Big Sky Games

Welcome to this year’s 14th annual Dance Sports Competition. On behalf of the Big Sky State Games, we invite you to register online and we thank you for your continued support and loyalty.

All dances will be on a rolling schedule and the competition will take breaks as assigned but all dances will just move from one to the next. We will not need to hold competition on Friday. Minis, Petites, Juniors & Teens will perform on Saturday with Seniors, Adults & Productions performing on Sunday. Please see schedule below:

Saturday, April 16
7:00 a.m. Doors Open
8:00 a.m. Competition Begins
9:45 a.m. Break
10:00 a.m. Competition Resumes
1:15 p.m. Awards (Minis & Petites) & Lunch
1:45 p.m. Competition Resumes
4:30 p.m. Dinner Break
5:00 p.m. Dance Off
6:00 p.m. Awards (Juniors & Teens)

Sunday, April 17
7:00 a.m. Doors Open
8:00 a.m. Competition Begins
11:00 a.m. Break
11:15 a.m. Competition Resumes
12:30 p.m. Break
12:45 p.m. Awards (Seniors, Adults & Productions)

Monday, March 28

Deadline for Master Studio Application, Entry Forms, and Master Routine Rosters.

Late Entry

$50 late fee will be assessed for entries postmarked from March 29 to April 4. No entry forms will be accepted after April 4, 2016. Music will be digital mp3 format and mailed to Big Sky State Games.

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES - Only $10/dancer

Dance Off Star Challenge gives dancers the opportunity to learn choreography from an industry professional and compete in an audition style 'dance off' before a panel of judges. Set in the theatre, just like a reality TV program, an elimination process will be conducted, allowing students to experience a different style of competition while gaining the valuable experience of an audition.

The Dance-Off will take place Saturday evening before the Awards Ceremony. Sign up and payment will be onsite during the DanceSport competition ONLY. Dance technique, speed at absorbing choreography, and performance quality will be the main points for adjudication. All ages, levels welcome to participate! Only $10.00 per dancer.

Big Sky State Games T-shirts can be retrieved at the check-in table during the two-day competition by the studio/school representative. Studio shirts will be bagged together for one pick-up. Each studio/teacher will receive one free program, which will be included in the t-shirt pick-up. A free ticket to Opening Ceremonies, July 15th, will be mailed at a later date to each dance athlete.

Normal Scoring

Entries will be scored on 4 divisions: Technique, Choreography, Execution, and Appearance. Awards Ceremony will be held after the competition on Saturday, April 16th and Sunday, April 17th.

The top 3 scores in each age division will receive a Gold, Silver, and Bronze medal. Outstanding presentation in each dance category and solo, duo/trio, and group will be awarded an Overall High Score special award, which will be handed out at the Award Ceremony on Saturday or Sunday. Production routines and teacher feature will not be placed in an age division. Participants that do not place Gold, Silver, or Bronze will receive a participation ribbon.

If competing against two or more other routines, the highest scoring dance will receive the Gold. The second and third high scores will be awarded with Silver and Bronze medals. All scores are final.

Tie Breakers

In the event of a tie, the performance with the highest average technical score will receive the higher placement. If the average technical score is also a tie, a vote of all three judges will determine the higher placement.

Competing Against Yourself

If you are competing against yourself, the medal will be determined by the following point bracket.

• Gold 300-250
• Silver 249-200
• Bronze 199 & below

Medals

Gold - Silver - Bronze
Awarded for each category, age, and level.

Plaques

Gold - Silver - Bronze
Awarded for Teacher Feature and Production Routines.

Overall High Point

Awarded for each category, as well as for solo, duo/trio, and group.

Sportsmanship Award

Awarded to the one studio that demonstrates fairness, civility, honesty, unselfishness, respect, and responsiblity.

Judge's Choice Award

Awarded to a routine that all judges agree on.

Dance-off Star

Awarded to the last dancer standing.

Routine Music MUST be provided as an open .MP3 format by April 4, 2016.

Music Submission

Each Studio is responsible for submitting their music to the Big Sky State Games office by April 4, 2016. All music MUST be pre-edited, named appropriately, and provided in an .mp3 format to help minimize any issues during the event. Music files (.mp3) may (1) be saved to a USB flash drive and mailed to Big Sky State Games (which will also be used as a backup at the event), or (2) be saved to an online cloud service (such as DropBox or Google Drive), with the URL provided to info@bigskygames.org. USB flash drives are preferable; any music provided on CD or any other format will need to be converted at a cost of $2/song. Any media provided will be available immediately after the event for pickup. Please test all of your songs before you submit them.

Other info to consider:

• Solos can be no longer than 2 minutes and 45 seconds.
• Duo/Trio and Group routines can be no longer than 3 minutes.
• Production Numbers can be up to 7 minutes long.
• Overtime routines will automatically result in a 5-point deduction.

Music Naming

Please use the following naming structure when labeling your music: Studio Name - Routine Name.mp3 (e.g., Big Sky Games Studio - Over the Rainbow.mp3). Please avoid any special characters, including apostrophes.

Music Mailing

Mail music and payment to the following address:
Big Sky State Games
Attn: Dance Sports-Stage
Box 7136
Billings, MT 59103

Back-ups

Each Studio is responsible to bring back-up music for each performance, and should provide it to the sound booth immediately if there is a technical problem. Backup songs may be put on a playlist on an ipod or a back-up CD.

DanceSport judges are educated and trained professionals in multiple genres of dance and are sensitive to the various skill levels represented by the dancers' differing ages, skill level and performance skills.

Three judges will adjudicate each entry. Each adjudication will be supplemented with judge’s scores for technique, choreography, execution and appearance and typed comments. Adjudication packages will be mailed to the Studio Director / Owner.