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Definitions
Amateur: A dancer who has never received financial compensation for teaching or performing in any dance form.
Professional: A dancer who is receiving financial compensation for teaching or performing in any dance form.
Pro-Am: Selection of category – Novice, Intermediate, or Advanced – is based on the level of the amateur should be selected with the guidance of the professional.
Silver: 55 years and older.
*Newcomer (New) A person studying the dance for less than a year.

GENERAL RULES

• Competitors and attendees must have a minimum of a weekend pass and are required to fill out a registration form and sign liability waiver compliance.
• All competitors will receive a number to be used for the entire weekend and will be responsible to keep that number.
  • Pros may compete with no more than three Ams in any one level of a dance.
• All competitors consent to release the use of their photographs, biographies, and names, for any video or television footage for sale.
• All Hustle Heat competitors will dance to two songs of 1.5 minutes each – one slow and one fast, to be selected by IHSC. (This should be part of IHDA Rules, not sure if it is applicable here since we are also doing WCS and Salsa Heats. Although I think it is a great idea across the board, I am not sure if Billy will see it that way...)
• All solo competitors will supply their own music on CD. All solo competitions are indicated with a double asterisk (**).
• The minimum/maximum time allowed for all solo competitors includes entrance and exit, with or without music. Solo routines should be no less than 1 1/2 minutes and no more than 3 ½ minutes.
• If there are fewer than three couples, the IHSC reserves the right to cancel or combine divisions.
• The head judge and IHSC committee will have final say on all discrepancies. All questions and/or disputes should be brought to the attention of the head judge in writing (IHSC will supply a form for this purpose, if needed).

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DANCE RULES

Hustle: A dance form using and combining the creative elements of circular rotation, slotted movement,elliptical rotation,traveling movement,visual lead and follow within the rhythm and timing of the dance. Basic will be defined as a ball change movement followed by two even steps.

Salsa: Breaking on one, two, three or four is permitted, however proper salsa/ mambo rhythm must be maintained.
Just Dance: When a competition is designated just dance, no routines, entrances or exits, lifts, aerials, or drops of any kind are permitted.

Swing: Each style will be designated on the competition entry form. For Triple Threat, any style of swing (West Coast, East Coast, Lindy or Jive is acceptable)

Solo Hustle Competitions Including World Pro-Am , World Amateur and World Professional Hustle Championships
Entries must be partnership form (male/female). All divisions are limited to one partnership per person (ie: Pros are limited to one amateur partner in this division)

Semi-Finals: Semi-final rounds will be heated just dance. No lifts, pre-choreographed side-by-sides or flairs allowed.

Finals: Finalists should have a prepared, spotlight routine to the song of their choice. Routine must be recognizable Hustle, however lifts, dips, drops, side by sides are allowed. Costumes recommended. Solo routines to be 3 minutes minimum to 3 ½ minutes maximum. Final placement will be based on a combined score from the heated and solo performances.

Pro-Am Classic Hustle: Solo performance only. Lifts, dips, drops and side by sides are allowed. Routine must consist of a minimum fifty percent (50%) Hustle Dancing and the balance of a combination of side-by-side, leaps, jumps and drops. NO LIFTS OR AERIALS are allowed. During a drop, one foot of both dancers must remain on the floor at all times. Leaps and jumps are allowed as long as they are not assisted by a partner. Music supplied by the competitor. Routine shall be no longer than (3 1/2) three and one half minutes and a minimum of (3) minutes including an entrance and an exit with or without music.

Pro-Am Theatre Arts Hustle: Solo performance only. Anything goes within the framework of the definition of Hustle Dancing. Music supplied by the competitor. Routine shall be no longer than (3 1/2) three and one half minutes and a minimum of (3) minutes including an entrance and an exit with or without music.

Pro/Am Salsa, Amateur and Pro Just Hustle/Salsa: These are just dance competitions. Costumes are allowed but not mandatory. Contestants may dance up to two levels (their regular level, and one level up). In addition to the two levels permitted, contestants over 55 years of age may also dance in the Silver category Pro-Am competitions.

Professional/Amateur Cabaret: Any alternative dance. No hustle permitted. Anything goes but entries must be partnership form (male/female). Routines to be 2 ½ minutes minimum to 3 ½ minutes maximum.

Jack and Jill: These are just dance competitions. Dancers will draw for partners or have partners selected randomly. Costumes not required.

Triple Threat: All couples will dance 1 ½ minute heats in the following: Hustle, Salsa, Swing. Any style of swing or salsa is permitted. Heats are “just dance” competitions.
Pro-Am Showcase Exhibition: Open to any partner dance.Routines to be 2 ½ minutes minimum to 3 ½ minutes maximum.

Pro Anything Goes Salsa: Solo performance only. Breaking On-1 or On-2 is permitted but must remain consistent throughout the routine. Lifts, Dips, Drops and Shines are permitted. Costumes recommended. Routine must be recognizable salsa. Routines to be 2 ½ minutes minimum to 3 ½ minutes maximum. This competition will serve as a qualifying round for the World Salsa Championships for ESPN.

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TIME ALLOWANCES FOR ALL SOLO PERFORMANCES:
Please note that there will be strict adherence to time allowances for solos, and anyone not adhering to the rules will be penalized. Head judge will allow for up to 10 seconds over or undertime with no penalty. However, more than that will result in a deduction from the final score. Anyone more than 10 seconds overtime will result in the music being cut off regardless of whether the couple is still dancing or not.

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WORLD SWING DANCE COUNCIL
Click here to read the Jack & Jill Registry Guidelines. If you wish to view more information of WSDC click here.

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GLOBAL SALSA COMPETITION RULES AND DEFINITIONS

1. Amateur: Defined as a student or person who does not make a living as a Dance Instructor, Performer, Dance Competitor or Dance Adjudicator and who never receives financial compensation for these activities.
2. Semi-Pro: Defined as a person who receives financial compensation as a Dance Instructor, Performer, Dance Competitor or Dance Adjudicator, but who does these activities on a part time basis and makes the majority of their income in another profession.
3. Professional: Defined as a person who receives financial compensation as a Dance Instructor, Performer, Dance Competitor or Dance Adjudicator, and who makes the majority or entirety of their income from these activities.
4. Pro-Am Divsion: Defined as one Professional Dancer (Instructor) dancing with one Amateur Dancer (Student) to form a partnership, or a group of Amateur and Professional dancers performing together to form a team.
5. Amateur Division: Defined as two Amateur dancers or students dancing together to form a partnership, or a group of Amateur dancers performing together to form a team.
6. Professional Divison: Defined as two Professional dancers performing together to form a partnership, or a group of Professional dancers performing together to form a team.
7. Same Sex Divisions: Defined as an all Male or all Female Partnership or Team.
8. Junior Division: Defined as a couple whose partners are under 16 years of age.
9. Childrens Division: Defined as a couple whose partners are under 11 years of age.
10. 45+ Division: Defined as a couple whose partners are both over 45 years of age.
11. Heated Divisions: Defined as a category where all partners or couples dance together on the stage or floor to music that is selected by the organization or deejay. Heats generally last 1.5 minutes and are Just Dance divisions. All Heated Divisions for this competition are Just Dance divisions (see below).
12. Showcase Divisions: Defined as a category whereby the partnership or team showcases choreography, and dances to the music of their choice. Showcase divisions mean the competing couple or team will do a solo performance.
13. Just Dance: Defined as dance only. No lifts, tricks, flares or drops permitted whatsoever. This is a lead/follow division, rather than choreographed, designed to show the ability to connect with one's partner and display timing, musicality and creativity to whatever music is played.
14. Tricks, Dips, Drops, Leverage Moves and Flares: A trick is defined as any movement that requires the support of the other partner to maintain. This is regardless of whether the feet remain on the floor or not.

GLOBAL SALSA DANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Rules and Judging Criteria for Showcase Divisions:

1. Partnerships in all showcase divisions will be designated as one male and one female partner unless specifically designated as a same gender division.
2. All Solo Partnership Divisions will dance a 1.5 minute warm up round. This warm up round will be danced in a heated format, and will be designated as a “lead/follow”, “just dance” round. No dips, tricks, flares or choreographed side by side shines permitted during the warm up round. Deejay to select the music. This is to give the judges a general look at the couples, but will not be scored.
3. Showcase routines should be no more than 2.5 minutes long.
4. Music for all divisions must be 80% Salsa music.
5. Couples will have no more than 20 seconds to get into place for performance. Any choreography prior to the beginning of the music will be counted toward the overall timing of the performance. Likewise, dancers will have a maximum of 20 seconds at the conclusion of their routines to bow and leave the stage.
6. Props are not allowed.
7. This is an Open Division, meaning all styles of Salsa are accepted. Tricks are allowed. Couples can choose to dance either On-1 or On-2, but must maintain consistent to that timing for the duration of the routine. Recognized timing for this competiton is 1-2-3/5-6-7.
8. Music for performances to be supplied in CD format to the disc jockey, or designated deck captain, and must be provided no less than 1 hour prior to the start of the competition. Song for the actual performance to be the ONLY song on that CD. CD’s should have the names of the competitors clearly marked on the CD.
9. Turns: For all divisions: A maximum of 4 bars/16 Beats/2 counts of 8 are allowed for continuous turns. More than this will result in a penalty of 10% off off the final score.
10. Costumes: Costumes are not required, but are highly recommended. All costumes should be in good taste with all private parts covered by non-transparent material.

JUDGING CRITERIA

20% Timing
Recognized Salsa Timing is designated for this competition as 1-2-3, 5-6-7. Competitors can choose to break ON 1 or ON 2, but must maintain consistency for the duration of the routine. The direction of the break step can be either to the front or the back, as long as the timing of the break is consistently maintained (either 1 and 5, or 2 and 6). The majority of the routine should show recognizable Salsa Timing.

20% MUSICALITY
Couples will demonstrate their ability to creatively work with the timing of their individual music. This can be done in a variety of ways, including patterns, footwork, “hits”, tricks, etc….

GENERAL DANCE TECHNIQUE 10%
Dance technique is reflected through balance, placement and line. This refers also to general techinique for partner dance, where the movement is “grounded”, and there is clarity of proper weight changes from foot to foot. Movement should appear to be both clear and effortless.

SALSA DANCE TECHNIQUE 10%
Technique that is specific to Salsa Dance. This is sometimes referred to as “Latin Motion” or even “Sabor”

DIFFICULTY 10%
Reflected by difficulty of patterns, turns, intricacy of shine movements, and level of tricks, dips, drops and flares.
Examples: The amount of turns done on both double and single foot. How intricate were the shines? In the cabaret division, what was the difficulty of the lift-work? Was it properly executed? How about jumps, kicks, extensions? Any movements requiring exceptional balance, flexibility or strength? In order to get credit for any of these things, the movement must be successfully executed.

10% Partnering/Connection
This is reflected in the lead/follow aspect of the dance. Are partners truly connected, or are they merely executing choreography while holding hands? Synchronicity during side by sides or shines will also help determine the score in this category.

10% Choreography
The couple’s interpretation of the music. Good choreography should contain clever turn patterns and shines. All choreography should be musical, and couples should show a good usage of the space itself. Originality is a factor here.

10% Overall Presentation
You Will Be Judged By Your Overall Presentation. This includes costuming, showmanship, and also good sportsmanship.

On this page you will find the rules and regulations that will apply to the dance of your choice to compete in. Please be sure to read the Definitions, General and Dance rules, they apply to all dances. To view the dance of your choice please click on the links below:

• Definitions
• General Rules
• Dance Rules
• Time Allowances for Solos
• IHDA Guidelines
• World Swing Dance Council
• Global Salsa Competition