How Dance The World came to be . . .
World Class Vacations, creator of Dance The World Events, was founded in 1977 with the mission to provide unbeatable, safe, and reliable student travel experiences, and in 2019 joined WorldStrides, the largest Student Travel Company in the World!
The first Dance Program promoted by World Class Vacations was called ‘Dancin in Disney’ at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. In 1996, years before most of the current competition, the ‘Dancin in Disney’ Event included Stage Show Performances, Disney Dance Workshops, Special Dinner Functions, and Airfare/Hotel Accommodations. In the beginning, the focus was on Private Dance Studios from the East Coast of the United States. Below is a 1996 photo of The Dance Place of Ocean City, New Jersey performing at the former Fantasyland Stage in the Magic Kingdom during one of our early events.
Dance Studios enjoyed the ‘Dancin in Disney’ Program, but we wanted to give them even more, resulting in a Dance Experience for the Entire Family. We added a themed parade in the Magic Kingdom with custom costumes, signature red character dance shoes, and choreography created by the owner of World Class Vacations daughter, who was an accomplished dancer and the inspiration for the new dance event. The event would also include A Celebrity Pro Dancer from the ABC Television Show ‘Dancing with the Stars’. The Pro Dancers provide a Master Class for the dancers, share their dance experiences, and assist with the parade rehearsal. The event concluded with a spectacular Dinner/Dance Gala for the dancers and their families in World ShowPlace in Epcot, followed by fireworks.
The concept behind this new Dance Event was to offer it to the ‘World’ at the Walt Disney ‘World’ Resort and the event would be owned by ‘World’ Class Vacations. The name for this new event was obvious, ‘Dance The World’. The event at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida has grown into the largest event of its kind with Dance Studios coming from around the world. Many dance studios requested to travel to other destinations with Dance The World Events, thus the creation of Dance The World Broadway (Performances – Times Square & Broadway Stages, plus Rockette Workshops), Dance The World Nashville (Performances – Grand Ole Opry & Bridgestone Arena), Dance The World Disneyland (Performances – Disneyland – Parade & Stage Show), as well as Dance The World Dancers performing at the Holiday Bowl Parade in San Diego and Halftime Show Finale in front of 30,000+ fans.
What is consistent throughout all Dance The World Events is a public performance at an iconic venue, featuring multiple dance studios with dancers ages 7-22, of various skill levels, from around the World. Dancers learn professional choreography, which is provided prior to the event by Dance The World Events Choreographers. Each event also provides an opportunity for dance studios to perform their own choreography, participate in Celebrity Dancer/Choreographer Master Classes and Meet & Greets, and attend a spectacular Family Dinner/Dance or Final Night Activity. All Dance The World Events include Costumes/Signature Dance Shoes unique to each event, professional event dancer performance photos and video downloads, and memories of a lifetime for the dancers, directors, teachers, and their families.
Dance The World Events are ‘One of a Kind’ Dance Experiences and offer Dance Scholarships to dancers that could not afford to travel otherwise. Dance The World makes it easy for Dance Studio Directors to offer the event to their dancers and families, with families able to book and make payments through the Dance The World online portal. DTW also provides custom promotional materials and the Dance The World Events Team is with your group throughout the entire event.
The success of Dance The World has inspired two other major World Class Vacations Events at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida . . . Sing The World for High School Choirs and Cook Around The World for High School students considering a career in culinary.
Request information regarding any of our Dance The World Events at www.wcv.com
