Competition Rules

General Conditions

1. The WA Dance Festival operates as a trading business name of Kombat Industries Pty Ltd
2. All dance schools will make a contribution towards the operation of the Dance Festival. To that end, the following options are provided: (1) Each dance school must provide 5 volunteers for a session either morning, afternoon or evening. All volunteers will receive a FREE pass to 1 session during the competition for their assistance. If less than 20 entries from your school then 2 volunteers will be acceptable.OR (2) A financial contribution of $100 if you have less than 20 students performing or $200 for over 20 students towards the cost of providing staff members to fulfil those duties.
3. No entry forms will be accepted unless the Dance School provides a current Legal or Public Liability Insurance Policy.
4. All Dance Schools are encouraged to adopt policies for the safety and protection of the children for whom they are responsible. Please supply a copy of your "Child Protection Policy" if you have one. Schools are also reminded that Working With Children legislation came into force on 1 January 2006 and are advised to check with the Working with Children Screening Unit on 6217 8100 as to their requirements.

Performance and Entry

1. The dates for the WA Dance Festival are during the WA School Holidays in April, July and October. Exact dates of each competition will be finalised once all entry forms have been received and the program compiled.
2. The closing date for entries will be advised in the information pack sent out for each individual festival.
3. Late entries prior to program printing will be considered for inclusion but will attract an additional fee of $10.00 per entry. Late entries after the program has gone to print will be at the discretion of the WA Dance Festival and its Festival Co-Ordinator.
4. All entries must be made online with payment through the online payment system.
5. A receipt from the WA Dance Festival will be issued at the time of payment.
6. No school will be able to participate unless all fees are paid prior to festival commencement
7. No refunds will be given once the official closing date for entries has passed.
8. The WA Dance Festival reserves the right to amend or refuse any entry on any grounds; however, the reason will be given in writing.
9. Any withdrawal of entries must be authorised in writing by a representative of the Dance School.
10. WA Dance Festival is open to both amateur and professional dancers. Professional dancers won't be eligible for aggregate points and need to dance in the open sections. They must denote they are professional by placing a "P" next to their name on entry.
11. Any competitor who has been taught, coached or advised by the Adjudicator during the 6 months prior to the next upcoming festival will not be eligible to enter.
12. Competitors must perform the work of the school whose name appears on the entry. They must have been receiving tuition with the teacher they have been entered by for a period of at least 3 months prior to the commencement of the WA Dance Festival. This condition may be waived with the written consent of both dance teachers involved. NOTE: Closure of Schools - Dancers who have transferred dancing schools due to their school's closure are eligible to dance. Change of Ownership - Dancers who have transferred dancing schools due to a change of ownership are eligible to dance.
13. Only competitors and teachers are allowed backstage. Parents are permitted to enter the backstage area to assist in putting competitors on stage should the competitor be 12 years of age or under and the teacher of their school is not available to be present. The backstage area is restricted to dancers and teachers in the section currently being performed – permission for this needs to be granted by the Festival Co-Ordinator prior to event. Teachers Passes must be worn in order to gain access to the backstage area.
14. No real flowers, fruit, foliage, vegetables, straw or cellophane props are to be used or worn by competitors
15. No props or effects are to be set up on stage prior to a performance. They should be brought into side stage just prior to the session they are needed for and safely stored backstage until use. As soon as the session is over the props need to be removed.
16. If a competitor commences a performance and stops mid performance they may appear again at the end of the event, unmarked. If the fault is not directly with the competitor, they will be eligible for marks and awards at the discretion of the Adjudicator.
17. Current Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) Licences are to be held by the teacher and/or dance school.
18. A full section listing will be forwarded to all dance teachers for review. Teachers are required to check all entries carefully and notify the Festival Co-Ordinator if changes are needed to be made by the date advised. No modifications will be made to the program once the notified due date has been passed.
19. Dance Schools can expect to receive a copy of the official program 3 weeks prior to the festival opening date to allow for USB preparation of music.

Age

1. Troupes - Entrants must be of age at Midnight on December 31st of the previous calendar year for which the current festival is being registered for. Solo’s/Duos/Trios/Quartet entrants must be of age at midnight 3 days prior to the festival start date of the festival being registered for. Place getters may be asked to produce birth certificates before receiving awards should this be requested.
2. No competitor may appear more than once in any section.
3. No competitor is permitted to dance in a solo section outside of their specific age category unless the section has been cancelled or combined with another section, or permission has been given by the WA Dance Festival Co-ordinator
4. Should a dancer be required to dance in another age category due to the combination of sections, they are required to return to their correct age category once the section is complete.
5. In Duos, Trios and Quartets the age of the oldest competitor will determine the age category in which they must compete.

Time Limits

1. Time limits will be rigidly enforced.
2. The time of the performance will be taken from the commencement of music and/or routine, until the competitor leaves the stage, or the fall of the curtain – whichever comes first.

Music

1. Music for the Festival will be accepted only on USB stick prior to WA Dance Festival commencement date.
2. Schools must still check in their students/performers at the back stage table during the allocated times for that session to confirm the competitor is performing.
3. The WA Dance Festival and the Festival Co-Ordinators accept no responsibility for the quality of music. Competitors are expected to supply high quality recordings as the equipment has limited capacity for the correction of distortion and background noise.
4. Audio equipment, amplification and lighting equipment are all supplied under contract to the WA Dance Festival through the venue.

Conduct

1. Competitors must report ready to perform at the backstage checkpoint thirty minutes before the time of their performance.
2. Competitors who do not appear when their number is called, for any reason, may perform at the end of the section. The awarding of marks and eligibility for a trophy however will be at the discretion of the Adjudicator. Please note, if you are not on stage to receive your award due to having left to compete at another different competition awards will be forfeit for that competitor.
3. A competitor whose entry has been accepted but name omitted from the program, for any reason, is required to report to the WA Dance Festival Co-Ordinator prior to the session commencing to be allocated a number for that section. The competitor will be required to perform after the performances of the competitors listed in the program.
4. As a courtesy to the performers on stage, spectators are requested to remain as quiet as possible so as not to cause distraction.
5. A competitor will be disqualified if the Adjudicator is approached by any competitor, relative of a competitor or a teacher before the completion of the session.
6. Due to copyright conditions and regulations, the recording of performances (either visual or sound) is not permitted. No private or unauthorized video, sound or camera equipment is to be brought or used in the venue. Contravention of this condition may result in the disqualification of a competitor.

Awards

1. Aggregate Trophy – Dancer of the Festival. Points will be allocated as follows: First (8 points); Second (5 points); Third (3 points) Only Open Solo dancers are included in this Award.
2. If there is no clear winner for the Dancer of the Festival, the award will be determined by the number of firsts won. If there is still no clear winner the decision will be made by the Adjudicator.
3. Aggregate Trophy – Troupes. Points will be allocated as follows: First (8 points); Second (5 points); Third (3 points). All troupe sections contribute towards this award. *No teachers aggregate points will be given in troupe section if less than 2 schools are competing in that particular section.
4. Age categories for the Dancer of Festival (if awarded): Sub Junior – 10 years and under; Junior - 14 years and under; Senior – 15 years and over. A cash prize will also be awarded to winners
5. The awarding of trophies, honorable mentions and/or special mentions will be at the discretion of the Adjudicator whose decision is final. NOTE: If you are not on stage to receive your award due to having left the WA Dance Festival to compete at another different competition you will forfeit the award.
6. Where a perpetual trophy is awarded, and the section is divided into Part 1 and Part 2 because of the number of entries, the Adjudicator will decide the winner of the perpetual trophy.
7. The WA Dance Festival reserves the right to withhold the awarding of a perpetual trophy for any reason arising from the programming of the WA Dance Festival. If a section is not danced because of insufficient entries the perpetual trophy will be held-over for the next WA Dance Festival.
8. All perpetual trophies are to be returned to the WA Dance Festival no later than 2 weeks prior to the Festival in question. Perpetual trophies are to be returned in a clean and fully maintained condition. A fee of $25 will apply to any school for late return of each perpetual trophy between the stated above return date and the start of the current WA Dance Festival. A fee of $99 will apply to any school that fails to return a perpetual trophy by the start of the session that perpetual trophy is required to be awarded in.
9. All winners of perpetual trophies consent to have their names and contact details recorded.
10. Personal trophies will be awarded for First, Second and Third places unless insufficient numbers exist in the section. Small sections may attract only First or First and Second place trophies depending on the number of entries.
11. Medallions and certificates will be awarded for honourable and special mentions at the direction of the Adjudicator.

Dispute Resolution and Liability

1. In the event of a protest being laid against a competitor, the WA Dance Festival Co-Ordinator will co-opt the services of three (3) dance teachers who are not associated with any of the schools competing in that section. These teachers, in conjunction with the WA Dance Festival Co-Ordinator will form the Protest Committee. Teachers must be available to serve on the Protest Committee if approached.
2. Anyone wishing to file protest against any competitor must notify the WA Dance Festival Co-Ordinator of their intent within one hour of the completion of the section and include a written protest. The Protest Committee will convene and address the protest at nearest session break.
3. A fee of $30.00 must accompany the protest. If the protest is deemed frivolous by the Protest Committee, then the fee will be forfeited.
4. In any and all disputes arising out of or not provided for in these Conditions, the decision of the Protest Committee will be final.
5. The WA Dance Festival reserves the right to change the Adjudicator for any reason whatsoever.
6. Failure to comply with any of Conditions of Entry may involve disqualification and the withholding of awards. All entries are received subject to the proviso that no appeal at law will be made regarding matters to do with the WA Dance Festival and its agents, as this is contrary to the spirit of participation and competition upon which the WA Dance Festival is based.
7. In the event of the competition not taking place for any reason, no responsibility will be accepted for any loss of time or expense incurred by the competitor.
8. All competitors perform at their own risk.
9. The WA Dance Festival will not be responsible for the loss or damage of any participant’s property inside or outside of the venue.

Sections and specific requirements and conditions

1. The WA Dance Festival reserves the right to split any section into two or more pools if there are sufficient entries.
2. Troupes, Groups and Ballet Ensembles are to consist of FIVE or more dancers.
3. Duo sections are now duo/trio/quartet.
4. Classical Ballet - any recognized method accepted. Only short tutus allowed.
5. Tap - must perform to 1 piece of music. No medley accepted. Routines are to be 2 minutes or less for competitors 12 years and under or 2.5 minutes or less for competitors 13 years and over.
6. Tap Medley - must perform a slow tap and a fast tap, without leaving the stage. Competitors my enter any other Tap Solos Section but must not repeat the same routine. Routines must be 4 minutes or less.
7. Jazz - All modern dance forms accepted - Jazz, Musical Comedy, Cabaret, Broadway etc
8. Boys Own - any solo but must not be repeated in any other section.
9. Curtains will no longer be used for any Solo/Duo/Trio/Quartet routines
10. Dance Abilities - please note, if there are insufficient numbers for troupe sections, they will be combined in a troupe event.
    

Section Interpretation - Novice, Open and Intermediate

1. Novice - Anyone who has not won a 1st place in the genres they are entering or has not danced in an intermediate or open section prior to the Festival closing date.

             Intermediate - Is a stepping stone between Novice and Open and same rules apply as for novice
             Open - Anyone who has placed 1st in a novice or intermediate section. Once a competitor dances open they              .            cannot revert back to novice or intermediate for any future festivals.

1. Where a competitor enters the WA Dance Festival as a Novice or Intermediate dancer and then places or wins a section in a competition held elsewhere after the date for close of entries, they are entitled to dance in the section for which they originally entered.
2. Results obtained in the Baby section (6 years of age and under) do not count towards classifying a dancer as Novice or Open.
3. All dancers are eligible to dance in Novice sections regardless of placing that are obtained in the Baby sections.
4. Novice and Open (and Intermediate if applicable) apply to OVER 6 YEARS OF AGE groupings and higher.

Championship Sections

1. A competitor must be open and compete in at least two other open sections of the same genre.
2. Routines must not have been performed in another section.
3. A competitor will be disqualified if not danced in at least two other sections.
4. Theatrical Championship - Ist Routine Jazz; 2nd Routine your choice of Tap, Acrobatics, Song and Dance, Lyrical, Hip Hop
5. Classical Ballet Championship - Ist Routine Classical Ballet; 2nd Routine your choice of Neo Classical, Demi Character, National, Contemporary
6. Junior Championship - Any 2 routines