International Choreographed Ballroom Dance Association Records

The International Choreographed Ballroom Dance Association was started in response to events at the August, 1976 National Square Dance Convention in Anaheim, CA. The originally proposed name was “National Round Dance Board of Governors,” which was later modified to the National Round Dance Board of Review; on July 27, 1977 the Universal Round Dance Council was created, the existing Board was selected as the leadership, and on July 28th the Board voted to change its name to become the Board of Directors of the Universal Round Dance Council (URDC). The group absorbed the National Carousel Clubs organization in 1999. In 2007 the bylaws were amended by a membership vote and the URDC officially became the International Choreographed Ballroom Dance Association (ICBDA).

The original formal proposal for what became the ICBDA was sent from Frank and Iris Gilbert under the auspices of their National Carousels Round Dancing Clubs, Inc., asking selected dance leaders to create a governing body capable of sponsoring conventions dedicated to advanced-level round dancing, supporting round dancing activities in general, and standardizing the teaching of dance figures across the United States. The new organization was proposed to start in December of 1976 as the National Round Dance Board of Governors; by May of 1977 the organization was operating as the National Round Dance Board of Review.

The first National Round Dance Festival was held from July 28-30,1977 in Kansas City, MO. It was organized and sponsored by the National Carousel Clubs and the Gilberts, with support from the National Round Dance Board of Review. On July 27, 1977 a vote was taken by convention attendees to found a new organization, called the Universal Round Dance Council, or URDC, to support round dance events in the future, particularly an ongoing series of national conventions. Other goals were to improve communication, improve the quality of dance instruction and choreography, and to generally promote the well-being of round dancing as an activity. Membership would be open to both dancers and teachers, at any level of experience. The National Round Dance Board of Review was selected to serve as the Board of Directors, with an executive committee; Roy Stier was elected as chairman. On July 28, 1977, the National Round Dance Board of Review met and officially changed their name to the Board of Directors of the Universal Round Dance Council. Articles of incorporation and the enactment of bylaw documents were discussed starting at this time, but took until the next convention to be finalized and voted into place at the first official meeting of the Universal Round Dance Council in July of 1978.

As its primary purpose, in 1977 the URDC immediately took over the National Carousel Clubs' role in planning the convention, which was renamed the National Round Dance Convention for 1978. The first four conventions were held in Kansas City, MO; since then the location has changed yearly. The sites with numerous visits are Winston-Salem, NC; San Antonio, TX; San Jose, CA; and Joplin, MO. Denver, CO and Grand Rapids, MI have each hosted the convention more than once. The convention name was changed again in 1985 when the 9th Annual Convention was held in Canada and it became the International Round Dance Convention. Starting in 2008 the International Choreographed Ballroom Dance Association renamed the conventions as the “ICBDA Annual Convention.” The numbering sequence has remained consistent despite the name changes.

The Universal Round Dance Council’s second primary activities were publishing a newsletter and a technical manual. The first semi-monthly newsletter was released in September of 1977, edited by Roy Stier as Executive Chairman. Sue Riley and her husband Bob took over the editorship beginning with the July, 1981 issue, and she remained editor until 2007. In February of 1982 the newsletter became titled, “As the World Goes Round.” Publication of the newsletter was semi-monthly until September of 2004, when it became quarterly. In September of 2007 the publication’s name became Dancer’s Gazette, and with the first 2008 issue went to a purely digital format.

The URDC’s goal of promoting quality instruction and choreography was supported with publication in June, 1978 of the URDC Encyclopedia and Reference Manual. It was continually expanded, revised, updated, and reprinted by the Technical Advisory Board (Technical Advisory Committee starting in October 1987), led by Frank and Iris Gilbert until mid-1985.

Over the years the URDC and ICBDA have pursued improved relations with other dance organizations, notably Roundalab, and also joined the ARTS coalition. In 1998-1999 they absorbed the National Carousel Clubs and in 2000 donated a large amount of associated material to the Lloyd Shaw Foundation Archives.