LEVELS IN COMPETITIVE BALLROOM

DANCING

Test drive our dance road to

success
Couples compete against other couples with the same level of
experience in all the dances. There are several main categories at
collegiate and USA Dance competitions:

 Newcomer / Pre-Bronze
 Beginner / Bronze
 Intermediate / Silver
 Advanced / Gold
 Novice
 Pre-Champ
 Champ
Generally only people who have competed for less than 6 months
are considered Newcomers. Pre-Bronze to Gold are “Syllabus”
levels and must follow syllabus steps. Novice, Pre-Champ and
Champ are “Open” levels and open choreographies can be
danced.

Bronze, Silver and Gold Level Ballroom Dancing

Bronze, silver and gold levels of ballroom dancing each have their
own syllabus of steps, goal for the dancer and difficulty level.
Learning what they mean help the dancer know where they
belong based on their skill level. Many ballroom dancing group
classes are grouped by these designations.

Syllabus (fixed dance figures)

 Bronze
 Silver
 Gold
Bronze Level Ballroom Dancing

Bronze level is the most basic level of ballroom dancing, and this
is where all new students should start. The goal of this level is to
teach the dancer good balance, rhythm and how to move their
body. They learn how to dance with a partner and work as a
team.

In American Style ballroom dances like Waltz and Foxtrot, there is

very little “continuity”, which is where the dancers pass their feet
and flow into the next step. Instead, they end most patterns by
bringing their feet together. The patterns in bronze level tend to
be fairly simple, although they increase in complexity and difficulty
as the dancer moves from beginning bronze to intermediate
bronze and then to full bronze.

Silver Level Ballroom Dancing

When the dancer has mastered the basics of bronze

level, they are usually ready to move on into silver. This is when
ballroom dancing really gets fun—the steps flow more gracefully
from one to the next, and the dancer learns to make bigger
movements with more turns and arm styling. They are expected
to use good technique, balance, partnering skills and do it all with
flair.

Gold Level Ballroom Dancing

Gold level is the highest level that the syllabus goes

to. Dancers at this level have even better balance and
perform even more difficult patterns than silver level dancers. At
this level, it becomes very apparent if the dancer has not
established a good foundation in their dancing, because they are
unable to perform many of the steps at all, let alone well.

Open Level Ballroom Dancing  (no fixed figures – increasing

difficulty)
 Novice
 Pre-Championship
 Championship (highest level)

Novice, Pre-Championship, and Championship levels allow

“open” choreography. For most dance styles there is a no lift rule.