What is in a Dance Competition?
A dance competition allows dancers to show and compare their skills with other dancers at a similar level. A competition consists of many events, each of which is targeted at a particular skill level. Each competitor is required to perform one or more dances from a given division. As competitors move up a skill level, they are required to perform additional dances in the respective category. Not all skill levels or divisions are offered at all competitions.

Who can compete in a Dance Competition?
Any dancer registered with USA Dance as a competitor may enter in a dance competition. In most events, dancers compete as couples. However, some events such as formation team competitions are performed by teams of dancers. Others, such as the "Jack & Jill" competitions are NOT limited to competitive dancers. In a Jack & Jill event, participants enter individually and their partners are chosen by a blind draw to compete in a single-dance event.

What are the events in a Competition?

How are the events judged?
During the event, up to seven judges will rank the dance couples based on their skills, presentation, and showmanship. Scores from all the judges are combined to obtain the final standings. Adjudication is a subjective process (to say the least) and that is why several judges are used to ensure fairness.

Depending on the number of entries, competitors may be required to compete in a series of elimination rounds (n^th round, quarter and semi-final) until six couples are recalled for the final round by the judges. During the final round, the top placements are determined.

What about Social Dancers?
Some competitions will have general dancing. These intermissions allow social dancers to stretch their legs and share the floor with the competitors, (It's amazing how much your dancing improves just watching the great dancers!). Don't be afraid to join in, competitive dancers are also social dancers!

Most dance competitions feature amateur or professional showcases toward the end of the evening. These show cases are performed by some of the top ranked dancers. They are considered the highlight of the competition.

How to support your favorite Dancers?
During the competition, you will be seeing some lovely and inspiring dancing. Beautiful movement to music is one of life's great joys! Applause is much appreciated anytime during the event. So don't be afraid to clap, yell and call out the number of your favorite couple. We invite you to play "judge" during the competition and see if you agree with the judges results. So sit back and experience this wonderful visual and aural delight.

We hope this brochure provides you with some insights to dance competitions. If you have any questions (we hope you do), or would like information on how to get started with dancing or where to dance, please feel free to ask any of the USA Dance officers. Have a wonderful time and we hope to see you again.

International Standard - A style of dancing in which couples must remain in closed dance position.

Scrutineer - A certified dance official who tabulates the judges scores from the competitive events.

General Dancing - The portion of the program when the dance floor is open to the audience for social dancing.

Showcase - An unjudged dance exhibition.

Theatre Arts/Cabaret - A special type of artistic exhibition dancing characterized by lift and drop movements in the dance routines.

Night Club Dances - Dances designed to be danced in a club or on a small dance floor.

USA Dance holds annual National and Regional Championship competitions and supports a University Dance Network of Ballroom Dancers and Competitions. In addition to governing Amateur Dance Sport, USA Dance also actively promotes social ballroom dancing through nationally coordinated events such as "National Ballroom Dance Week" and "Affair of the Heart."

USA Dance members are served by their local chapters. The Northern California chapter of USA Dance is called "USA Dance NorCal." Our chapter holds one high quality, low cost Amateur Dance Competition per year. At this competition, we hold competitive events for all levels of dancing--from social level to the Championship level. Professionally taught workshops and Professional showcases are often featured at these events. Aside from our competitive events, USA Dance NorCal hosts monthly "USA Dance Night Out" dances for social dances. USA Dance NorCal also publishes a quarterly newsletter to keep our members informed of upcoming events and news.