Freestyle Champions

Champions Freestyle

Eligibility

 

  • Recognised as a Champions (Masters) Dancer.
  • You may choose to lead or follow regardless of your gender.
  • If you have placed 1st in a national championship at Advanced level or higher more than 12 months prior to this competition.
  • If the couples are multi levels one member must be eligible for Champions and one can be Intermediate Plus or above if dancing up.
  • At the discretion of the Directors an advanced couple can be invited to dance up. In the event they do not place they have the right to drop back down.
  • Special dispensation - If you have never placed in Champions (Masters) & have not competed in Champions (Masters) for last 3 years, you are eligible to apply for dispensation to compete at advanced at the discretion of the VMJC Directors.

Dancers Excluded
Dancers of a beginner or intermediate level.

New Format from 2019

We are excited to announce an innovative new format for the Champions Freestyle section of VMJC.

We have decided to add a round of BATTLES into the progressions to the final. We are looking forward to this being an exciting and entertaining spectacle for the audience and a fun addition for the dancers.

In addition to the traditional 2 pathways to the final (heats and repechage), we have added a Couple vs Couple BATTLE round between the heats and the repechage.

There will therefore be 3 pathways to the final (retaining the guarantee that every couple gets to dance at least twice):

  • Pathway one - win your heat and head straight to the final.
  • Pathway two - A round of head-to-head battles, one couple against another couple (details below). Win your battle and go straight to the final.
  • Pathway three - A repechage, for one more chance to make it through to the final. Win the repechage and take the last spot in the final.

Note that there are no changes to the heats, the repechage or the final. The Battle round is an added round for fun, spectacle and more great dancing opportunities!

How it will work at VMJC 2019

There are currently 12 entries for the Champs section.

The first round will consist of two randomly assigned heats of 6 couples each. The couple that the judges place first in each of the two heats gets an immediate place in the final.

The Battle round will be arranged as follows:

  • The 2nd placed couple from Heat A will battle the 4th placed couple from Heat B. The winner of this battle will progress to the final.
  • The 2nd placed couple from Heat B will battle the 4th placed couple from Heat A. The winner of this battle will progress to the final.
  • The 3rd placed couple from Heat A will battle the 3rd placed couple from Heat B. The winner of this battle will progress to the final.

The Battles will consist of both couples on the floor at the same time dancing to one song of the organisers' choosing for approximately 90 seconds.

The Repechage will be a dance off between the losers of each of the battles (3 couples), and the 5th and 6th placed couples from each of the first round heats (4 couples) - making a repechage with 7 couples in it. The couple placed first by the judges in the repechage will progress to the final - making 6 couples in the final.

Please note: The format will be adjusted if the number of entries changes.

Aerials (optional)
Baby Aerials: Allowed
Full Aerials: 2 per song.

Number of Songs
Heats: 2 Songs
One-On-One Battles: 1 Song
Finals: See details below.

Music Tempo
Open

Music Length
Heats and Finals 2 – 3 mins
Battle: 90 secs

The Final
There will be 1 group song, 1 – 2 Directors Choice songs, 1 Own song and a new format called a Rapid Fire Spotlight Dance (see below for Rapid Fire Description).

Other Notes
This category is judged and awarded as a couple.
Trophies awarded as 1st, 2nd & 3rd

The Rapid Fire Spotlight Dance will be danced to one song. All couples will remain on the dance floor for the duration of the Rapid Fire Spotlight, forming a semi-circle around each couple as they dance. Each couple will dance for 1 major phrase of the song (16 Modern Jive counts or 32 straight counts), after which they will return to the semi-circle as another couple moves into the middle to dance. This format will continue throughout the song until ALL couples have danced at least twice.