Objective of the study is to substantiate the importance of assessing coordination abilities as a key criterion for selecting children at the stage of initial training in the Latin American dance sports program. Methods and structure of the study. The study was conducted on the basis of the Huainan Art School "Shiji". 40 children (7-10 years old) took part in it the initial training stages, which were divided into experimental (EG, n=20) and control (KG, n=20) groups, comparable in baseline level. Results of the study and discussion. A survey of specialists showed that coordination and motor skills are the most important selection criterion. The average importance score was 4.87±0.35 out of 5, which corresponds to the first rank among all the proposed criteria. This article examines the problem of substantiating the selection criteria at the stage of initial training for those involved in dance sports in the Latin American program. Based on the analysis of scientific and methodological literature, an expert survey of specialists (n=15) and the results of a pedagogical experiment (n=40), it is proved that coordination and balance are the priority criteria for the prospects of dancers. It is concluded that it is necessary to move from the traditional assessment of general physical fitness to a multifunctional profile, where coordination abilities play a system-forming role.