| Runtime: | Varies |
| Executive Producer: | Moreno/Lyons Productions |
| Director: | Aida Moreno |
| Presenter: | Tony Meredith (2006 - 2007) Marilu Henner (2006 - 2007) Jasmine Guy (2008) Ron Montez (2008 - present) Jean Louisa Kelly (2009) |
| Country: | United States |
| Location: | Columbus, OH |
| Network: | PBS |
| Num Seasons: | 4 |
| Num Episodes: | 13 |
America's Ballroom Challenge is a competitive ballroom dance television series that aired on Public Broadcasting Service in the United States between 2006 and 2009.
It is part of the annual Ohio Star Ball,[1] a festival of DanceSport in Columbus, Ohio.
Each season typically consists of competitions in five categories, with the first four categories devoted to each of the major styles of competitive ballroom dance:
The last category is a "Grand Finale" with the four champion couples competing for the title of "America's Best" dancers.
Hosted by Marilu Henner and Tony Meredith.
| Season 1 | Airdate | Category | Champions[2] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode 1 | February 1, 2006 | American Smooth | Ben Ermis and Shalene Archer Ermis | |
| American Rhythm | Tony Dovolani and Elena Grinenko | |||
| International Standard | Erminio Stefano and Liene Apale | |||
| International Latin | Andrei Gavriline and Elena Kryuchkova | |||
| Episode 2 | February 8, 2006 | Grand Finale | Andrei Gavriline and Elena Kryuchkova |
Hosted by Marilu Henner and Tony Meredith.
| Season 2 | Airdate | Category | Champions[3] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode 1 | January 31, 2007 | American Smooth | Ben Ermis and Shalene Archer-Ermis | |
| Episode 2 | February 7, 2007 | American Rhythm | Tony Dovolani and Elena Grinenko | |
| Episode 3 | February 14, 2007 | International Standard | Jonathan Wilkins and Katusha Demidova | |
| Episode 4 | February 21, 2007 | International Latin | Andrei Gavriline and Elena Kryuchkova | |
| Episode 5 | February 28, 2007 | Grand Finale | Jonathan Wilkins and Katusha Demidova |
Hosted by Jasmine Guy and Ron Montez.
| Season 3 | Airdate | Category | Champions[4] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode 1 | January 30, 2008 | American Smooth | Tomas Mielnicki and J.T. Thomas | |
| Episode 2 | February 6, 2008 | American Rhythm | Jose DeCamps and Joanna Zacharewicz | |
| Episode 3 | February 13, 2008 | International Standard | Arunas Bizokas and Katusha Demidova | |
| Episode 4 | February 20, 2008 | International Latin | Andrei Gavriline and Elena Kryuchkova | |
| Episode 5 | February 27, 2008 | Grand Finale | Andrei Gavriline and Elena Kryuchkova |
Hosted by Jean Louisa Kelly and Ron Montez.
| Season 4 | Airdate | Category | Champions[5] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode 1 | February 25, 2009 | American Smooth | Jonathan Roberts and Valentina Kostenko |
| American Rhythm | Jose DeCamps and Joanna Zacharewicz | ||
| International Standard | Mikhail Avdeev and Anastasia Muravyeva | ||
| International Latin | Riccardo Cocchi and Yulia Zagoruychenko | ||
| Grand Finale | Riccardo Cocchi and Yulia Zagoruychenko |
The 2009 season (which would have aired in 2010) was not produced.
The 2010 season (which would have aired in 2011) was not produced.
Prior to America's Ballroom Challenge, PBS was featuring Championship Ballroom Dancing, also from the Ohio Star Ball, annually since 1980. The one-show event featured the final rounds of the International Standard and International Latin Styles of the competition with exhibitions in between usually by winners from other categories not shown on broadcast.[6]