SIX DEGREES SALSA COMPETITION
RULES & PARTICPANT INFORMATION

PRELIMIARIES

Contestants, please check-in with Jennifer by 10:00pm
Contest will begin approximately 10:30pm
All couples will dance at the same time to a warm-up song (not to exceed 1 minute and 30 seconds)
Each couple will then dance for 2 mintues to a song chosen by the DJ, starting with amateur competitors and then professional competitors
Contestants will be judged by 2 judges
Costumes are not required
Every contestant must pay to enter Six Degrees on the night they are entering the competition but will then receive a VIP pass for Six Degrees for the duration of the contest
2-3 couples will be chosen from each category each week to advance to the semi-finals. If a couple does not advance, they are welcome to try again during another preliminary round
Competitors may keep their score sheets if requested.
Competitors who do not live in the greater Toronto area (ie. those who travel from Ottawa, Montreal, Detroit, Windsor etc..) will be allowed to enter a preliminary round at 10:20pm on the night of the semi-finals for their respective category. Only 5 couples will be allowed to enter so please register early. 2-3 of the 5 couples will be chosen by the judges to compete in the semi-final round a half hour later.

SEMI-FINALS

Semi-finals for the Amateur category will be held onTBDat Six Degrees.
Semi-finals for the Professional category will be held on TBD at Six Degrees.
All contestants must check in with Jennifer by 9:30pm sharp on the day of the semi-finals where they will choose from a hat the order in which they are competing.
There will NOT be a warm-up song for the competitors.
Each coupple will dance 2 minutes to a fast-paced salsa song chosen by the DJ. Each couple in the same category will be dancing to a different song, but at the same speed.
This will allow the contestants to demonstrate how well they can improvise, stay on beat and interpret the music.
Costumes strongly encouraged, no jeans allowed, etc.(ie. costumes may contribute to the overall presentation score)
One person from each couple will be asked to wear a fabric number sign pinned to their back.
There will be a panel of 4 judges who all have several years of experience teaching salsa and who all have experience performing and/or competing.
Placement in the semi-finals will not be announced, only which couples are advancing to the finals.
Contestants will receive their score sheets at the end of the evening.
The top 6 couples in each category will advance to the finals.

FINALS

Finals for both Amateur and Professional categories will be held at Six Degrees on TBD
Contestants will perform on the Six Degrees stage.
All contestants must check in with Jennifer by 9:00pm sharp!!
Each category of contestants will dance together to a warm-up song (not to exceed 1 minute and 30 seconds) immediately before that category competes (ie. amateurs will all dance a warm-up song together and then each amateur couple will compete individually then the pros will warm-up together etc..)
Contestants will perform a choreographed showcase of their choice that must be between 1:45-2:00 minutes in duration
Song chosen for the finals must be 90% salsa
Only CDs will be accepted and must be clearly labeled with participants' names and category (Amateur or Pro). To avoid any problems, there must be ONE TRACK on the CD!
Costumes strongly encouraged, no jeans allowed, etc.(ie. costumes may contribute to the overall presentation score)
One person from each couple will be asked to wear a fabric number sign pinned to their back.
There will be a panel of 4-6 judges who all have several years of experience teaching salsa and who all have experience performing and/or competing.

ADDITIONAL RULES & TIPS FOR COMPETITORS

There are no restrictions on dips or lifts (but please remember that salsa is not just about dips and lifts!!)
There are no restrictions on separating from your partner while dancing
5 marks will be deducted from a couple's total score in the finals if they dance for less than 1 minute and 45 seconds or more than 2 minutes
Dancers will be judged in 5 categories (timing/musicality, technique, difficulty, connection/synchronization, presentation/showmanship). Please see example of score sheet for more information. In the finals, couples will also be score in choreography/originality.