European Tournament for Dancing Students
Encyclopedia
The European Tournament for Dancing Students or ETDS is a recurring tournament for ballroom
and Latin-American dancing for students from Europe.
weekend and once in autumn. The tournament always starts on Friday and finishes on Monday. Although each ETDS is organised by a different party, the structure remains fairly constant: on Friday evening, the blind date program takes place, in which dancers that do not have a partner can try to find a nice dancing partner. On Saturday, the ballroom
tournament for the “breitensport” (explained below) takes place and the Latin-American tournament for the open class. On Sunday, both classes dance the other discipline. Everyone goes home in the morning of the Monday after, or sometimes late on Sunday.
The organisation of each tournament is in the hands of a different participating university. The tournament takes place in the city of the organising university, and the location changes each half year to another European city. So far, the tournament has always taken place in either Germany
or the Netherlands
.
Although the primary focus of the ETDS lies in organising a tournament of a high level, the event also aims at creating a social event where dancers from all of Europe can meet each other. This is stimulated by the possibility to blind date and by respectively organising a themed festival and a gala on the Saturday and Sunday evening of the event.
Often, the sleeping accommodation is a locale gym.
, Braunschweig
and Kiel
: they agreed to get to know each other during a tournament, and these three German universities organised the event a number of times. There was not a regular structure, but the tournament was organised ad-hoc. Finding a sleeping accommodation was easy, as the number of participants was still very low.
In November of 1990, the tournament price was introduced that has been used since: “der tanzmaus” (German for “the dance mouse”), a pluche mouse. The tanzmaus was a donation of the university of Kiel and Clausthal was the first university to win the mouse.
In December of 1991, a tournament during Sinterklaas
took place. The tournament gained more participants and Berlin started participating as well. Berlin won the dance mouse during this Sinterklaas tournament, and promised to organise the event somewhere in the future. During this tournament, only one class existed.
In April of 1992, the tournament took place in Clausthal. This was the first tournament where Dortmund
started participating. Some tournaments later, Ulm
and Marburg
started participating as well.
The University of Berlin fulfilled their promise in 1993 by taking care of the organisation of the tournament. The tournament still did not have separate classes.
The next tournament took place in the spring of 1994, and the tournament gained in popularity; fifteen universities from Germany participated. Also, for the first time, universities from the Netherlands started to participate. The new universities were from Mainz, Geisenheim
, Kaiserslautern
, Delft
and Eindhoven.
During autumn of 1994, the number of participants had increased to such a high amount that problems started to arise between the organisation and the government of Kiel. The result was that Kiel was disallowed to organise the event for five years.
The next tournament was in the spring of 1995, and for the first time, the tournament was separated into two classes. They were called “amateurs” and “profis”. Leipzig
also joined this tournament.
The tournament that was held in the summer of 1995 was the first event to take place in the Netherlands. The organisation was in the hands of ESDV Footloose from Eindhoven. Groningen joined during this tournament. From now on, the ETDS was no longer organised on an ad-hoc basis, but was organised regularly twice each year, during Pentecost and in the autumn, each time by a different university.
The number of participants continued to grow, and around 2004 a third class was added to the breitensport. People were now qualified in either the highest class called “masters”, or in the classes “profis” or “amateurs”.
More than 500 participants took part in the 41st tournament in Groningen in May 2009, and another Breitensport class by the name of “champions” was introduced.
Until now, the ETDS has taken place 44 times. The next tournament, the 45th ETDS, will take place from June 10 to 13, 2011 and will be organised in Eindhoven by a combination of Dutch universities.
and a Latin-American tournament. In the breitensport, a prequalification round takes place, where each participant is put into the amateur, profi or master class. In all other rounds, the best dancers are selected and these continue into the next round. During the finals, open adjudication is performed. Each adjudicator decides on a ranking of the couples on the floor and shows their decision immediately after each dance.
, the slow waltz
and the tango
. For the Latin-American competition, they have to dance the cha-cha-cha
, the rumba
and the jive
. In the (semi)finals and in the open class, the Viennese waltz
, the slowfox, the samba and the paso doble are added.
, Switzerland
, Estonia
and other neighboring countries participate as well.
Ballroom dance
Ballroom dance refers to a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world. Because of its performance and entertainment aspects, ballroom dance is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television....
and Latin-American dancing for students from Europe.
Introduction
The tournament is organised twice a year, once during the PentecostPentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
weekend and once in autumn. The tournament always starts on Friday and finishes on Monday. Although each ETDS is organised by a different party, the structure remains fairly constant: on Friday evening, the blind date program takes place, in which dancers that do not have a partner can try to find a nice dancing partner. On Saturday, the ballroom
Ballroom dance
Ballroom dance refers to a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world. Because of its performance and entertainment aspects, ballroom dance is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television....
tournament for the “breitensport” (explained below) takes place and the Latin-American tournament for the open class. On Sunday, both classes dance the other discipline. Everyone goes home in the morning of the Monday after, or sometimes late on Sunday.
The organisation of each tournament is in the hands of a different participating university. The tournament takes place in the city of the organising university, and the location changes each half year to another European city. So far, the tournament has always taken place in either Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
or the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Although the primary focus of the ETDS lies in organising a tournament of a high level, the event also aims at creating a social event where dancers from all of Europe can meet each other. This is stimulated by the possibility to blind date and by respectively organising a themed festival and a gala on the Saturday and Sunday evening of the event.
Often, the sleeping accommodation is a locale gym.
History
The ETDS was founded by the university of ClausthalClausthal-Zellerfeld
Clausthal-Zellerfeld is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the southwestern part of the Harz mountains. Its population is approximately 15,000, Clausthal-Zellerfeld is also the seat of the Samtgemeinde Oberharz....
, Braunschweig
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
and Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
: they agreed to get to know each other during a tournament, and these three German universities organised the event a number of times. There was not a regular structure, but the tournament was organised ad-hoc. Finding a sleeping accommodation was easy, as the number of participants was still very low.
In November of 1990, the tournament price was introduced that has been used since: “der tanzmaus” (German for “the dance mouse”), a pluche mouse. The tanzmaus was a donation of the university of Kiel and Clausthal was the first university to win the mouse.
In December of 1991, a tournament during Sinterklaas
Sinterklaas
Sinterklaas is a traditional Winter holiday figure still celebrated today in the Low Countries, including the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as French Flanders and Artois...
took place. The tournament gained more participants and Berlin started participating as well. Berlin won the dance mouse during this Sinterklaas tournament, and promised to organise the event somewhere in the future. During this tournament, only one class existed.
In April of 1992, the tournament took place in Clausthal. This was the first tournament where Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
started participating. Some tournaments later, Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
and Marburg
Marburg
Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...
started participating as well.
The University of Berlin fulfilled their promise in 1993 by taking care of the organisation of the tournament. The tournament still did not have separate classes.
The next tournament took place in the spring of 1994, and the tournament gained in popularity; fifteen universities from Germany participated. Also, for the first time, universities from the Netherlands started to participate. The new universities were from Mainz, Geisenheim
Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute
The Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute was founded in 1872 and is located in Geisenheim, Rheingau, Germany. In 1876 professor Hermann Müller from Switzerland joined the institution, where he developed his namesake variety Müller-Thurgau , which became the most planted grape variety in Germany in...
, Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
, Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
and Eindhoven.
During autumn of 1994, the number of participants had increased to such a high amount that problems started to arise between the organisation and the government of Kiel. The result was that Kiel was disallowed to organise the event for five years.
The next tournament was in the spring of 1995, and for the first time, the tournament was separated into two classes. They were called “amateurs” and “profis”. Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
also joined this tournament.
The tournament that was held in the summer of 1995 was the first event to take place in the Netherlands. The organisation was in the hands of ESDV Footloose from Eindhoven. Groningen joined during this tournament. From now on, the ETDS was no longer organised on an ad-hoc basis, but was organised regularly twice each year, during Pentecost and in the autumn, each time by a different university.
The number of participants continued to grow, and around 2004 a third class was added to the breitensport. People were now qualified in either the highest class called “masters”, or in the classes “profis” or “amateurs”.
More than 500 participants took part in the 41st tournament in Groningen in May 2009, and another Breitensport class by the name of “champions” was introduced.
Until now, the ETDS has taken place 44 times. The next tournament, the 45th ETDS, will take place from June 10 to 13, 2011 and will be organised in Eindhoven by a combination of Dutch universities.
Rules
Every ETDS organisation is allowed to make their own rules for the tournament. Each organisation describes rules about clothing and the calculation of the Tanzmaus. Because the focus of each organization might be different, the balance between social and competition changes slightly. Nevertheless, several rules exist during each tournament:Structure
Dancers can sign up for two disciplines: the open class and the breitensport (literally broad competition, a German word that is used for the broad, somewhat less competitive class of regular competitions). The breitensport is not for professional dancers. Both disciplines have a standardBallroom dance
Ballroom dance refers to a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world. Because of its performance and entertainment aspects, ballroom dance is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television....
and a Latin-American tournament. In the breitensport, a prequalification round takes place, where each participant is put into the amateur, profi or master class. In all other rounds, the best dancers are selected and these continue into the next round. During the finals, open adjudication is performed. Each adjudicator decides on a ranking of the couples on the floor and shows their decision immediately after each dance.
Dances
During the first rounds of the breitensport standard competition, each couple has to dance the quickstepQuickstep
The quickstep is a light-hearted member of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal and informal events...
, the slow waltz
Waltz (International Standard)
Waltz is one of the five dances in the Standard category of the International Style ballroom dances. It was previously referred to as Slow Waltz or English Waltz....
and the tango
Tango (ballroom)
Ballroom Tango is a ballroom dance that branched away from its original Argentine roots by allowing European, American, Hollywood, and competitive influences into the style and execution of the dance....
. For the Latin-American competition, they have to dance the cha-cha-cha
Cha-cha-cha (dance)
The Cha-cha-cha is the name of a dance of Cuban origin.It is danced to the music of the same name introduced by Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrín in 1953...
, the rumba
Rumba (dance)
Rumba is a dance term with two quite different meanings.In some contexts, "rumba" is used as shorthand for Afro-Cuban rumba, a group of dances related to the rumba genre of Afro-Cuban music. The most common Afro-Cuban rumba is the guaguancó...
and the jive
Jive (dance)
In Ballroom dancing, Jive is a dance style in 4/4 time that originated in the United States from African-Americans in the early 1930s. It was originally presented to the public as 'Jive' in 1934 by Cab Calloway. It is a lively and uninhibited variation of the Jitterbug, a form of Swing dance...
. In the (semi)finals and in the open class, the Viennese waltz
Viennese Waltz
Viennese Waltz is the genre of a ballroom dance. At least three different meanings are recognized. In the historically first sense, the name may refer to several versions of the waltz, including the earliest waltzes done in ballroom dancing, danced to the music of Viennese Waltz.What is now called...
, the slowfox, the samba and the paso doble are added.
Adjudication
The adjudicators consist of volunteers from the participating universities, that do not compete themselves. Adjudicators are selected by their certificates to adjudicate, by their experience and by their level of dancing in regular dance competitions.Blind dating
A blind date couple consists of two dancers from different universities. Blind dating is mandatory in the open class, and stimulated in the breitensport by a blind date program on the Friday of the tournament. During some tournaments, a blind date couple can score more points for a university, and thereby improve the change of winning the tanzmaus.Participants
Every member of a student dancing society or university student can participate. Each couple dances under the flag of his or her university or dance society. Staff members of the university or dancing society are also allowed to participate. When universities have too few participants to compete for the tanzmaus, they can team up with other universities to improve their chances.Nationalities
Every European university or student dance society can participate. In practice, a majority of the participants are German. The second largest participating country is the Netherlands, and some dancers from the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
and other neighboring countries participate as well.
Germany
From Germany, universities from the following cities participate the ETDS:- AachenAachenAachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
- BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
- BraunschweigBraunschweigBraunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
- Clausthal
- DortmundDortmundDortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
- FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
- GeisenheimGeisenheimGeisenheim is a town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany, and is known as Weinstadt , Schulstadt , Domstadt and Lindenstadt ....
- KaiserslauternKaiserslauternKaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
- KarlsruheKarlsruheThe City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
- KehlKehlKehl is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg.-History:...
- KielKielKiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
- LeipzigLeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
- MainzMainzMainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
- MarburgMarburgMarburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...
- UlmUlmUlm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
The Netherlands
In the Netherlands, the participants often dance under the flag of a dancing society, unlike in Germany, where participants dance under the flag of their university. From the Netherlands, the following cities participate the ETDS:- AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
(dancing society AmsterDance) - Eindhoven (dancing society ESDV Footloose)
- EnschedeEnschedeEnschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...
(dancing society DSV 4 Happy Feet) - Groningen (dancing society SSV The Blue Toes)
- MaastrichtMaastrichtMaastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
(dancing society MSDV Let's Dance) - Nijmegen (dancing society SDVN Dance Fever)
- RotterdamRotterdamRotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
(dancing society Erasmus Dance Society) - UtrechtUtrechtUtrecht is a city in the Netherlands.The name may also refer to:* Utrecht , of which Utrecht is the capital* Utrecht , including the city of Utrecht* Bishopric of Utrecht* Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht...
(dancing society USDV U Dance)
External links
- http://www.etds.eu/ - Website of the most recent organisation
- http://www.etdsnijmegen.eu/previous-etds-tournaments/ - List with all the previous held tournaments