Competitions

General Rules

All competitions are $20 to enter (pre-reg or at the door on Friday night). Open will be limited to 40 competitors. Advanced will be limited to 25 competitors.

Detailed Guidelines

These criteria are in order of importance as they will be weighted by our judges.

• Jazz Movement Aesthetic: The best thing you can do in any of our competitions is dance jazz. Our judges will be primarily looking for fundamentals of authentic jazz movement such as athletic posture, grounded movement, pulse, and swing along with polyrhythms and polycentrism.
• Musicality: All of your dancing should come from the music. Regardless of the style you dance, our judges will be looking for your dynamic, improvisational, playful responses to the music. We want to see not only what moves you decide to do but how you decide to do those moves. Let the music drive your movement.
• Creativity: Show us your personal style and playfulness! If you can confidently express your musicality in an aesthetic grounded in jazz, we invite you to show off your personal flair or wider influences. We want to see your innovative, creative, and personal stylings driven by the music and using solid technique.

General Schedule

Both the Open Level and Advanced Level will have Prelims on Friday night. Open will occur at the first band break, and Advanced at the second band break, each dancing to DJ’ed music. Finals will occur during band sets on Saturday night, dancing to live music!

Open vs Advanced

Open level is for anyone who has not placed at a regional or national solo jazz competition. If you have placed you are disqualified and must compete in Advanced.