Entries & Payment

  • Entries are accepted on a first come/first served basis, and are limited to performance time available. Soar Competition & Convention reserves the right to add additional competition days or move the competition location if necessary.
  • Independent entrees are not accepted.
  • All entries must include payment in full. Form of payments accepted include Venmo, Zelle (look this up if you have not heard of it, it is the safest, most secure payment option available.) SINGLE check, money order, certified check, or cashier’s check. (All payments made less than 21 days before the event, MUST be made digitally through Zelle or Venmo, or by Cashier Check.
  • Registration is on line. Please see our registration page for details. You may edit, add or delete entries until we lock the event. You will receive an email a day or two before that happens, encouraging you to check your entries for accuracy. Schedules are normally sent out on the Wednesday of the week before the event. (Nine days before the event, not two days before.) NO CHANGES WILL BE PERMITTED AT THE COMPETITION.
  • There will be a service charge of $30.00 for any check returned by a bank for any reason, and all future payments from that individual or studio will have to be in the form of a money order, cashier’s check or credit card. If payment has not been received by the competition date, the dancer(s) will not be allowed to perform.
  • No refunds will be made for any reason. Credits for future competitions or conventions will be issued only for medically excused dancers.


Entry Divisions

  • Soar Competition & Convention has five Divisions:
    Shining Star, All Star, Superstar, Adult and Soaring Stars
  • Studio Owners must select the appropriate division in the Registration system for each dance.
  • The Shining Star Division is for dancers who take 3 or fewer hours of dance per week and have limited or no competition experience. A Shining Star dancer may compete in no more than one solo and five group dances. (NO Super Star dancers may compete in group dances in this division. The presence of even one Super Star dancer will cause a Shining Star entry to automatically be bumped up to All Star.) All Star is for dancers who take between 3 and 5 hours of dance per week. A dancer in this division may compete in no more than two solos and no more than 8 group dances. All Star dancers may compete in group dances in both the Shining Star and Super Star divisions. Super Star is for dancers who take 5 or more hours of dance per week. There is no limit as to how many dance they may appear in, but remember that no Superstar level dancer may appear in a Shining Star entry.
    Placement should be made based on the highest recent level of training. If an older dancer goes from dancing ten hours a week to only taking tap one hour per week and doing a tap solo, they would still enter as Superstar, not Shining Star! Dancers may compete UP in division, but not down. In other words, we do not REQUIRE those dancing less than three hours a week to enter the Shining Star Division – it is the studio’s option. But those dancing 4 hours per week may NOT enter as Shining Star. If the judges feel that a piece is obviously placed in the wrong division, they have the right to move it as they see fit.
  • For dances that include dancers from more than one Division, the dance will be placed in the Division in which the most dancers in the entry are placed. If the split is even, they will be placed in the higher Division. (A Duo with one Shining Star Dancer and one All Star Dancer would be placed in All Star, for example.) Studios may opt to place a dance in a Division higher than the one calculated by the system, but they may not compete down a level.
  • The Soaring Star Division is a very special program for Special Needs Dancers. We invite any studios with Special Needs students of any sort to share our stage, free of charge. We know from personal experience that these dancers share the joy of dance as passionately as anyone can, and we are honored to allow them to share that passion with us. There are no rules -- we leave it up to the teachers and parents to tell us what accommodations are needed. Dances may be announced simply as "For Performance Only" if so desired.
  • The Adult Division is self-explanatory. The dance CAN be a mixture of parents and students, but if there are any adults in a piece at all, (Ages 20 and up) it will be placed in the Adult Division.


Categories

 

  • Each entry will fall in one of the following categories: Solo, Duo/Trio, Small Group (4-9 performers), Large Group (10-16 performers), Line (17-24 performers), or Production (25 or more performers),
  • TIME LIMITS: We do not have time limits. Why? Well, at the request of several studios, we had added the "extended time" option. But this left a bad taste in our mouths -- you should not be able to PAY to break a rule! What's next, $10 per extra "trick"? It has worked well so far, and as long as studios do not start showing up with ten minute solos, we'll keep with it!


Age Groupings

  • Mini: Under 5 years old
  • Super-Petite: 5-6 years
  • Petite: 7-8 years
  • Junior: 9-10 years
  • Tween: 11-12 years
  • Teen: 13-15 years
  • Senior: 16-19 years
  • Adult: 20+ (Adult Category-see note below)

Age Cut Off: For both Regionals and Nationals, dancers are placed by their age as of January 1 of that season. For group dances, ages are averaged and anything to the right of the decimal point is dropped.


Age Bump Rule: For Duos, Trios, Small Groups and Large Groups that include dancers from different age groups, the entry will be placed by our system one age group beneath the age group of the oldest dancer in the entry, regardless of the average age of the dance. For Lines and Productions, which often include all dancers from a studio, age is determined by averaging the ages of all participants in the dance. We know that these dances often include every dancer from a studio, and applying a "bump rule" would often cause those entries to be scheduled much too late at night for your 5 year olds!

Adult Category:
Any dance that includes a performer 20 years or older is placed in the Adult division.

If a question should arise concerning the age of a contestant, a birth certificate must be provided at the competition as proof of age. All protests must be presented in writing within 30 minutes of the incident to the competition director.


Performance Categories

Acrobatic – Should incorporate dance, floor gymnastic moves and acrobatic stunts. No gymnastics equipment is allowed

Ballet – A dance consisting of classical steps and ballet technique.
Character – A dance in which an easily recognizable character is portrayed throughout. You may incorporate any form of dance, including acrobatics tricks or tumbling passes, but not more than 50% of the dance may be acrobatics.

Clogging – A dance performed in clogging shoes using clogging technique.

Contemporary – Lyrical or jazz movement infused with elements of modern.

Hip Hop - A dance which consists of the latest “street” dance styles, including funk, break, popping or any other terms they have made up by the time you read this!

Jazz – A dance consisting of classical jazz technique.

Lyrical – A dance that is interpretive in nature and features contemporary lyrical styles demonstrating balance, extension, isolations, and control.

Modern – A dance consisting of modern technique such as Graham, Horton or Limon.

Musical Theater - A piece featuring any style of dance interpreting a song from a “Broadway” or movie musical.

Open - This category is for any routine which falls into any of our performance categories, or any combination thereof, or any style of dance.
Pointe – A dance consisting of classical ballet technique wearing pointe shoes.

Pom Pon – Pom Pons must be used for at least 50% of the piece.

Tap – A dance comprised of tap technique. Tap shoes a must, and no tap sounds are allowed on the performance CD

Vocal - Routine may be any type of vocal presentation. Accompaniment must be on tape. No lead vocals permitted on tape, backup voices only will be permitted.


Prizes & Awards

Each Division will have their own Overalls. Overall winners in the Superstar Division receive a monetary award if there are five or more entries in a category. (Five Super Star Solos, ages 9-10, for example.) If there are less than five, there will be no monetary prize for that category. 

Prizes are awarded to the Dance Studio in the form of a Gift Certificate for the following season. Your routine must be completed to be eligible for overall awards, and you MUST perform within or before your award session. We will announce overall First through 10th place winners in each category and age division.

There will also be special judges awards and choreography awards, as well as various awards recognizing choreography, artistry, showmanship, technique and entertainment value.​



Scoring

The manner and method of judging will be solely within the discretion of the judging panel. Each routine will receive a video critique from each judge.
Awards are based on placement within your category and age group.

Deductions:

  • 5 point deduction: for not being ready when your number is called
  • 10 point deduction: for violation of rule regarding tricks. (See Below)
  • 20 point deduction: if tap sounds are on tape in tap category
  • 20 point deduction: if lead vocals are on tape in vocal category
  • 20 point deduction: for coaching from backstage or audience
  • 25 point deduction: for inappropriate lyrics - no profanity or racial slurs

  • TRICKS
    A “trick” shall be defined as any movement that involves both feet passing over the head: cartwheel, aerial, back handspring, back tuck, etc...
    No Tricks or Acro Passes are Allowed in, Ballet, Pointe, Vocal.
    Three Tricks Allowed: (But no Tumbling Passes, as tricks should be incorporated into choreography) Tap, Jazz, Modern, Lyrical and Contemporary.
    Unlimited Tricks Allowed: Acrobatic, Open, Hip-Hop, Musical Theatre, Pom Pon and Character.
    If your whole group is doing an acrobatic trick in unison, it will be counted as one trick.


Possible Disqualifications

  • Filming a dance – See “General Rule” #2 below.
  • Un-sportsmanlike behavior – See “General Rule” #5 below.
  • Inappropriate Dance, Music or Costume – See “General Rule” #6
    below.
  • “Run-offs” or incomplete routines will be allowed a second attempt, but this will be for adjudication only and the routine will not be eligible for High Score Awards.
  • Challenges – Any studio wishing to challenge a dance based on number of tricks, possible participation of teachers or professionals, or any other rule violation must bring their complaint to the Event Director within 30 minutes of the end of the dance in question.

General Rules

1. Smoking is prohibited at all events sponsored by Soar Competition & Convention. Also, food & drink is forbidden in all auditoriums and theaters. We are guests at each location, after all. Studio Owners, please make your families aware of this rule, as well as those below.

2. Video recording and photography are strictly prohibited! If any cameras or video equipment are seen in use in the competition auditorium, the dance will be stopped and Soar Competition & Convention reserves the right to erase the contents of the media being used and remove the person involved from the auditorium. Repeat offenses may result in studio disqualification. Our contract with Dance Bug insists on these rules.

3. By entering this competition, all dancers give their permission to Soar Competition & Convention to use their photographs or video in connection with advertising, promotions or news coverage of our competitions without further authorization or compensation. We will not identify any dancer by name without written permission from that dancer’s parent or guardian. All dancers should be advised by their Studio Owners that the event is filmed by Dance Bug. Those not wishing to be to be filmed have the option of not performing, but there will be no refunds.

4. Freestanding props are permitted, but live animals, fire, pyrotechnics of any kind, swords, knives, and guns are all forbidden. Use of any may result in the disqualification of that dance. No fog machines or extra lighting or sound equipment will be allowed either.

5. Sportsmanlike behavior is expected at all times. Failure to display proper decorum by any student, parent or teacher, either in the auditorium, dressing room, or any other location, could result in immediate disqualification and dismissal from the premises with no refunds issued.

6. Soar Competition & Convention strives to be a family-oriented event, and any dance that is overtly sexual or lewd in nature, promotes violence or bigotry, or includes inappropriately revealing costumes may be scored down at the discretion of the judges.

7. Any questions regarding routines should be brought to the attention of the show director by teacher or studio director only.

8. No one will be allowed to perform out of order except when there is a costume change issue, which must be verified by the director or stage manager. We attempt to schedule at least 10 minutes between each performers dances for costume changes. Performers must be ready to perform when their number is called. Please be prepared to perform one hour before your scheduled time in the event that we run ahead of schedule. If performers are not backstage when their dance is called, and the stage manager has not been notified, a warning will be issued. Repeat offenses will result in disqualification of dances. This rule is not aimed at forcing quick costume changes -- it is aimed at studios that choose to have their dancers rehearsing in the hallways when they are supposed to be on stage!

9. Soar Competition & Convention and the hosting facility are not responsible for personal injury or loss.