran for almost 24 hours. No one wanted to leave until the job was done!

Selection of Dance Styles

The founders of the UCWDC selected dances that came from the social arena. Schottische, Pony Swing, Polka, and Two Step are examples. They also added popular dances from the Ballroom genre, including Waltz, Cha Cha, and East Coast Swing. 

As other social dances grew in popularity, Triple Two, Nightclub, and West Coast Swing were added to the list of dances included in UCWDC competition. This opened doors for Line Dance and Team Dance.

Elevating Country Dance

Since 1989, the UCWDC competition format has been refined and organized in a way that elevates the country dance sport on par with other genres. While the UCWDC is committed to advancing country dance as a competitive sport, we are also committed to making dance accessible to as many people as possible.