Dance Rules

MAUPINFEST
Dance Rules

• Register at the festival prior to contest call times.

• The dancer who registers last will dance first.

• Dancers who have won first place in a category two years in a row must sit out of that category for one year. (This refers to winning the same specific category, so, if you won Category A two years in a row. but only won Category B once, you can enter Category B again, but you must sit out Category A, and this refers to active contest years. The festival and/or contest being on hiatus cannot count as your "sit-out" years.

• Shoes with taps are allowed but not required.

• Contestants eligible to dance for the National Championship contest must finish first in their respective age categories (Junior, Adult, Senior) or have previously placed first in a buck/flatfoot dance contest in the United States recognized and evidenced by the MaupinFest dance judges.

• The Youth, Adult, and Senior Buck Dance categories consist of a single round. The National Championship category consists of two rounds (preliminaries and finals). The top three scores in the National Championship preliminaries will advance to the National Championship finals where these three contestants will dance against each other again for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. For more information, see the Scoring Criteria page.

• A tie for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd places at any point in any of the dance categories, including the National Championship, will result in a tie-breaking dance off. This includes ties among more than two contestants. If there is a tie for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place at any point in any category, all contestants will dance to a medley of two tunes which will be chosen by the band.

• Contestants may choose from a list of traditional tunes in the Junior, Adult, and Senior Buck Dance categories and in the preliminaries of the National Championship category or the band will play a tune of their choice. In the National Championship finals, all contestants will dance to a medley of traditional tunes chosen by the band.

• Dancers are scored in five criteria: "Rhythm and Timing" (1 to 25), "Authenticity" (1 to 25). "Matching the Music" (1 to 25), "Posture and Smoothness" (1 to 15), and "Variety of Steps" 1 to 10). The total scores of each judge will be added together to find the grand total score for each dancer per round (This applies to all dance rounds, including tiebreakers). The top three scores in each category's preliminary will advance to the top three.

• If there are no finals in the category, the highest score receives 1st place. If there are finals, the top three will dance again against each other for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. In the case of finals, or ties in any category, the scores from the previous rounds do not carry over and the judges will use new scoresheets. For more information, see the Scoring Criteria page.

• Any disqualification of a contestant will require a unanimous decision.

• The decisions of the judges are final.