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NATIONALS - COMPETITION

Who Qualifies For Nationals

All dancers are welcome to partake in Nationals.  Dancers can participate in the full Nationals experience including the completion, or attend the convention-only portion.  Competition will start with preliminary rounds which will determine who will get to perform again at the Finals on the last day.  (more info) .   During our 2023 & 2024 regional tours, select dancers will receive a special invitation to perform in the FINALS OPENING NUMBER.  These invitations are awarded to "Studio Standouts" and "Title Winners".  (more info)

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Competition Catagories

Entry Type & Time Limits:

  • Solo (1 performer) - 3:00 minutes

  • Duo / Trio (2 to 3 dancers) - 3:00 minutes

  • Small Group  (4 to 9 dancers) - 3:30 minutes

  • Large Group  (10 to 17 dancers) - 4:00 minutes

  • Line Group (18+ dancers) - 5:00 minutes

  • Productions Groups (18+ dancers) - 10:00 minutes

**Time limits include entrances and exits and set-up and teardown for any props that are pre-set. Studios may pre-purchase 1 additional minute of time for any Group for $5 per dancer or 2 additional minutes of time for any Group for $10 per dancer.  For any Groups that require more than two minutes of extended time, you must request a performance slot after a scheduled break.

 

Levels:

Two levels of competition will be offered:

  • Competitive Level (Intermediate)

    • Recommended for: Dancers with 1 year + of competition experience.

    • Typical scoring range: 84 to 92.99

  • Elite Level (Advanced)

    • Recommended for:  Dancers training 6+ hours weekly in technique classes or considered an advanced dancer in their specialized genre.  (Example:  HIP HOP artist)  

    • Typical scoring range: 90 - 100

**Novice level will not be offered at Nationals

How Level Placements Work At SUMMIT:

  • Studios will assign each dancer a level in the system when entering that dancer's information.

  • Solos… Solo levels are automatically generated to match the level their studio has assigned them.

  • Duos/Trios and Groups… the registration system will provide a level placement based on what the studio has assigned each dancer. This is how it works:

    • Each level has an associated numeric value:  Novice = 1, Competitive = 2, Elite = 3

    • Our system uses the average points of a group to determine level placing: 

    • Example... In a small group, you have Four Elite Dancers (4 dancers x 3 = 12) and Two Competitive Dancers (2 dancers x 2 = 4). The recommended level of this group would be Elite as the numeric value of Elite dancers is greater than the numeric value of competitive dancers.

 

Age Divisions

  • Petite - Ages 9 & Under

  • Junior - Ages 10 to 12

  • Teen - Ages 13 to 14

  • Senior - Ages 15 to 19

  • Adult - Ages 20 & Over

**Ages for Solos, Duet/Trios, and Groups are as of January 1st.

**For Duet/Trios and Groups, age is averaged and drop the decimal.

 

Awards

Competition Awards:  All entries will be entered and compete in the same categories as our regionals events with awards presented to all by score as well as judges choice, and up to the TOP 10 for each category.  

  • Adjudication Awards

  • Judges Choice Awards

  • Top 10 Overall Awards

(Please see our regionals awards section on our website for further info)

 

National Final Round Awards:  Additional bonus event at Nationals! 

(In addition to our regular competition format, Nationals will have an added “FINALS” competition.)

  • Finals: Soloists

    • Petite National Solo Title  (9 & Under Competitive or Elite)

    • Junior National Solo Title  (10-12yrs Competitive or Elite)

    • Teen National Solo Title  (13-14yrs Competitive or Elite)

    • Senior National Solo Title (15 & Over Competitive or Elite) 

      • Soloists must have a minimum of 2 solos to qualify for finals.

      • The 5 soloists with the highest average score for their top 2 solos will recompete in the Finals.

  • Finals: Duo/Trios

    • Junior National Duo/Trio Championship  (12 & Under Competitive or Elite)

    • Senior National Duo/Trio Championship (13 & Over Competitive or Elite)

      • The Top 5 Highest Scoring Duo/Trios will advance to Finals.

      • Note: Should a studio have more than one Duo/Trio scoring in the top 5 in the same age division, with one or more of the same dancers in both entries, only the Duo/Trio with the highest score will advance to finals.

  • Finals: Small Groups

    • Junior National Small Group Championship  (12 & Under Competitive or Elite)

    • Senior National Small Group Championship (13 & Over Competitive or Elite)

      • The Top 5 Highest Scoring Small Groups will advance to Finals.

      • Note: Should a studio have more than one group scoring in the top 5 in the same age division, with one or more of the same dancers in both entries, only the highest-scoring group will advance to finals.

  • Finals: Large & Line Groups

    • Junior National Large/Line Group Championship  (12 & Under Competitive or Elite)

    • Senior National Large/Line Group Championship (13 & Over Competitive or Elite)

      • The Top 5 Highest Scoring Large or Line Groups will advance to Finals.

      • Note: Should a studio have more than one group scoring in the top 5 in the same age division, with one or more of the same dancers in both entries, only the highest-scoring group will advance to finals..

  • Finals Award Recognitions 

  • 4th Runner Up, 3rd Runner Up, 2nd Runner Up, 1st Runner Up, 

  • National Champion Crowned

 

Qualifying Finalists will be announced during the week at the conclusion of each category at that award ceremony and posted in the lobby. Teachers from the qualifying studios will have a pre-show meeting the night prior (meeting time and place will be listed on the week’s competition schedule) to determine the order of performance by draw, review competition guidelines, and enjoy celebratory champagne cheers for making it through to this championship event!

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