Competitions

Introduction

Our USA Dance chapter holds competitions so that dancers can enjoy the challenge and excitement of a competiton environment. Our competitions are amateur-only , i.e. you and your partner must both be amateurs. Local dance professionals serve as judges for our competitions.

Requirements

You must have a current membership in USA Dance to participate in our competitions. USA Dance has membership categories for both Social (recreational) and Athlete (competition) dancers. Because our competitions are not officially sanctioned, we allow dancers in any membership category to participate. Note that you will need an "Athlete" membership if you wish to compete in sanctioned events elsewhere. To find out more or to become a USA Dance member, visit the USA Dance Membership page.

Dance Styles and Skill Levels

Dance Styles include American Smooth, American Rhythm, International Standard, and International Latin.

Skill levels, in order of increasing proficiency, are: Newcomer, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Novice, Pre-Championship, and Championship.

Please note that Gold and below levels are restricted to Syllabus (fixed dance figures), while Novice and above are Open (no fixed figures) levels. Syllabus skill levels also have costume (dress-code) restrictions.

You can dance in two skill levels in a given Style, but they must be consecutive. For example, you can dance in American Smooth Bronze and Silver, but not American Smooth Bronze and Gold. However, you can dance in American Smooth Bronze and Silver, and also dance in International Latin Silver and Gold, because these are different Styles.

For more info, visit the Guide For New Competitors page.

Age Categories

Age categories are: Preteen I (9 years old and under), Preteen II (10-11), Junior I (12-13), Junior II (14-15), Youth, Adult (19-34), Senior I (35-44), Senior II (45-54), and Senior III (55 and over). Anyone can compete in the Adult (19-34) group. Dancers under 19 can compete in any age category older than their age, up to Adult. Those older than 34 can compete in any age category younger than their age, down to Adult. For our competitions, you can dance in two age categories, but they must be consecutive, e.g. Adult and Senior I. Your USA Dance membership card shows your age category.

Event Registration

You can register for a competiton on-line (preferred method) or by mail. This site will show a link to on-line registration when it becomes available, usually about one month before the competition date. This site will also have info about how to register by mail.