The Inter Varsity Dance Competition (IVDC) is an annual student dancesport competition organised by Inter Varsity Dance Association (IVDA).[1] The IVDA write rules regarding entries, dress code and which dances will be part of the competition.
All UK universities may send representatives provided they are a member of the IVDA, and students who study at universities that do not have teams may gain special consideration to dance for another university. 27 UK universities took part in the 2022 IVDC.[2]
Whilst dancesport in the UK has seen a decline that shows like Strictly Come Dancing have rectified, the Inter Varsity Dance Association (IVDA) has remained consistently popular and struggles to find a UK venue large enough for its annual competition. Since 2007 the competitions have been hosted at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool. The 2024 competition saw 597 couples compete,[3] which is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, as the 2020 competition saw 678 couples compete.[4]
As of 2024 the US has a similarly strong student scene, culminating in various tournament's across the country. Mainland Europe has the slightly smaller European Tournament for Dancing Students, which has been running in multiple countries since 1989, with participants attending from Great Britain on a smaller scale.