A: No. This competition has two parts with the first part being the First Special Olympics Ballroom Dance Competition in the USA and the second being a competition for amateur ballroom dancers.

Q: When is the competition and where is it being held?

A: July 5 & 6, 2008 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, 4000 Parnell Avenue, Fort Wayne, IN.

Q: Do I have to be a member of Fort Wayne Dancesport to compete at this competition?

A: In order to compete in the amateur portion (i.e. non-Special Olympics portion) of this competition each competitor must be a “Dancesport Athlete” member of USA Dance Inc. Applicable categories are include:

Category	Description	Annual Dues
Adult Athlete	Competitive dancer who is 19 or older	$60
Student Athlete	Competitive dancer who is 19 or older but younger than 35 and who is enrolled in school full time	$20
Minor Athlete	Competitive dancer who is younger than 19	$15

Unified Sports® Dancesport Athlete Partners (those who do not have a disability) who are competing in the Special Olympics portion of the competition must be at least “social” members of USA Dance Inc. No membership is required of Special Olympics dancers (those who have a disability).

Q: How can I tell what kind of membership I now have?

A: It is indicated on your USA Dance membership card.

Q: When do I change my membership category?

A: You can make this change when your membership is due to be renewed as long as your membership is changed prior to the competition. If your membership is not due to renew prior to the competition you must apply for the category change prior to your renewal date and prior to the competition.

Q: Can I dance at this competition with my instructor?

A: No, instructors are not eligible to compete at an amateur dance competition. Both members of each couple must be amateur dancers.

Q: I am a female dancer who does not have a regular dance partner. Can my sister and I compete as a couple?

A: No. A dance couple is defined by the rules of the competition as a male and a female dancing together.

Q: I don’t have an amateur dance partner. How can I find one for this competition?

A: The Fort Wayne Dancesport chapter newsletter will publish “partner wanted” ads. Send an email message to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Also, you can post a partner wanted ad on the Partner Search forum of the Fort Wayne Dancesport Web site. Be sure to indicate your age category, dance level and any other information that will help a potential competition partner know if you would be a good match. Also, consider asking your instructor if he or she knows of any potential partners.

Q: Someone said my dance dress outfit has to be black, is that true?

A: No. For a full explanation of the dress code read Section 3.1 (page 12) of the USA Dance rulebook. You can download the rulebook as a PDF file by following this link. If you look at the female section of the color specifications under Section 3.10.5 (page 16) you will see the notation of “C1nS” and this stands for “one color except skin color.” This applies to Pre-Teen I & II. You will also see “CnS,” which represents “any color except skin color.” This applies to all other age groups.

Q: What colors can my male partner wear?

A: Again you will need to look at the Dress Code in the Rulebook noted above for full details. Male dancers have less freedom of color. On the male section of the specifications in rulebook Section 3.10.5 you will find the notation “B,” which stands for black or midnight blue; "BO," which stands for black only; “W,” which stands for white and “LS,” which stands for long sleeve. If you are dancing in the age categories of Pre-Teen I through Adult you must follow these color rules for standard, smooth, Latin and rhythm events in all syllabus proficiency levels. If you are dancing in age categories Junior I through Senior III in Novice through Championship proficiency levels or Senior I - III in syllabus proficiency levels you have just a little more freedom in the smooth, Latin and rhythm events. You will see the notation “CnS,” which stands for any color except skin color.

If you are not sure about your dance apparel ask your instructor. If you still have questions, contact the competition organizer ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ). She is available to come to your studio to answer questions in person.

Q: What is it going to cost to dance as an amateur couple?

A: Just as we try at our social dances to provide affordable social dance opportunities our competition is an affordable opportunity to give competition dancing a try. If a couple is pre-teen; junior or youth dancers and they wanted to dance silver level syllabus these are their dance opportunities:

Bronze Standard (WFQ)

Silver Standard (WTFQ)

Bronze Latin (CSaR)

Silver Latin (CSaR)

Bronze Smooth (WTF)

Silver Smooth (WTFV)

Bronze Rhythm (CRSw)

Silver Rhythm (CRSwB)

That is a total of 27 dances but remember they can dance two age categories so that is a total of 54 dances and all for $75.00 each which is $150.00 a couple. Now if that is not enough there are Six Fun Dances and they can dance all of them at no additional charge. All of that for only $150.00 registration fee if you register by May 5, 2008!!!

WOW!! (Now there is an additional charge if you register late of $25.00 each partner, so don’t register late, but if you must June 5, 2008 is the final deadline for registration.)

If you are an adult (age 19 to 35) all of those same 27 dances would cost you $100.00 each which is $200.00 a couple to dance those same dances if you register by May 5, 2008. (Now there is an additional charge if you register late of $30.00 each partner, so don’t register late, but if you must final deadline is June 5, 2008.)

If you are a Senior I, II or III (35 and older) you can dance all those same dances in two age categories. So that makes 54 dances and again all for $100.00 per person or $200.00 a couple if you register by May 5, 2008.

Now those were examples of the maximum number of dances a couple could dance if they wanted to. Not everyone is going to want to dance that many dances. But no matter how many you select these are great prices that you will not find at other competitions. So this is the perfect opportunity to give it a try and stay right in your own home town so no travel or motel costs would be involved. As this shows the costs for an amateur couple are very affordable.

Q: Do I have to follow the color and costume rules to dance in the “Fun Dances” or the “Formation Dances” or the “Solo” dances?

A: No you do not because these three groups of dances have been designated as nonsanctioned dances. This mean that the rules are more relaxed by which the organizer can operate these dances. So to make it simple you do not have to follow the Dress Code to the letter. But you do have to dress to cover the intimate parts of the dancer’s bodies by following the Shape Area rule (Section 3.10.4) which is “minimum area that has to be covered. Transparent materials are allowed in the following areas: the waist, shoulders, back to the waist and sleeves. Transparent materials are not allowed in the panty, the area between the Hip Line and Panty Line, or the breast areas.”

Q: My instructor is now using the DVIDA syllabus. Are these the only steps I can dance in the competition?

A: The American Smooth and Rhythm syllabus lists can differ significantly depending on the organization which provides them. Because of the differences between various syllabi, syllabus events in the American styles at USA Dance competitions will require that the competitors stay within the technical difficulty of the proficiency level in which they are dancing (Newcomer, Bronze, Silver, Gold) but not necessarily within a specific set of steps. The American syllabi provided (see Syllabus at www.usadance.org) should be used as a measure of the difficulty of each proficiency level for the Smooth and Rhythm styles. Syllabus steps may be from the USA Dance syllabus or any other published syllabus,

Q: I want to compete and come to the social dance Saturday night. Is the price of the dance included in my competition package fee?

A: No, the price of the semiformal social dance on Saturday night, July 5, 2008 from 8:30 pm until 11:30pm is a separate price of $20.00 per person. Now, there is a Spectator Package which does include the price of the semi-formal social dance. In the Spectator Package you will get reserved seating for Saturday competitive dancing (session 1) and the Saturday night semi-formal social dance (session 2) and Sunday competitive dancing (session 3) for only $25.00. That is a savings of $15.00. This is a great deal!

Q: Are you going to be needing volunteers for the competition other than the Unified Sports® Dancesport Dance Partner and what will the volunteers be doing?

A: Yes, closer to the competition we will be calling for volunteers to work two or three hour shifts at the competition. There are lots of jobs that need to be done such as: ticket takers; door attendants; ushers; dressing room staff; runners; floater; setup/ teardown; trophy table staff just to name a few. We will have a listing of all the volunteer jobs and a description of what each one does. And we will have a sign up sheet for volunteers to select the time they are available. Like our dances we are all volunteers and it takes a crew of us to get the job done. Lots of volunteers doing just a little gets a big job done with grace and ease.

Q: If I dance in a formation team and also do a solo how many registrations do I fill out?

A: The formation team will submit one registration for the entire team. You as an individual do not need to submit a separate registration form for the formation team. Since you also want to dance a solo you will submit a registration form for your solo dance only.

ALL THESE QUESTIONS RELATE TO AGE AND PROFICIENCY LEVEL OF ENTRIES.

Q: I am a 51 year old male dancer and I want to dance with two ladies one is 46 and the other is 40 and I and both ladies dance silver level. How do I register to dance with both ladies?

A: Lady 46 and Gentleman 51 should dance in the Senior II age group. Senior II age group is 45 or greater so both 46 and 51 are in that age group.

Lady 40 and Gentleman 51 should dance in the Senior I age group. Senior I age group is 35 or greater so both 40 and 51 are in that age group.

Rule that applies: 4.5.6.1 Both members of the couple must meet the age requirements …… (page 24 of USA Dance: DanceSport Rulebook 2008-2009)

Since both ladies are in different age categories you can dance silver level and gold level with both ladies.

Rule that applies: 4.5.3.8 Refer to the Maximum Enterable Events for DanceSport Athletes chart on page 22 of USA Dance: DanceSport Rulebook 2008-2009

When it comes to the actual registration you must fill out two registration forms indicating yourself as the partner on both and you must submit both at the same time. Please note the male in this example will only pay $100 one time and each lady will pay $100 making a total of $300. Don’t forget to purchase your Saturday night social dance tickets also.

Q: Can a 33 year old man dance with a 49 year old lady? What age classification would we dance in?

A: Yes, you can dance together. The man’s age falls into the Adult age group and the lady’s age falls into the Senior II age group.

Rule that applies: 4.5.5.1 One partner of the couple may be no more than two age classifications younger…… (page 24 of USA Dance: DanceSport Rulebook 2008-2009)

You would register under the Adult age category. The Adult age group is 19 and greater and both 33 and 49 are in that age group.

Rule that applies: 4.5.6.1 Both members of the couple must meet the age requirements…. (page 24 of USA Dance: DanceSport Rulebook 2008-2009)

Q: I want to dance with four different ladies how do I register for the competition?

A: Congratulations for being in such demand but you must limit yourself.

When dancing in Fort Wayne Dancesport Championships each dancer can only dance with two partners. You are further limited to the fact that you cannot dance in the same age group and same style with both partners. You can dance in different age groups and different dance styles with no problem.

For example:

You may dance lets say silver with both partners if you are dancing American Smooth with one and American Rhythm with the other.

You may dance lets say silver with one partner in American Smooth and American Rhythm and silver with the other partner in International Standard and International Latin

You may dance all styles of silver and gold with both partners as long as they are in different age groups

I guess to make it simple you cannot have two different ladies signed up to dance in the same dance with you at any time for this competition.

Reason for setting this rule: If there were no limits on the age of the partners you danced with, it might happen that you could be dancing in the same style with two different partners which would be a nightmare for setting up heats. So to eliminate that problem for this competition I elected to set a limit of only two partners per dancer.

Realizing that each age partnership might have a little different twist, I suggest you set up your partnerships and select your dances. Then call and make sure your choices are OK before you register.

Call 260-494-3185

Q: Where can I send additional questions for this FAQ?

A: Send your questions to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call (260) 494-3185.

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