Founded in 1957 as the International Council of Amateur Dancers (ICAD), it took the name IDSF in 1990.

[1] 77 of them are full members while 20 are provisional members:[4] Associate Member: World Rock'n'Roll Confederation The WDSF is not the only international organisation in the field of competitive dance: the World Dance Council (WDC) is another prominent international dance organisation.

In the past, the WDC focus was on administering professional dancers and competitions.

However, the launch of the WDC Amateur League in 2007[8] put the two organisations in direct conflict.

The launch of the IDSF Professional Division in 2010 has since become an additional point of conflict.