Rules & Regulations

View Headliners Brochure

*Overall awards presented in 4 overall age divisions (Children, Junior, Teen, Senior)

*College scholarships awarded at Nationals

*Opportunities for dance agency representation

*Selection of Team Showdance & Hip Hop Teams

*DVD critiques of all performances from all 3 judges

ENTRY INFORMATION AND EVENT RULES

AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

SCORING

Headliners continues to be one of one a few competitions that still uses the scoring standard that children are accustomed to in school. Rather than begin awards at gold, dancers will compete against an adjudiaated scoring system and receive awards that realistically correspond to the scores received. Dancers are judged by a panel of three judges.

Each judge is allocated 200 points (100 for technique, 100 for presentation. The average score is determined by dividing the total number of points received (minimum 420, maximum 600) and dividing by 6. (Example: an elite gold award is a total score of 558-600 points. Divide the score by 6 to determine the average which is a minimum score of 93.)

The biggest difference between Headliners and other competitions is that some give Gold awards for score in the 80's, etc. At Headliners a score of 540 is required for a Gold (90 points average) The following outlines our scoring and awards system:

558-600 – elite gold (93 or higher) 516-539 – high silver (86) 456-479 - high bronze (76) 540-557 – gold (90) 480-515 – silver (80) 420-455 – bronze (70)

All routines will receive a trophy based on the overall score received. At regional events, judge's critique each routine on technique, presentation and offer comments on a variety of subjects that may not pertain to the overall score (costuming, grooming, etc). With the exception of the Preliminary competition prior to Nationals, routines will not be critiqued at the National Championships in July. THE DECISION OF THE JUDGES IS FINAL.

AGE DIVISIONS

Overall Awards presented in four overall age divisions!!

Children: 9 and under Junior: 10-12 Teen: 13-15 Senior: 16 and over

NEW! Placement of dancers should be based on their age as of Janaury 1st.

Dancers will compete by individual ages (6 & under, 7, 8, etc) within their overall age division. Overall awards will be presented on the divisions listed above. Placement of duo/trios, groups, lines and classes is determined by adding all ages and dividing by by the number of dancers in the routine. Decimal points should be dropped.

CLASSIFICATION OF COMPETITORS

1. Recreational – Students who take 3 hours or less of dance per week. Dancers in this classification will be judged on a more lenient scale and receive trophies based on placement. Recreational dancers are not eligible for overall cash awards or regional titles and will be recognized in separate overalls. It is NOT mandatory for recreational dancers to enter into the recreational division. They may enter as competitive level dancers in order to be considered for overall cash awards or regional titles. If a student is entered in the recreational division they must compete in only the recreational division for the entire competition. (Dancers may not compete in recreational in one routine and then competitive in another routine.) If dancers enter Recreational in regional they must remain recreational at Nationals.
2. Competitive - Dancers who take 4 hours or more of dance per week.
3. Pro-Am - A combination of amateur and professional dancers performing together. The Pro-Am division is not eligible for overall cash awards.
4. Professional - Teachers, full-time assistants, salaried assistants, professional dancers. Full-time students or students who teach or assist in exchange for lessons are not considered professionals. Professionals are not eligible for overall cash awards.

CATEGORIES AND DESCRIPTIONS

• Acro: A combination of tumbling movements and passes incorporated with dance movements.
• Ballet: Classical ballet style using ballet shoes
• Pointe: Classical ballet technique wearing pointe shoes
• Character: Portraying an easily recognized character such as clown, scarecrow, Betty Boop, etc.
• Clogging: Routine should show clogging (or buck) technique using full foot
• Contemporary: inventive movements incorporating different styles with classical foundation
• Dance Crew: the highest scoring crews will battle in a separate competition based on judge's recommendateion
• Ethnic: A routine using ethnic style dance (ie: flamenco, Irish jig, Hawaiian, etc.)
• Hip Hop: Street, funk dance, break and electric boogie
• Jazz: Classical jazz movements and technique
• Lyrical: Dancers’ movements should interpret the words and feelings of the song
• Modern: Theatrical dance not as restrictive as classical ballet; stylized, abstract movements
• Musical Theater: Use of Broadway or movie musical song portraying the feeling of the lyrics through dance or character
• Open: Combines two or more forms of dance or a second routine with 50% of the same dancers
• Pom Pon: The use of Pom poms where dancers show patterns and uniform movements
• Showdance: a concept, story or theme. Can be any dance form or combination of dance forms (no tap)
• Song and Dance: Routine must consist of at least 50% dance
• Tap: No pre-recorded tap sounds allowed on the tape
• Twirling: Dancers incorporate batons into routine

Rule regarding acro tricks in routines: ballet, pointe and lyrical may not have any acrobatic tricks. Jazz and tap routines may have a maximum of 2 acro tricks. All other categories may have unlimited acto tricks. (A pass into an acro trick - ie: round off back handspring - qualifies as one movement.

TIME LIMITS

Routines are randomly timed at all events. If a routine is overtime, the teacher will be notified. At Nationals, a total of five points will automatically be deducted for every 10 seconds overtime.

Solos, Duos, Trios, Groups, Lines, Classes....................................up to 3 minutes

Extended: .................................................................................................up to 4 minutes

Extended limited to Groups (4-9 dancers), lines (10-16 dancers) and classes (17 or more dancers)

Mini-Production.......................................................................................up to 6 minutes

Production:…………………...................................................................up to 8 minutes

Mini-Production and Production routines limited to Lines (10-16 dancers) and Classes (17 or more dancers)

TITLE DIVISION

All title entries must be of competitive status.

Petite Miss/Master Headliner.....ages 7-9

Junior Miss/Junior Mister Headliner………ages 10-12

Teen Miss/Teen Mister Headliner.....ages 13-15

Miss/Mister Headliner………ages 16-21

Up to two regional title winners per age division will be selected at each event! Soloists may choose to compete for regional titles by checking off the appropriate box on the entry form. In addition, there will be a judge’s choice selection in each of the age divisions. A gold level score must be achieved to be considered. All regional title winners are expected to compete in the National Title Championships. No dancer will be eligible for more then one place in the title division; highest score will prevail. Dancers may hold only one title per season. National Title winners from previous seasons may not compete for the same title they held, but may compete for older titles once they meet the age requirement.

ENTRY FORMS AND FEES

Regional entry form and entry fees

Headliners encourages the use of the online entry system. All entries must be submitted 30 days prior to the first day of competition. Payment for entries submitted online can be made online with a credit card (addtl fee applies) or by sending a studio check to arrive no later then 21 days prior to the first day of competition. Entries sent via US mail must have entry fees enclosed or late fees apply. Entries submitted after the deadline will be accepted only if time allows and only if received prior to the time schedule being sent. All late entries are subject to a $5 late fee per entry