COMPETITION
GROUP & SOLO
TAKE THE STAGE
You work all year for this. Your competition experience matters to us.
That’s why we have developed the most state-of-the-art adjudication system in the industry. It is designed to support your growth by providing clear feedback on each of the 5 pillars of dance excellence: Technique, Performance Quality, Execution of Choreography, Quality of Movement, and Artistic Merit.
At WCDE, our Nationally celebrated Faculty adjudicates and critiques every routine to provide every student with a fair, consistent and insightful competition experience.
STUDIO OWNERS: FOR PRICING & INCENTIVES, PLEASE LOGIN TO YOUR REGISTRATION ACCOUNT
COMPETITION AGE DIVISIONS
A singular dancer’s age for competition is determined by using the dancer's age as of January 1st in the calendar year of the current season’s national finals event. Performers maintain their regional age category at Nationals. You must recalculate the average age of a routine for Nationals if any of the dancers in a routine change.
Season 28 Age Determination Date: 1/1/2024
SENIORS: Ages 16-19
TEENS: Ages 13-15
JUNIORS: Ages 10-12
MINIS: Ages 6-9
AGE DIVISIONS FOR GROUP ROUTINES
For Duo/Trios and above, our registration system will calculate the average age of dancers in a routine to determine the routine's eligible age division.
Routines that utilize dancers from different age divisions will compete no more than one age division younger than the oldest dancer in the routine, regardless of the routine’s average age. Example: if a production number includes a 17 year old dancer (senior) and the average age of the routine is 12 (junior), the group will compete one level above in the teen category.
LEVELS OF COMPETITION
West Coast Dance Explosion currently has one level of competition at both its Regional and National Events. Judges’ score sheets and critique videos will be available on the Monday following the event in your online portal.
ROUTINE SIZE DIVISIONS
All dancers must be registered for the entirety of the convention workshops in order to compete at West Coast Dance Explosion. For information about the number of routines a studio may enter, please see the Studio Entry Limits section below.
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Solo contestants must be entered in at least one Duo/Trio, Group, Line, or Production routine to be eligible to compete in SoloBlast.
*Small Group, Large Group, and Line routines may purchase up to 1 additional minute at a rate of $10 per dancer. This is the maximum time allotment these routines can receive. No exceptions.
**Production routines must be a minimum of 4 minutes in length to qualify for the Production category. Production routines may purchase up to 3 additional minutes at a rate of $5 per dancer, per minute. WCDE will not accept production routines over 9 minutes. No exceptions.
MORE SOLOS!
Students may compete up to two solos per regional event at WCDE. Solos cannot be of the same dance genre when a dancer is competing more than one solo.
VENUE & CITY SPECIFIC RULES
Should any rules or limitations be placed on an event by a particular venue or local ordinance, the information will be posted on the tour page for that particular city in the Schedules & Info. section. If parents have questions about these specific rules prior to the event, we ask them to coordinate with their studio representative to help streamline communication.
NO INDEPENDENT DANCERS PERMITTED. DANCERS MUST BE REGISTERED BY A DANCE STUDIO, DANCE COMPANY, OR DANCE TEAM IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE.
DANCE STYLE CATEGORIES
West Coast Dance Explosion offers a total of 10 dance genre categories for studios to choose from when competing their routines. When completing a registration, it is the responsibility of the studio to ensure that their routines meet the requirements of the specific genre the routine is being entered into.*
BALLET
Routines must consist of ballet or pointe technique (classical, modern, abstract, and character).
*IMPORTANT: Entries must wear ballet or pointe shoes to be entered in the ballet category.
JAZZ
A routine that demonstrates jazz technique, utilizing up-tempo music.
CONTEMPORARY
A mix of jazz styles with heavy emphasis on modern & ballet technique.
LYRICAL
A routine that demonstrates lyrical technique.
TAP
A routine comprised of tap technique.
HIP-HOP
A routine utilizing hip-hop or street-type moves.
MUSICAL THEATRE
A routine utilizing Broadway or theatre dance styles.
OPEN
A routine that is not categorized elsewhere in our competition (ethnic, acro-gymnastics, ballroom, novelty, clogging, character, etc.). Qualifying a routine in the Open division for acro-gymnastics requires a minimum of three gymnastics passes. Adjudicators must be able to identify clearly the uncategorized dance style for the routine in an impactful way to avoid recategorizing the routine into the Wild Card category.
FUSION
A routine that demonstrates either: at least two distinct dance styles during the same routine or a routine deeply rooted in a specific dance style that fuses with choreographic choices and a juxtaposed musical choice to create a distinct and impactful artistic work that does not fit into the confines of a singular highly specific dance genre category. Adjudicators must be able to either: identify clearly the usage of multiple dance styles during the routine in an impactful way OR identify the clear juxtaposing forces and artistic impact of the piece to avoid recategorizing the routine into the Wild Card category.
WILD CARD
This category is utilized for any routine that can be categorized by one of the dance styles above or for a routine that stands out for the entering studio as one that they would not like to compete against a routine they already have within that category. Should a routine’s category be contested or recategorized by the adjudication panel, it will be placed in the Wild Card category.
*Should WCDE determine that a routine has been entered into the incorrect category, West Coast Dance Explosion reserves the exclusive right to recategorize a routine to the Wild Card category prior to award presentations. Studio representatives will be notified of the recategorizing of a routine.
STUDIO COMPETITION ENTRY LIMITS
West Coast Dance Explosion has continued to double-down on its commitment as a student centered dance convention; committed to the education and encouragement of young artists as well as their well-being. We are committed to setting the maximum number of competition routines at our events in a responsible way that allows stage time to participate during competition while attending our convention without sacrificing workshop classes.
EXPANDED SOLO ALLOTMENTS
You asked and we've listened! WCDE has set it's solo allotment per studio based on the number of students registered for the convention. Also, students may now compete up to two solos per Regional Event. Solos cannot be of the same dance genre when a dancer is competing more than one solo.
Click on the buttons below to reveal the entry limit tables for the type of event you are interested in.
NO INDEPENDENT DANCERS PERMITTED. DANCERS MUST BE REGISTERED BY A DANCE STUDIO, DANCE COMPANY, OR DANCE TEAM IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE.
SPECIAL COMPETITIONS & PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES
West Coast Dance Explosion holds a series of extra experiences alongside our normal competition.
All eligible routines will be entered for these special experiences and awards without any additional entry fees at Regional Events!
The WCDE SoloBlast is a showdown for all soloist performers. The OVERALL highest scoring solo from all the Mini, Junior, Teen and Senior age divisions combined, will be awarded a Silver Elite Dancer scholarship, a SoloBlast Champion Sweatshirt, and are invited to perform their solo in The Weekend Wrap Up on Sunday following the last class!
The Studio ICON Challenge is an additional competition where studios compete in four styles of dance, (Example; Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop & Contemporary), alongside all of the other studios who are entered in the challenge, in each regional city.
The winning studio will receive an award.
STUDIO
SHOWCASE
The three highest scoring studios will re-perform their highest scoring routine during The Weekend Wrap Up on Sunday following the last class and receive a banner in recognition of their achievement.
SCORING & AWARDS
West Coast Dance Explosion takes pride in its state of the art PASSE Index scoring system, allowing studios to receive a more insightful view of their scores while providing a highly positive set of awards to keep your dancers motivated all season long.
SCORING SYSTEM BREAKDOWN
THE PASSE INDEX
The Performance/Artistry/Skill Scoring & Evaluation Index (PASSE Index) was developed in 2019 by Nick Bowman in collaboration with studio directors and educators from across the country.
The PASSE Index was designed to provide a quantifiable adjudication system for dance competitions. It offers clear feedback to dancers that tracks both successful components and moments for growth opportunities within each routine. The PASSE Index offers an analysis of the entire competition and provides direct comparisons for each routine against the same criterion.
The PASSE Index aims to achieve high-level adjudication through consistency and clarity, by utilizing a rubric of the five Pillars of Dance Excellence evaluated by three adjudicators.
THE PILLARS OF DANCE EXCELLENCE (ADJUDICATION CATEGORIES)
TECHNIQUE: 30%
PERFORMANCE: 25%
EXECUTION OF CHOREOGRAPHY: 20%
QUALITY OF MOVEMENT: 15%
ARTISTIC MERIT: 10%
HOW IT WORKS
Step One: Each adjudicator assigns a RAW Score for each Pillar on a scale of 1-10.
Step Two: Each RAW Score is converted into a weighted calculation per Pillar on the adjudication rubric to deliver a set of Weighted Scores.
Step Three: All Weighted Scores are combined to determine the total Assessment Score of the routine for each adjudicator.
Step Four: All three Assessment Scores are combined to create each routine's Final Score.
Studios will receive a PASSE Index Pillars of Dance Excellence Rubric in their welcome packet to help them have a greater understanding of how each adjudicator determined their scores for a specific routine.
Ties will be broken by the total Assessment Score of specific adjudication pillars in the order of highest point value to lowest point value. Should a tie not be broken at that time, a judges quorum will be taken to determine the winner.
AWARD SYSTEM BREAKDOWN
MERIT AWARDS
West Coast Dance Explosion will award every routine merit award pins based on their final adjudicated scores in the competition.
Merit award rankings by score are as follows.
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All routines receiving a FourSTAR Award or higher will be eligible to compete at the National Finals Event in July.
CATEGORY PLACEMENT AWARDS
In addition to the merit awards, placement rankings will be announced for each category.
If a category has between 1 and 9 entries 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place Awards will be given to the entries with the highest scores in that category.
If a category has 10 or more entries 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Place Awards will be given to the entries with the highest scores in that category.
THE WEST COAST POWER PACK
Overall awards will be presented up to the ten highest scoring soloists (based on their highest scoring solo) and up to the five highest scoring routines in the Duo/Trio, Small Group, Large Group, Line, Production, and Showstopper categories in each age division. In order to qualify for overall placement awards, a routine must score a 290 or higher.
All overall winning routines will receive “Power Pack” pins and an award!
SPIRIT
WEST COAST
OF
Each weekend, WCDE Competition Staff nominate studios that embody the important values that take any dancer from being a talented performer to being a successful artist. Values like kindness, being on time, caring for those around you, and bringing a positive attitude to any challenge or obstacle they face. Prior to the last award ceremony of the competition, a selection is made and an award is given on stage to celebrate the studio.
AWARD
ENTERTAINMENT
This award is presented to the routine the judging panel was collectively impressed by the overall showmanship of. This award is not based on adjudication scores. Judges will deliberate at the conclusion of their specific panel and award based on consensus. A maximum of two entertainment awards per regional event will be awarded. All group, line, production, and showstopper routines are eligible to win the Entertainment Award.
JUDGES
CHOICE
Judges deliberate prior to each awards ceremony and nominate routines to celebrate specifically based on the different facets of their performance. These awards are not based on points awarded. The number of judges choice awards to be given at any given time is solely under the discretion of the judging panel. Awards can range from a variety of titles including “Tops In Taps”, “Prop Chops”, “Attack!”, and “Passion Power” to name a few.
SCHEDULE CONSIDERATIONS
A typical weekend kicks off with SoloBlast competition taking place on Friday.
Group competition typically takes place on Saturday following workshop classes.
Due to scheduling constraints, group competition may occur on Friday. If a routine scheduled Friday before 3:30pm is unable to compete due to school attendance, a refund will be provided.
At all regional events, WCDE aims to compete all routines entered in the Mini and Junior age divisions by 9:00pm.
GENERAL RULES
● All competing dancers must be registered for the entire workshop.
● No teacher or professional dancers may compete with students. They may attend the workshops.
● Dancers may compete in more than one regional competition.
● No dangerous props (i.e., swords, fire, etc.) or use of live animals.
● Routines must be appropriate for family viewing. Disqualification could result if judges find a number inappropriate for family audiences.
● General props are permitted. Ceiling height can vary in each venue. Please check with WCDE Staff prior to the event if you have concerns with the size of a prop. WCDE can not guarantee storage space for props. NOTE: The placement and removal of props must be completed within 2 minutes. Deductions will occur if overtime.
● It is the sole responsibility of each studio to ensure that it’s props are taken on and off stage. It is the studio’s responsibility to ensure that the stage is completely clean and clear after the routine is finished. Dancers cannot stand on a prop that is over 6′ 6” tall. Props that stand above 9′ are not guaranteed to fit on the WCDE stage.
• Competing dancers must perform in their scheduled order.
• Routines that place in the top 5 of any PowerPack during the regional tour are ineligible to compete again at another regional city during the same season.
• Routines that performed in a regional event’s Studio Showcase or The Final Showdown at National Finals in the previous season are ineligible from competing in WCDE regional and national competitions for 12 months beginning at the close of the previous season’s National Finals.
• Should a Studio Owner or Competition Director desire to contest the category genre entered for any routine, it must be brought to the attention of the Backstage Manager within the ten routines following it in performance order.
● Competing dancers should be ready 30 minutes prior to their scheduled competition time. The Competition may run up to 30 minutes early and each dancer will be expected to perform at the earlier time.
● Routines will receive a 15 second grace period beyond the advertised routine time limit. Once a routine has exceeded the routine time limit and the 15 second grace period, a deduction of one point per second of time overage will be assessed. If a routine chooses to pay additional fees to extend the time limit on a specific routine, the routine is ineligible for the 15 second grace period.
● Visual coaching is prohibited.
● Videotaping and photography is prohibited during competition performances.