Mar. 30—If there's a more enjoyable form of exercise than ballroom dancing, Joseph Britt hasn't discovered it yet.
"It's just one of the most fun ways to be active," he said.
Britt, 20, and his dance partner Sabina Sokol, 19, are both students at Georgia Tech University, and were among more than 900 competitors from all over the country who spent the weekend whirling, dipping, foxtrotting and more at the USA Dance 2025 National Ballroom DanceSport Championship, held in Downtown Pittsburgh at the Wyndham Grand.
"I think there's so much artistic freedom," Sokol said. "We have a syllabus of movements we have to perform, but you get a lot of creativity in how you can dance."
The Wyndham Grand hosted the championship in 2022 and 2024. It's scheduled to return in 2026 and 2027.
The dancing began Friday and concluded Sunday evening, with some dancers taking part in all three days.
Deana Foley and her husband John, of Export, had a full dance card all weekend long. They performed in 10 dances on Sunday.
"There's no one else in the paso doble category, so we have to go up and dance that one all by ourselves," Foley said. "That one's going to be a little nerve-wracking."
The competition attracts dancers of all ages. A significant number come from college ballroom dance teams, including from Carnegie Mellon University.
"It helps you to exercise and it really helps you communicate with your partner," said Christine Zona, one of CMU's ballroom dance coaches. "That's what the college-age kids need the most. They change so much when they start ballroom dancing, in terms of being able to read their partners and communicate better."
Brian Lee, owner of Ballroom Connection dance studio in Verona, brought five of his dancers to the competition.
"You get to see such a wonderful variety between smooth, standard, rhythm, Latin dances," Lee said. "You get all forms and techniques. Every dance has its own character and flavor because it's all different music."
Dancers flow and sway in a liquid, watery way during the languid strings of a standard waltz, which is Sokol's favorite dance.
"It's the prettiest dance, and it's the one people recognize the most often," she said.
In contrast, the competitors' brightly colored gowns and sleeve adornments snap and whip in circles during a fast-paced cha-cha.
"I just love dancing," said Emily Parker, 24, of Rhode Island, who is at her third USA Dance final in Pittsburgh. "I feel the most confidence in myself when I'm dancing."
The competition regularly goes late into the night, and Sunday wasn't likely to be an exception.
"They went until almost 2 a.m. on Saturday night," said USA Dance Pittsburgh volunteer Gloria Schohn. "I think it's just so wonderful that so many of the competitors are younger people who have an interest in ballroom dance. It really is such a beautiful competition to watch all weekend long."
Winners will be announced at USADance.org.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
