2026-27 Season

Nationals Competition

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

Fees & Time Limits

Category	Fee	Time	Dancers
Solo	$215	3:00	1
Duo/Trio	$115	3:00	2-3
Group	$95	3:00	4-9
Line	$95	4:00	10-15
Ext. Line	$95	5:00	16-24
Production	$95	6:00	25+
Media Fee	$45 / competing dancer (not per routine)

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.

NEW Media Fee:A $45 media fee per competing dancer (not per routine) is required if participating in competition and is automatically applied to the studio's registration total. Each competing dancer will receive all media captured of all competing routines within 3-5 business days of the conclusion of their event. Media will be distributed through the registered studio, and no action is required to receive this media.

Included with the media fee, this package also includes all photos posted to our social media platforms as an added bonus, including convention, competition, awards, and other event photos.

Age Divisions

Division	Age
Senior	15 & Up
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, 2027.

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 now distributed to all dancers competing. See more above in the Fees and Time Limits charts about the new media fee!

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 week 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 judges score will be an average of the other two judges.

Nationals Rules & Regulations

Routine Requirements

50% of the dancers, choreography and music in the Nationals routine must be from the Regional routine.

Competition routines may not change subject from what it qualified in at Regionals.

Category Changes

Competition routines may only move up or down ONE category.

Example: a line can move up one category to an extended line or down one category to a group. The line could not move down to a duo/trio or up to a production.

Exceptions: A duo/trio cannot move down to a solo, and a solo cannot move up to a duo/trio.

Multiple Showrooms

DanceMakers will run two showrooms simultaneously if needed based off registrations.

All routines will be placed specifically to avoid studio performance time conflicts.

Unfortunately you will not be allowed to perform at any other time than your assigned performance time to avoid studio performance time conflicts.

Check-In

Dancers will check in with the Girl's Dressing Room Manager 30 minutes prior to their performance time.

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 will receive an automatic third place if our judges feel a routine is inappropriate.

Entry Limitations

New this year: There are no competition limitations for overall routines for our Nationals event. The only limitation is that dancers are limited to one solo at Nationals. If dancers qualified more than one solo regionally, they may only register one for Nationals.

Competition Details

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 Uploads" feature for your event.

MP3 or MP4 files 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 Judging Packet

In efforts to cut down on our environmental footprint, we will be uploading all scores to the studio's online registration portal.

At Nationals, all routines will receive an adjudication score only. Routines will not be receiving a judge's critique.

All critiques of routines were given at our Regional events to help the dancers improve to compete at Nationals.

Photo & Video

Photography and videography 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 instant preview in the lobby!

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 or helium balloons as well as props being thrown into the judges area and/or audience.

DanceMakers cannot guarantee props over 10'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.

Pre-Qualifying Video Submissions

Nationals Digital Pre-Qualifying

DanceMakers is offering Nationals Digital Pre-Qualifying Submissions again this year!

Studios, register your solo or group routines to pre-qualify for our Nationals event in Myrtle Beach, SC. Competition fees are the same as regionals.

Each routine submitted will be critiqued and scored by our judges. All routines that score 80 or above will qualify for Nationals!

Submissions Open: March 4th

Payment & Video Due: April 9th

Results Delivered: May 5th

All qualified routines will be available in your account to register for Nationals competition in Myrtle Beach, SC at that time.

Questions?

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