COMPETITIONS

MEDALLIST COMPETITIONS

The ISTD (and other societies such as the IDTA and UKA) operate a series of area medallist competitions in Ballroom/Latin, Ballroom/Latin/Old Time and Disco/Freestyle/Rock'n'Roll.  These are held at various intervals throughout the year at a variety of venues across the North of  England, as well as the opportunity to attend several events further afield.

Pupils are only able to compete in the area medallist events if they are current medallists of the relevant exam board.  Therefore if you wish to attend a Ballroom/Latin event in the 12 months prior to the competition you must have taken at least 1 Ballroom exam and 1 Latin exam.  To attend an Old Time competition you must have taken at least 1 Old Time exam and optionally 1 Modern and/or Latin Sequence exam.  To attend the Disco/Freestyle/Rock'n'Roll events you must have taken at least 1 Disco (solo) exam and 1 Rock'n'Roll exam.  These rules apply each year, so you cannot just take 1 exam and think that you will still be eligible in 3 years time. 

The idea of the Area Medallist events is that they are for medallists, not open competitors therefore it is strongly emphasised that it is the dancing that is being marked and not the costume, and there are numerous rules applicable to each type of competition, which vary according to the grade of exam and the age of the pupil (please ask Debbie for more comprehensive details).  These rules apply to both dress and footwear.   Depending on student interest, it may also be possible to start attending Area Medallist competitions for other societies, for example, IDTA.

CLOTHES/FOOTWEAR

In order to ensure that nobody from Ballroom Blitz runs the risk of either being disqualified or not marked through in to another round because they are incorrectly dressed, there is a strict dress code in operation.  This means that in terms of footwear girls under the age of 12 dancing in Ballroom/Latin/Old Time events may only wear low heeled shoes such as the Regulation Silver Strip  Sandals. Boys (any age) and Girls/Ladies over the age of 12 are advised to speak to Debbie for individual advice because the type of shoe that is most appropriate for you will vary according to your age, grade and physical build.  In terms of clothes, girls/ladies may choose from the school colours of Black, Burgundy and White.  For Ballroom/Latin/Old Time competitions they may either wear a school Ballroom dress, or have one made (at your own expense), which fits the school's policy (again please speak to Debbie before you have any dresses made).  For Latin you may choose from a leotard and skirt (must be the same colour) - the skirts of varying lengths and styles. All juveniles (girls under 12) must wear white ankle socks for Ballroom, Latin and Old Time.

For Disco you can choose from a selection of leotards, crop top sets (various styles of top), crop top and shorts or catsuits - but what you are allowed to wear for the line dance is not always the same as for the solo (depending on your grade), so again please check with Debbie before you buy anything.  For Rock'n'Roll the choice of attire is up to you.  For Disco up to and including Bronze black or white jazz shoes only may be worn.  For RnR glitter jazz shoes may be worn.  For Disco competitions girls are also advised to wear Danskin shimmer tights.

FREQUENCY OF COMPETITIONS

The North East Area Medallist Competitions are held in Ballroom/Latin, which may also include Old Time, at the following times: September/October at Wakefield; March at Wakefield and June at Middleton. 

The DFR competitions are held in March at Manchester, April at Wakefield and September at Wakefield or Scunthorpe.

The Ballroom/Latin Grand Finals are held over a weekend towards the end of November at Blackpool, and the DFR Grand Finals are held usually on the 3rd Sunday of October at Guildford.

STRUCTURE OF COMPETITIONS

The competitions are divided into age groups, for example: Under 6; Under 8; Under 10 (DFR only); Under 12; Under 14 (DFR only); Under 16; and various Adult age groups.  The competitions within each age group are then separated into medal grades, for example: SDT/Pre-Bronze; Bronze; Silver/Gold; Gold Star/Awards - these may vary according to the age group.  Therefore you will usually only be dancing against people of a similar age and ability level to yourself. 

Each competition will have several rounds (depending on the number of entries in each event) and each round may have a series of heats.  For example if there were 50 children entered in one competition the first round would probably have 4 heats  (ie 12 or 13 children dancing at a time), then say 40 children would be recalled to the next round and so on until reaching a Semi-Final of 12 and ultimately a Final of 6.  All children who reach the final would then receive a trophy or plaque and will be placed in order from 1 (the winner) to 6.  Therefore the larger the number of competitors in each individual competition the more likely you are to have to dance (if you are lucky enough to get through from one round to the next) several times. 

In Ballroom/Latin/Old Time events for the solo competitions pupils may dance with either Debbie or another Teacher or pupil from Ballroom Blitz, this will depend on exactly how many pupils there are from Ballroom Blitz in each competition and each heat.  This varies depending on the society running the competitions. Debbie does not know this information in advance so partners have to be allocated quickly on the day when the heats are called, therefore not everybody will get to dance with Debbie, although she tries to be fair and dance with as many pupils as possible.     Therefore all pupils should assume that they will not be able to dance with Debbie and get accustomed to dancing with other pupils - their normal competition partner is actually the best partner that they can have. 

PRACTICE FOR COMPETITIONS

Your exam class will not normally provide you with sufficient practice for dancing at Area Medallist competitions, therefore if you would like to attend competitions, you are advised to have private lessons, either on a regular basis or intensively for a few weeks prior to the competition. You are advised to consult with Debbie first, to see whether there would be a partner available for you, so that you can consider sharing lessons with your competition partner.

If you wonder why pupils from other schools do so well, many of them have to have (they don't choose, it is a condition of them attending) at least 1 private lesson/week for solo work and 1 private lesson/week for couples work.

COUPLES

The partner that you are allocated will be your partner for the competition season and will only change if Debbie thinks there is a justifiable reason for change, eg new pupils joining the class, a growth spurt by one pupil etc.  By practising on a regular basis with a partner, your dancing should improve as well as your confidence.  It will also mean that you have the opportunity to dance in the Pairs/RnR sections at DFR competitions and in the couples sections at Ballroom/Latin events.

TICKETS FOR COMPETITIONS

Tickets usually have to be ordered several weeks in advance and paid for 1 week in advance.  Tickets are available for pupils (competing or non-competing) and spectators.  All people attending a competition have to pay the same ticket entry price regardless of whether they are dancing or not.  This is currently in the region of £8.50 per ticket (apart from Blackpool Grand Finals, which is a weekend event and the ticket price includes admission to the other attractions at BlackpoolTower).

TRANSPORT TO AND FROM COMPETITIONS

For local competitions pupils have to make their own way there.  For all other competitions Debbie will try to arrange transport where possible.  A contribution towards the cost of transport is paid for out of the school fundraising activities, where possible - but in order for there to be enough funds, you have to participate in the fundraising (eg buying drinks at classes, supporting the raffles on presentation night, supporting car boot sales/stalls etc).  Alternatively if there are insufficient funds available you will also have to pay for the cost of the transport, which for most          competitions would be in the region of £10-£20 per person (parent or child) this would obviously vary depending on the number of people attending. Alternatively pupils/parents may make their own transport arrangements.

ON THE DAY OF THE COMPETITION

• Depending on the competition venue, the bus may leave early (very very early) so be prepared.
• Remember all your clothes: shoes, leotards, trousers, dresses, RnR outfits etc.
• Dress in warm clothing that is suitable for you to put on in between rounds.
• We need to be at the venue at least 15 minutes before the doors open (this will usually be 8.45 am).
• The organisers allocate seats - you can't choose where to sit and we all have to sit together as a group - children at the front parents further back.
• You may need to take some pack-up with you - not all venues have food available for purchase.
• Take a towel with you to put across your knee whilst eating - otherwise we could have some very stained dancers.
• Everybody is expected to behave and keep together as a group - any damage to the venue has to be paid for by the dance schools.
• You need to keep listening to know when your competition is and whether you have been recalled into another round.
• Debbie (or other nominated person in charge) needs to know where you are at all times in case you have been recalled, so if you're going to the toilet or to the café etc then please let her know.
• When competitions are in progress walk round the edge of the floor to avoid any accidents (spectators and competitors).
• When you're dancing keep dancing - don't stop even if you go wrong, lose a shoe etc. (Anything that you lose eg shoes, hairpieces etc pick up at the end of the round).
• Take something quiet with you to do in case you start to get fed up - they are very long days.
• You are allowed to take cameras with you if you wish, but for some events you are only allowed to use them for the prize presentations.
• For Ballroom/Latin events you may use video recorders, but not for Disco/RnR competitions.
• Hair should be in a bun for Ballroom/Latin and a high ponytail for Disco (girls of course).
• Numbers should be worn on the front for any competition where you are dancing on your own and on the back for any competition where you are dancing with a partner.

MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL:

Behave yourself, Support each other (we're a school not a group of individuals); enjoy yourself and learn from the experience, then go home very tired so that you give your parents a rest!!

COMPETITION DAY STRUCTURE

BALLROOM/LATIN COMPETITIONS

• Warm Up
• Ballroom Solos
• Ballroom Couples
• Ballroom 5 Dance (if applicable)
• Old Time/Sequence (if applicable)
• Latin Solos
• Latin Couples
• Latin 5 Dance (if applicable)

Finish: Approx 6.00 - 7.00 pm

DISCO/ROCK'N'ROLL COMPETITIONS

• Warm Up
• Line Dance
• Pairs
• Team Section
• Rock’n’Roll
• Solos

Finish: any time up to 8.00 pm.  The above running order may vary. 

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