Practiced for recreational and rehabilitation purposes, Wheelchair Dancing originated in Sweden in 1968. Els-Britt Larsson, a wheelchair user herself who worked for the Swedish Handicap-Federation, was one of the pioneers of this fascinating sport.
Very soon news of dancing in a wheelchair was spread and it became a very popular activity, especially in Sweden. In 1975, the very first competition was organized in Västeras, Sweden, with a total of 30 couples taking part. Spectators were fascinated and inspired by the sport and very soon competitions started to be organized all over the world.
In 1977, the first international competition in Wheelchair Dance Sport took place in Sweden. After several regional and international competitions, the first World Championships were organized in Japan in 1998. The same year, Wheelchair Dance Sport became a Sport under the Governance and Management Authority of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), but is not part of the Paralympic Program today.
Munich, Germany, organized the first Rock’n Roll European Championship in 1984, for wheelchair dancers. In 1985, the first unofficial European Championships in Latin and Standard were organized in the Netherlands. At the 2006 IPC Wheelchair Dance Sport World Championships, which took place in Papendal, the Netherlands, duo-dance was presented for the first time in two Standard and three Latin dances.
The 2008 IPC Wheelchair Dance Sport World Championships will be organized in Minsk, Belarus in October 2008.