2025-26 Season

Competition Information

Everything you need to know about competing at DanceMakers. Review fees, time limits, age divisions, styles, and competition rules.

Fees & Time Limits

Category	Fee	Time	Dancers
Solo	$190	3:00	1
Duo/Trio	$90	3:00	2-3
Group	$70	3:00	4-9
Line	$70	4:00	10-15
Ext. Line	$70	5:00	16-24
Production	$70	6:00	25+

All fees are per dancer per routine.

You may purchase up to 3 additional minutes of time for any Group, Line, Extended Line, or Production for $5 per dancer, per additional minute. Please contact home office for this adjustment. A 5 point deduction will be taken if the time limit is exceeded.

Age Divisions

Division	Age
Senior	15+
Teen	13-14
Pre-Teen	10-12
Junior	7-9
Camp Dance	3-6

The age of the student is their age as of Jan 1, 2026.

Age of group is determined by adding students age together and dividing by the number of dancers in the routine. Disregard decimal points.

Performance Style

Ballet

Classical Ballet steps using slippers or pointe shoes including Classical or Pointe

Tap

Tap technique

Jazz

Any Jazz technique including up tempo music and movement

Lyrical

Lyrical technique with emphasis on the lyrics or mood of the music

Contemporary

Mix of styles with emphasis on Modern Technique, Ballet or Contemporary movement

Musical Theatre

Any performance utilizing the style or interpretation of Broadway, Musical Theatre or Hollywood choreography

Hip Hop

Hip Hop or street moves

Open

Combination of any of the above styles – A routine that includes 4 or more tricks (a trick is considered any movement when dancers feet go over their head).

Or Acro-Gymnastics – Novelty – Clogging – Ethnic – Pom-Poms – Ballroom.

Adjudication Only

Entries that wish to perform for adjudication and judges critiques only. They will not be eligible for Style High Scores, DanceAgains!, and any overall awards. These routines are eligible to qualify for Nationals.

Judges may change a style if they feel it is incorrectly placed. There is no penalty for this change.

Judging Criteria

Criteria	Points
Technique	40 pts
Choreography	20 pts
Stage Presence	20 pts
Overall Impact	20 pts

General Rules & Regulations

Live Stream & Media

We are excited to offer a live stream for all competition and award ceremonies. Please be aware this is a free service offered and ultimately dependent on the internet strength at each venue.

Competition photos and videos are available for purchase and will be free of the watermark that appears on the stream.

Competition Deposit

We will be requiring a non-refundable deposit for competition routines. When you begin your registration, it will prompt you to enter the amount of routines you are bringing to compete.

The deposit fee is $50 per routine. This fee is non-refundable and cannot be applied as a credit in any way.

This will help us have a more accurate count of routines at each of our events!

Forfeiture Policy

If a studio forfeits more than 25 routines in a season, we will require that studio to pay their competition fees in full the following season. We will not be able to hold your routines until that payment is made.

Free Admission

Admission to DanceMakers competition is absolutely free!

All registered attendees, as well as family and friends, are welcome to watch at no cost. Come and support your dancers!

VIP Seating

VIP Seating will be available for teachers at competition.

Convention Requirements

All competing dancers must be registered for the full weekend of convention in order to participate in competition.

Convention wristbands must be worn while competing. Please do not remove convention wristbands once they are secured on the wrist.

Studio Representation

All competing dancers must have studio representation in order to participate in competition. DanceMakers does not accept independent competition registrations.

Dancers are only able to be registered and compete under one studio.

Teacher & Professional Dancers

Teachers and/or professional dancers are not permitted to compete.

Teachers will be responsible for producing birth certificates to verify age, should challenges or questions arise.

Refund Policy

There are no refunds or credits for competition fees.

Media Rights

Choreographers and all attendees automatically give permission to DanceMakers to use all photos and videos for advertising and publicity.

Stage Entrances & Exits

All entrances and exits must be done from stage left or right. No entrances or exits from front or back of stage.

Talking, lip syncing and singing are acceptable. Microphones are prohibited.

Judge Conflict of Interest

If a routine performing was choreographed by one of the judges, that judge will only critique the routine and the score will be an average of the other two judges.

Competition Details

Sold Out Competition

Competition and convention could sell out prior to the event's cutoff date!

The majority of our competitions will sell out and it is recommended to complete the registration process as soon as possible.

DanceMakers can close competition at any point, even before the cutoff date.

Friday Competition

Friday competition start times may vary. Friday competition typically starts at 8 AM and begins with solos.

After completing the solo competition it is possible, not guaranteed, we will move into other routines such as duo/trio and groups.

If any routine that is scheduled on Friday is unable to perform due to school, DanceMakers is happy to provide the studio will a full refund for those routines.

DanceMakers Atmosphere

In an effort to maintain the values of the DanceMakers atmosphere and a family competition, DanceMakers expects that all routines be age, music and costume appropriate.

All of these issues are subjective. We are aware that our guidelines may be too strict for some and not strict enough for others. There is a fine line that we take very seriously.

Routines may receive an automatic third place if our judges feel a routine is inappropriate. This will always be addressed in the judges critiques that the studio receives.

Entry Limitations

See your DanceMakers city page for any solo or group competition limitations.

For solo competition, dancers are limited to one solo routine per regional city. Dancers may compete a different solo per attended city. All qualified solos are eligible to compete at Nationals.

Dancers may compete in more than one number. Any dancer may compete against themselves in any age division, category and style.

Dancers and routines may compete in more than one regional city. However, duo/trio and group routines that won "Overall High Score" and solo routines that won "Age Division High Score" during the regional season must be registered as "Adjudication Only". These routines are not eligible for Style High Scores, DanceAgains, and any overall awards.

Competition Music

We ask that all competition music is uploaded by the Wednesday before your event.

Please log into your DanceMakers registration account to upload music by clicking "Music Upload" feature for your event.

MP3, MP4, M4A, or WAV files up to 10 MB are accepted. Once uploaded you can preview all music!

Please have a backup of your music with you on either a smartphone or USB at the event. If you need assistance, please contact our admin team prior to your event.

Competition Scores & Critiques

In efforts to cut down on our environmental footprint, we will be uploading all judges' critiques and scores to your online registration portal.

All critiques will be uploaded by the Tuesday following your event, at 9 am EST.

Photo & Video

Photo and video during competition are strictly prohibited.

Advanced technology of video on cell phones, cameras, etc., has forced us to prohibit all camera use during competition. This includes ALL still photography, with or without flash.

This is to protect the rights of the choreographer as well as your children's safety, and to make it possible for DanceMakers to offer a professional photography and video service.

We have a team of professionals capturing competition and will have all photo and video available for purchase.

Any violations can result in a routine and/or studio disqualification.

Props

DanceMakers welcomes general props to our competition! However, the use of props is the sole responsibility of the studio.

Studios have a total of two minutes to place and remove their props from the stage. Violation of this rule will result in a 5 point reduction.

It is also the studio's responsibility to ensure the stage is left clean and clear following their performance. Teachers, dancers and parents are more than welcome to help with props as long as the judges cannot see any studio affiliation.

Please refrain from using fire, liquids, or helium balloons as well as props being thrown into the judges area and/or audience.

DanceMakers cannot guarantee props over 8'h will fit on the stage.

If your prop cannot fit through a single door, please reach out to jonathan@dancemakersinc.com to coordinate a time to get your props into the showroom. We will only have designated times available for this.

Staging

Our stage is 40' wide and 28' deep, plus wings, and is covered with marley.

Questions?

Have questions about competition registration or guidelines? Our team is here to help!