The Blackpool Dance Festival is the oldest and most prestigious dancesport competition in the world today. Over the many decades since its inception, the competition has learned to evolve with the times, albeit not as fast as some would like. But in May, this renowned competition in Blackpool, England, opened its floor to a new genre of dance, American Style. 

The American Style of dancing has been spreading like wildfire over the past several years, and its popularity continues to grow at an accelerated rate as it spans across the world. 

With such popularity in the dance community, it only made since that American Style would eventually make its debut at Blackpool. 

The International Styles known as International Standard and International Latin were originally created in Europe. However, the mixing and spreading of the dance over the years made way for its evolution into American Style. 

For those not familiar with American Style, essentially it's the American version of International Latin and International Standard. American Smooth mirrors the International Standard style of dancing but is more versatile than its predecessor in that it does not require couples to maintain a closed position and allows for more creative and free-flowing movements. American Rhythm is similar to International Latin but differs in pattern and styling.

American Smooth includes four dances, the waltz, tango, foxtrot and Viennese waltz, while International Standard consists of five dances, the waltz, tango, Viennese waltz, foxtrot, and quickstep. American Rhythm has five dances: the cha-cha, rumba, East Coast swing, bolero, and mambo. International Latin dances also has five dances, but they are the cha-cha, samba, rumba, paso doble, and the jive.

American Style to some is considered more entertaining to both dance and watch. Whether this is true or not, the reality is that with the style now being recognized as a legitimate competitive dance at the Blackpool Dance Festival, it is without a doubt here to stay for the foreseeable future. 

Here are the results of the first Blackpool Dance Festival American Style division. 

In the professional American Style divisions the results were as follows:

American Smooth

1. Nick Ceremukhin & Viktorija

2. Travis & Jaimee Tuft

3. Max Sintisa & Tatiana Seliverstova

4. Kyle & Allie Spinder

5. Evgeny Malko & Anna Shahbazyan

6. Mariusz Zakrewskiy & Lynsay Ray

American Rhythm

1. Andre & Natalie Paramonov

2. Dmitry & Olena Nikishkin

3. Dmytro Gurkov & Snov Urbin

4. Aaron & Iryna DeSotto

5. Riccardo Papi & Sabrina Moretti

6. Shandor Shtefil & Aleksandra Barsukov