American Ballroom Company, Inc. (ABC) was incorporated in March 1971 by Ms. Mary Molaghan & John Monte. At that time ABC was granted a license from the National Council of Dance Teachers Organization (NCDTO), now the National Dance Council of America (NDCA) to conduct the official United States Ballroom Championships® (USBC), now known as the United States Dance Championships® (USDC) in all styles and divisions for Amateurs and Professionals.
The Charter was later revised in 1975 and remains the same today. The USBC was first conducted at the Waldorf Astoria in 1971 and continued there until 1975, when they were held in Washington D.C.. From there it returned to the Waldorf Astoria from 1976 to 1981, then the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in 1982. It was then back at the Waldorf Astoria for 1983 and shared between the Felt Forum and the Waldorf Astoria in 1984. In 1985 it was moved to Miami Beach, FL and held at the Sheraton Bal Harbour. The Championships remained there until 1988. In 1989 it was held at the Fontainebleau Hilton and returned to the Sheraton Bal Harbour in 1990. From 1991 until the present, the USDC has been held at the Fontainebleau Hilton Hotel. ABC conducted the World Professional Championships (Standard) in conjunction with World Dance Promotions at the Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden, New York City in 1984 and recently conducted this event in 1998 in Miami.
Additionally, ABC has organized the World's Professional Latin American Championships in 1987, 1991, & 1996 and the World's Professional Ten Dance Championships in 1993 and 1997. The United States representatives for the World Professional Championships are chosen each year at the USDC. In conjunction with the NDCA, ABC helps subsidize the couples travel expenses. The US Open Professional Standard and Latin American Championships commenced in 1983, and since then have attracted the best dancers from throughout the World. In 1985, The Marguerite Hanlon/John Ford World Professional Invitational Team Match was introduced.
This event has been held successfully for 11 years and has brought the world's leading dance couples to participate in this prestigious event. In 1984 the Professional American Style Championships was split into American Smooth and American Rhythm divisions. This split produced radical changes in this style. In 1995 ABC formed a joint venture with the Ballroom Dance Division at Brigham Young University to organize and run the US National Pre-Teen, Junior, Youth and Amateur Cabaret Championships in Provo, UT in March of each year. This is due to the very large population of young dancers in the inter-mountain area. Commencing in 1996, the US National Professional Standard Championships and the US National Professional Rising Star Standard Competition have joined the other U.S. Championships taking place in Provo.
In 1997 the name of the annual US Championship has been changed to reflect the current trend in the dancing world. The new name is now the “United States Dance Championships®”. In 2006 all of the United States Championships came back to USDSC to be held under one roof. In 2007 the name of the annual US Championships was changed to United States Dance Championships (USDC) and in the same year the event moved to the Royal Pacific resort in Orlando, Florida. ABC is an independent producer of dance competitions, and has successfully produced 28 United States Championships and several World Championships.
