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Fondazione Heritage

A Remarkable Season Comes to an End

Some seasons are remembered for their results. Others go down in history because they succeed in changing the way we look towards the future.

The season that has just ended was one of them.

When the IDSF Heritage Foundation project was created, its objective was simple yet ambitious: to establish an organisation capable of placing couples’ dancesport, people, expertise, respect and passion at its very heart.

Today, we can proudly say that all of this has become a reality.

We could never have imagined such remarkable growth, such widespread participation and such wholehearted support. The affection shown by the entire world of dancesport has deeply moved us and confirmed that, when we work with dedication, transparency and a spirit of service, results follow.

The Value of a Community

The achievements of this season do not belong to one individual, but to an entire community. They are the result of the daily work of those who chose to believe in a shared project, setting aside personal interests to build something greater.

Our first and most heartfelt thanks go to the Teachers.

You are the heart of dancesport. Every day, in your schools, with dedication, patience and passion, you train athletes, pass on values and nurture dreams. The value of your work is measured not only by the medals won, but by the people you help to grow, the sacrifices you make and the love you devote to this discipline.

Every couple that steps onto the floor carries your teaching with them. Every success begins with your commitment. Without the quiet and constant work of teachers, the present of dancesport would not exist and, above all, neither would its future.

To you go our deepest respect and our most sincere gratitude.

Equally important thanks go to the Adjudicators, who, through their professionalism, expertise and balance, have safeguarded the technical and moral value of our competitions.

Being an adjudicator means taking on an enormous responsibility: impartially evaluating the work, sacrifices and dreams of athletes and teachers. It is a role that requires preparation, experience, integrity and courage.

Thank you for carrying out this role with professionalism and authority. Your contribution has been fundamental to the growth of the Foundation and to the credibility of every event organised.

Special thanks also go to the Athletes and their Families, who, through their enthusiasm, trust and participation, have made every event a moment of sport, emotion and togetherness.

This season has demonstrated that couples’ dancesport still possesses extraordinary strength when it is experienced as a true community.

A Guiding Light

Along this journey, there is one person to whom we wish to express our particularly profound and heartfelt gratitude: our mentor, Dr Peter Maxwell.

His tireless contribution, his experience, his vision and his ability always to look beyond the present have represented an essential point of reference for us all.

Having a guiding light makes the journey much easier.

Not because the path is free from difficulties, but because knowing where to look, having a clear direction and being able to rely on the experience of someone who has already travelled certain roads allow us to face every challenge with greater awareness and confidence.

Ultimately, the only true ability required of us is one of the easiest to say, yet also one of the most difficult to put genuinely into practice:

have faith.

Trusting means listening, understanding and having the courage to follow a direction even when the outcome is not yet visible.

Yet, when we fully understand the value of trust and how profoundly it can change the way we approach a project, everything becomes easier.

Trust allows us to transform experience into action, vision into results and difficulties into opportunities.

For this reason, Dr Peter Maxwell has become much more than a mentor to everyone who is part of this journey.

He is a source of admiration, inspiration and trust.

His presence represents a point of stability, a certainty to which we can look at important moments and a guarantee of the path we have chosen to follow.

In a world where it is often difficult to distinguish words from actions, being able to rely on a guide recognised for his expertise, experience and vision represents something of extraordinary value.

For us, the name Peter Maxwell has also come to represent this:

a seal of assurance.

An assurance that holds an even deeper meaning for parents and young athletes, who can now look towards this project with the awareness that they are investing in something solid, serious and built upon a clear vision of the future.

For a young athlete, believing in a path means investing time, sacrifice, energy and dreams.

For a family, it means making a choice, supporting a journey and entrusting an important part of their children’s development to an organisation in which they can believe.

Knowing that behind this project there are expertise, experience, vision and a guide such as Dr Peter Maxwell means being able to look ahead with greater confidence.

It means knowing that what is being built today is not something temporary, but a legacy destined to grow and leave something for future generations.

And perhaps this is the most important value of all.

Giving young people the certainty that it is worthwhile to believe in their abilities, invest in their dreams and build their future.

And Then There Are the Seniors

There is, however, another message carried by this vision that has a particularly special meaning for us.

Too often, Senior categories are considered marginal, underestimated or even mistreated by those who show not even the slightest interest in them.

We believe precisely the opposite.

We believe that talent, passion, discipline and the ability to create emotion have no age.

And having a guide such as Dr Peter Maxwell means that our Seniors, too, know that they are being taken seriously.

It means knowing that their journey, their commitment and what they are able to express on the floor have genuine value and deserve attention, study and investment.

Special mention must go to Senior 6, a category that represents our vision in an extraordinary way.

Peter firmly believes that what Seniors do is a work of art.

He believes that their ability to interpret music, movement, experience and emotion represents something extraordinary that cannot simply be measured by age.

It is precisely this conviction that encourages us to take a further step: investing in scientific research dedicated to Seniors, in order to understand their potential, their characteristics, their needs and everything that can enable them to express themselves to the fullest.

And perhaps this is only the beginning.

If we continue to grow with the same determination, the same vision and the same trust, this path may lead us to build something even more important for our older Seniors as well.

New opportunities.
New pathways.
New possibilities for expression.

Because age should not represent a limit to the possibility of experiencing dance at the highest levels.

On the contrary, the experience accumulated over the years can become an extraordinary asset, capable of being transformed into elegance, depth, interpretation and art.

And if today we begin to study, understand and enhance all of this with the support of scientific research, tomorrow we may be able to open doors that, until recently, seemed impossible even to imagine.

We do not want to make promises.

We want to create the conditions in which new possibilities can become reality.

Because building the path towards “the greatest dance together” means creating a space in which every generation can feel that it has a leading role.

Young people must be able to look towards the future with enthusiasm.

Seniors must be able to look at the present with pride.

And older Seniors must be able to continue looking towards the dance floor, knowing that their history, their experience and their art still hold immense value.

This is our idea of dancesport: a discipline without age, in which every stage of life can become an expression of talent, beauty and extraordinary humanity.

And perhaps this is precisely one of the deepest meanings of the Heritage we wish to build: leaving no one behind, but creating a path along which different generations can meet, grow and continue to experience emotion together.

To him go our most sincere thanks for what he has done, for what he continues to do and, above all, for what he is helping us to build.

Because having a great project is important.

Having a great community is essential.

But having a guide capable of showing the way can make all the difference.

And when that path offers young people a tangible prospect for the future and gives Seniors the certainty that they are still leading figures, then we are not simply building a season.

We are building a legacy.

The Return of Enthusiasm

We have built something that goes beyond numbers and records. We have built trust. We have built a sense of belonging. We have built a family that looks in the same direction.

But the most important achievement was not a record, a number or a statistic.

The true, immense success of this season was the return of something that, for far too many years, had seemed to fade: the genuine enthusiasm of dancesport.

We witnessed what many no longer dared to hope they would see again: events that were alive, vibrant and filled with participation.

Grandstands filled with energy. Halls once again breathing emotion. Athletes supported, welcomed and accompanied by genuine warmth. And an audience that began once again to experience every moment, to react and to feel.

An Audience That Grows Alongside Dance

Another essential element of this achievement was the progressive improvement in the quality of the audience, which grew in awareness, participation and knowledge of dancesport.

Throughout this journey, an important role was played by the booklets distributed at every Championship. They were not simply “programme books”, following the model to which we had become accustomed at the most prestigious competitions of the past and designed primarily to accompany the event, but genuine informational and educational tools, created to provide the audience with the information, notes and insights essential to developing an informed understanding of the discipline.

Comparable, in their cultural purpose, to the programmes provided at operas and theatres, the booklets accompanied spectators, teachers and adjudicators on a journey of discovery through the disciplines, the dances, their technical characteristics and the performances, providing the keys needed to understand what was taking place on the floor.

Each competition therefore became an opportunity to understand more deeply the meaning of what was being presented, highlighting the technical, artistic and expressive aspects of every performance and transforming the spectacle of dancesport into an experience of culture, knowledge and growth.

This journey helped to create a more attentive, informed and engaged audience. More and more people chose to remain until the end of the competitions, fully experiencing the finals of the best couples and sharing the most emotional moments of the day.

No longer merely occasional spectators, therefore, but an educated and engaged audience, capable of observing, reading, understanding and appreciating the value of every performance, recognising not only its spectacular nature, but also the technique, art, interpretation and work that make it possible.

Because great dancing does not grow only on the floor: it also grows in the eyes, passion and awareness of those who watch it. And you, the fans and supporters, are an essential part of it.

The Elegance That Restores Prestige to Dancesport

Making this transformation even more special was the rediscovered elegance of the audience. More and more spectators chose to attend the competitions in evening attire, helping to recreate that setting of prestige, refinement and glamour that has always belonged to the great tradition of couples’ dancesport.

The great teacher Gianni Doria has always taught us that elegance is an integral part of dance and of the very way in which this world should be experienced. It is precisely by following his invaluable advice that we have rediscovered how elegance is not merely an aesthetic detail, but a sign of respect towards the athletes, the teachers, the competition and the art of dance. When the audience also participates with this sensitivity, every event acquires a unique atmosphere, capable of enhancing the beauty of the discipline and restoring the fascination of great competitions.

For the dancers, it means being able to express themselves to the fullest of their abilities within a setting worthy of the artistic and sporting value of dance. A refined, engaging and captivating environment allows athletes to experience the competition with even greater intensity, transforming every performance into a spectacle that moves both those who perform it and those who watch it.

And it is precisely this cultural growth that has fuelled the return of enthusiasm. When spectators understand what they are watching, the emotion becomes more intense. When the audience is engaged, the competition becomes a spectacle. When elegance, knowledge and participation come together, the magic that makes every competition an unforgettable experience is born.

The Applause That Brought Competitions Back to Life

And then there was the applause.

Genuine applause. Prolonged applause. Applause that came from the heart.

Applause that broke a silence that had lasted for far too long. Applause that restored voice, dignity and life to every competition. Applause that reminded us all why we love this sport.

At many moments, it felt as though we were witnessing something greater than a competition: dancesport returning to being a shared emotion, a spectacle and a sense of belonging.

It was like rekindling a flame that had never gone out, but had simply been waiting to shine brightly once again.

This is the achievement we cherish with the greatest pride: having brought genuine emotion, authentic participation and a sense of community back to our events.

Because records can be broken. But when an entire community begins to experience emotion together once again, that moment becomes memory, identity and future.

A New Era

Now is the time for rest, gratitude and reflection.

August, as our elders taught us and as farmers already understood in the ancient Roman tradition, is the time for rest after hard work: the moment when we pause, breathe and gather what has been sown.

After so much work, commitment and sacrifice, the time has come to allow ourselves a well-deserved rest.

Because stopping is also part of the journey.

It is through rest that we restore our energy, reflect with awareness upon what has been achieved and prepare for what is yet to come.

Because what has been built does not represent a final destination, but the beginning of something even greater.

The new season will bring new challenges, new objectives and new emotions.

Thank you for the trust you have placed in us.

Thank you for the work you have done.

Thank you for demonstrating that, together, we can restore life, pride and a future to couples’ dancesport.

Thank you all!!!

The journey has not ended.

The curtain has only just risen on a new era!!!