Solar Flare Dancesport Challenge (Innovating Upon the Ballroom Dance Competition Format to Optimize Competitive and Cooperative Elements)

Ballroom dancing, similar to many other forms of dance, art, and expression, has a nature built upon desire to better oneself, to express oneself, and to relate to the audience. While this sits at the core of the artform, there is another element integral to it: competition. Ballroom competitions contribute significantly to the culture of ballroom dancing itself, often conflicting with or undermining its cooperative elements. The question, thus remains, of what the optimal ballroom competition looks like in order to promote the community aspects without compromising the importance of competition to the dancers. This thesis seeks to identify and execute this optimization, culminating in a ballroom competition and a guide detailing every aspect of the competition that was designed to accomplish this goal.