Wheelchair dancing is a partner dance competition where at least one of the dancers is in a wheelchair. Wheelchair dancers participate in combi-style dancing with an able-bodied partner or duo dance with two wheelchairs. Standard dances include the waltz, tango, Viennese waltz, and slow foxtrot. Latin-American dances include the samba, cha-cha-cha, and rumba. In 1977, the first international competition in Wheelchair Dance Sport was governed by the International Paralympic Wheelchair Dance Sport Committee (IPWDSC) following the modified rules of the International DanceSport Federation (IDSF) and is widely practiced by athletes in many countries.
The mission of the Wheelchair Dancers Organization is to bring ballroom wheelchair dancing to the disabled community and to empower each person to do something beneficial for their body, mind and spirit.
ServicesBeverly Weurding, of San Diego, Calif., is co-founder of the nonprofit Wheelchair Dancers Organization(wheelchairdancers.org). A ballroom and Latin wheelchair dancer, Weurding (who has limb-girdle muscular dystrophy) received the San Diego MDA Personal Achievement Award in 2010. This gave her a sense of accomplishment and the confidence to grow Wheelchair Dancing organization in San Diego by training and entering wheelchair dancers in non-wheelchair dance competitions— and winning trophies in several dance categories.