Americans are enthralled with competitive ballroom dancing. Millions of people are following the progress of the competition on the hit reality television show, ABC's Dancing with the Stars. We're obsessed with finding out which celebrity/dance-pro couple was eliminated this week. We follow it on Good Morning America, we love getting to know the pairs when they guest on Ellen and The View. We are fascinated with the beauty of ballroom dancing, and with the drama and thrill of the competition. But for most competitive ballroom dancers, the goal is not to dance with a celebrity on television (although wouldn't that be nice?) Instead, the dream is to compete at Blackpool.

The name "Blackpool" is often mentioned with awe and reverence by competitive ballroom dancers throughout the world. This is where the best of the best meet each year to compete in the largest and most famous international ballroom dance competition on the planet.

The world of ballroom dance competition includes a wide range of levels and skills. Thousands of men and women, boys and girls, are content to participate in their local and regional competitions, and receive a great deal of satisfaction and enjoyment. However, there is a segment of the ballroom dance community that is driven to excel, to out-perform, and to be recognized for their achievement on a much grander scale. For these, the goal is Blackpool.

Participating in this competition is a driving goal for so many exceptionally talented men and women who devote themselves to training and practice with a fierce determination to excel. These are dancers whose passion is evident in the skillful and artistic performances they give on that pristine parquet dance floor.

In the spring of every year, the top ballroom dancers in the world meet at the Blackpool Dance Festival for nine days of rigorous competition. They congregate in the Empress Ballroom of the Winter Gardens. The Empress Ballroom was built in 1896 in Blackpool, Lancashire, a lovely borough on the Irish Sea in north-west England. The architectural splendor of the ballroom's magnificent structure is awe inspiring to say the least, with the majesty of the spectacular barrel-vaulted ceiling, the elegance of the lovely balconies, the glittering chandeliers and the gleaming dance floor. Ballroom dancers and ballroom aficionados from around the world are entranced with the beautiful Empress Ballroom. However, although the venue of the festival is part of the charm, in fact what draws everyone to the Blackpool Dance Festival is the thrill of the competition and the glory of the performance.

The famous Blackpool Dance Festival had its beginnings in the 1920s, but until the early fifties was a British-only ballroom competition, consisting of the British Amateur and Professional Championships, a Ballroom Formation Dancing Competition, and a Professional Exhibition Dancing Competition. However, an influx of foreign visitors began trickling in to view the competition, and as more countries came to be represented, the competition expanded to include ballroom dancers from all over the world. Today more than sixty countries are represented in the Blackpool Dance Festival, including large numbers from Japan, Germany, Italy and the United States.

There are five ballroom dance festivals held in Blackpool annually, but the world's first and foremost ballroom dance competition is the Blackpool Dance Festival. The competitions include categories of both Ballroom and Latin American Dancing, where the world's most talented ballroom dancers demonstrate their skills in the waltz, the tango, the rumba, the foxtrot, and other magnificent dance styles.

There are two Invitation events at the Blackpool Dance Festival that create a vast amount of interest and crowd appeal: the Exhibition Competition and the Professional Team Match. In 2005 two new categories were introduced: the British Rising Star Amateur Ballroom and Latin Competitions. In the 2011 Blackpool Dance Festival, there were 2843 entries in the 12 events, 6 Ballroom Formation Teams and 12 Latin Formation Teams.

There are several other notable ballroom dance competitions that are held regularly in Blackpool, including the World Professional Dancesport Championship which has been held in Blackpool several times in recent years. Other annual ballroom competitions include the Junior Blackpool Dance Festival, the Blackpool Freestyle Championship, the Blackpool Sequence Dance Festival, and the British National Dance Championships. But the most well attended, most famous ballroom dance competition is the Blackpool Dance Festival - the dream and the goal for so many competitive ballroom dancers.

So go to those ballroom dance lessons, listen to your dance coach. Learn to dance the most graceful Viennese Waltz, give the most fantastic promenade in your Tango, and dance a flawless Quickstep. Practice, dance, and enjoy yourself!

Perhaps one day you too will stand in breathless wonder on the gleaming parquet dance floor of the Empress Ballroom, waiting for the first bars of your music, looking into your partner's equally star-filled gaze... and you'll dance in the Blackpool Dance Festival.