Rules & Regulations
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(Rev 8/24)
Rules & Regulations
The Indiana State Dance Championships requires that all performers and their parents read and agree to abide by these rules and regulations. Please make these rules available to all participants.
PLEASE NOTE: Dance is a "PERFORMING ART" and requires performance opportunities for educational purposes, incentive to rehearse and to improve performance skills. It is our first priority to give each child a comfortable and successful learning experience regardless of their final placement. We hope that as teachers and parents you will discuss the importance of the "performance", not the "score". Only you know what that individual child has truly accomplished through their performance, the growth they have shown and the preparation that it required. We firmly believe DANCE IS NOT A SPORT but an ART! We at the ISDC do our very best to emphasize that everyone who gives their best performance is a WINNER! We applaud the effort - not the outcome!
General Rules and Procedures:
- Entry is processed online, through the DanceBug Platform. Click the link and login, or create an account to submit your ISDC entries.
- All entries and fees must be received by the final deadline, which is 21 days/3 weeks prior to the competition event date. Entries will be accepted after that date only if space permits.
- Receive the best price on entry by submitting your registration by the posted early bird dates.
- Directors should contact ISDC for pricing. We do not post pricing publicly.
- Entry Fees must be paid by studio check or online/digital payment.
Mail checks to the ISDC Office: 5375 E. Thompson Rd. Suite F Indianapolis, IN 46237. - Communication is conducted to the studio email provided with registration Make sure it is complete and accurate.
- Each entry will be identified by a performance order number, followed by an assigned studio identification code. Performance schedules come approximately 2 weeks prior to the event. \
- Any requests for scheduling should be submitted from the studio during registration, from Studio Directors/Representatives only. Scheduling requests cannot be guaranteed and must be made prior to release of the schedule to be adequately considered and accommodated fairly.
- The auditorium and front desk will open at least 30 minutes before the first scheduled performance.
- A Studio Representative should check in at the Registration Table upon your arrival at the event to pick up your studio packet for the weekend.
- Competitors must be ready when their number is announced. Any excessive delays could result in disqualification. Entries should be back stage five numbers before their own.
- If you will require a microphone for your performance, please contact the ISDC office to confirm availability at the venue. Availability is not guaranteed.
- Students may participate in the competition, the workshops or both.
Music Submission:
- Music should be digitally uploaded to ISDC via Dancebug. Bring a backup drive or device with you on competition day.
- Music must be uploaded by the Tuesday before the event.
- To submit a USB drive @ the event: Files names should match this format: entry#_dance title.mp3. ie: 007_Dancing in the Streets.mp3. Make sure titles match the registration submission. Standard music file formats are accepted. All music for the studio should be delivered by the Director or One representative, to the sound table at least thirty minutes prior to the start of the event or one hour prior to your first scheduled performance time.
Scoring:
- will be as follows: High First Place (95-100 points), First Place (90-94 points), High Second Place (85-89 points), Second Place (80-84 points), High Third Place (75-79 points), Third Place (70-74 points), and Honorable Mention (60-69 points).
- Judges will give one overall impression score to each entry, using this scoring table. Scores are based 40% on performers technical proficiency, 40% on performance quality and 20% on composition, creativity and appropriateness of the work presented. In the case of a tie, judges will break the tie.
- In all cases, the decision of the judges will be final. Concerns, questions or suggestions must be made in writing and submitted to the director.
Critiques:
- Digital critiques will be managed by Video Judge. You will create a studio log in to access and share critiques with your students.
- Our mission is to provide helpful, insightful and encouraging feedback, gently delivered while being comprehensive and audible. Critiques will cover dancer’s technique and performance quality as well as the content appropriateness and choreographic elements.
- Critiques come for every entry, from all three vetted and highly qualified judges. Our systems include quality checks for any human or technological issues that may hinder your reception of the best critiques possible.
- In the event of extreme circumstances, lost critiques may occur. In this case, paper or re-recorded critiques will be supplied whenever possible.
Props & Scenery:
- Handheld props and stage scenery are allowed.
- All items and scenery must be fully placed and removed by the studio/performer’s staff/crew. Any debris left behind must be quickly removed.
- Set up and removal has a 2 minute time limit.
- Please contact ISDC prior to the event to request clearance on any special circumstances or situations for which you are unsure.
- Prohibited: discharge or throwing of items that can affect the flooring surface, including, but not limited to glitter, sparkles, aerosols, powder, paint, fake snow, etc. Live animals are not allowed. Dangerous props such as swords, fireworks, guns, knives, etc are not allowed.
Age categories:
- Minis: 6 yrs and under; Petites: 7-9 yrs; Juniors: 10-12 yrs; Teens: 13-15 yrs; Seniors: 16-19 yrs Adults: 20+ yrs
- All placements are determined by the participants’ age on January 1 of the event year.
- Group, duet and trio Age Group is determined by the average age of all the contestants. If .5 or higher remains in the average, the entry goes into the next highest Age Group.
Competition Levels:
ISDC offers two performance levels. Competitive and Performance Only.
- Competitive: This level is for any dancers who want to be scored and ordered in the competition. These students/groups are likely part of your competition team and attend classes or extra rehearsals with an intention of competing. This distinction is not based on age, entry count or hours in the studio.
- Performance Only: This level is for those wanting to receive judges commentary, but not wishing to “compete.” This is to be used as an educational performance opportunity, open to any level dancer who wishes only to perform, and receive feedback, with no scoring. This level exists so that you may offer students an additional, affordable opportunity to perform on stage or to allow students to “try out” competition in a friendly, no stress experience. These entries do not receive a score. They do receive a critique and a participation memento award.
Dance Styles:
- Acrobatic routines must incorporate acrobatic skills with dance movement and should not consist entirely of "gymnastic passes".
- Lyric, Modern, Contemporary category entries should demonstrate balance, extension, isolation, and control using contemporary, lyrical or modern styles.
- In Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Song and Dance, and Lyric, Modern & Contemporary routines, any more than three gymnastic or acrobatic combos will result in a .5 point deduction. (Splits and deep arches are not considered acrobatic skills.)
- For Song & Dance voice recording is not allowed on the music. A .5 deduction will be taken. ISDC does not guarantee a wireless microphone, please contact the office prior to the event to confirm availability.
- In the Tap Category, No pre-recorded taps are allowed. A .5 deduction will be taken.
- Routines may be entered in Open if they do not fit neatly into one specific genre.
- Pointe is a dance performed with the dancer(s) on pointe shoes.
Young Choreographer Category: This Add-on division may be entered for routines with a student choreographer, wishing to receive additional feedback and a choreography score from the judges.
- All general rules for adjudication apply.
- In addition, all choreography must be the exclusive work of the choreography contestant only!
- Contestants should submit a report or notebook with information about their musical choices, what they hoped to accomplish, costuming design, their goals as a choreographer and any other pertinent information they wish to share about their work with the judges. Turn this in when your studio checks in for the event/day. These will be submitted to the judges prior to the performance for their perusal. While not required, this does demonstrate organizational qualities necessary to the accomplished choreographer and give the judges insight to help better adjudicate the performance,
- Choreographers are not required to perform their work themselves. They may use any number of dancers they wish.
- Enter this piece like any other piece, and also add the Young Choreographer category/checkbox in your DanceBug registration. There is a $50 add-on fee for this division.
Group Divisions & Time Limits:
- Solo: One (1) Dancer. (3 mins) A soloist may enter no more than 4 solos, with no two entries in the same style.
- Individuals with two or more solo entries will automatically be entered into the All-Around Title Competition, for no additional charge. (see section 9 below)
- Duet/Trio: 2-3 Dancers. (3 mins)
- Small Group: 4-8 Dancers. (4 mins)
- Large Group: 9-15 Dancers. (5 mins)
- Super Group: 16+ Dancers (5 mins)
- Production Group: 10+ dancers with a lengthened time frame to allow for multiple group staging and storytelling elements or thematic structure (8 mins)
- Maximum extended time limit is 8 minutes. For Productions- 10 mins.
Awards:
Adjudication Awards will be presented to each participating entry.
- Soloist entry will receive an adjudication level trophy.
- Group dancers will receive a coordinating adjudication award pin for each participant.
- A top score will be announced when there are at least 4 entries.
- A top three will be announced when there are at least 8 entries.
- When there are 14 or more entries a top five will be announced.
- With 20+ entries a top ten will be announced.
- If not enough entries exist for a High Score Award to be recognized, ISDC reserves the right to combine logical divisions to award a high score.
- High score awards for soloists are awarded to the top dancers, not top routines. ie- A dancer with multiple solos will only be awarded once. Awards may be trophies, plaques, medals and/or certificates.
Studio Participation Plaque: Each studio will be presented with a participation plaque to commemorate their attendance at the event.
Overall Title Competition:
- Contestants competing for a "Mr. or Miss Dance Title" must compete in at least 2 solo categories. All entrants with 2+ solos will automatically be entered into the Overall Title competition. Students entering more than 2 solos will have their lowest scores discarded and the remaining two scores averaged for their overall final score.
- There is no additional fee for our Overall Soloist Competition.
- If a competitor is the only one in the Overall division, the title will only be awarded if the averaged score is 92 or higher.
- Overall Dancer Competition takes place in these age divisions: Petite (7-9), Junior (10-12), Teen (13-15) and Senior (16-19)
Photography & Videography:
- For the safety and privacy of our performers, protection of intellectual property, and respect for our contracted media company, NO photography or video is allowed to be taken in the theater of/during performances. We ask studios to make sure your participants are aware of this policy, understand why it exists and adhere to it.