Q: How do you qualify for the Cadence Dance Finals?
A: Routines qualify for the Cadence Dance Finals automatically by competing at ANY Cadence Qualifier, no minimum score required.
Q: Not all competitions have the same rules/scoring systems, how can they be considered equal qualifiers?
A: It’s true, all of our participating competitions have rules that differ slightly however, their basic formats are actually quite similar.
We have carefully reviewed the rules of each participating competition and we’re confident that they each present an equal opportunity to qualify for the Cadence Dance Finals.
Q: What’s included in the entry fees?
A: A full-day of workshop classes with top instructors, the studio director’s wine and cheese, Family Movie Night, the Cadence Dance Off Showcase, and more. Pageant entry fees include rehearsals for the opening number, apparel for this performance, adjudicated audition classes and the Pageant Solo Showcase.
Tickets are sold for the Awards Night & Closing Party but we try to make it as affordable as possible for families!
Q: Why become a Cadence Qualifier?
- It’s easy! We take care of the organization, planning, scheduling and execution of the event. There’s really no work involved for you.
- Participating competitions are effectively adding a Finals to their yearly tour without any of the additional work or cost.
- Cadence is a well-established and professional event that you’ll be proud to be a part of.
- Earn a percentage of the Cadence entry fees when studios use your competition as their qualifier!
- We’ll supply promotional materials that you can choose to distribute to your clients or put in your programs as well as scholarship awards to use at your events.
- Being a Cadence Qualifier is a marketable alliance that can draw studios to your competition.
- Cadence aims to bring competitions, studios and dancers from across the country together to share their passion for dance!
Q: How is the Performance Level determined?
A: Studio directors are asked to use their discretion and select a Performance Level for their dancers based on the following guidelines:
Level I (Novice/First-Year Competitive Dancers)
Level II (Intermediate/Part-Time Dancers)
Dancers who dance 5 hours per week or less and/or have been competing for 3 years or less.
Level III (Advanced Dancers)
Dancers who dance more than 5 hours per week and/or have been competing for more than 3 years.
Cadence Dance Finals reserves the right to move dancers to a higher Performance Level if they’ve been misplaced. We will NOT move dancers to a lower Performance Level once the competition has started so please take care when submitting your entry information.
Q: How does the Scoring System work at Cadence?
The Cadence scoring system varies depending on the Performance Level of the dancers.
Level I dancers can achieve our top awards with lower scores than our Level II dancers and in turn, our Level III dancers need.
This allows for more consistent scores across the competition as a whole while still giving less experienced dancers the opportunity to succeed.
Please visit our Scoring & Awards section to see the full scoring systems used at Cadence.
Q: Does every dancer receive an award?
A: Absolutely! Every routine & every dancer will receive an award for each of their routines.
Q: How many overall awards are given at the Cadence Dance Finals?
A: Cadence awards overall prizes at each of our Performance Levels. The total number of overalls awarded will depend on the number of entries in each overall category. However, up to 420 overalls will be awarded at our red-carpet Awards Gala.
Q: Do you award cash prizes?
A: Yes! Cash awards are won by the 1st Overall winners in each overall category. Best Costume, Best Choreography, Best Production and Dance-Off winners also receive cash prizes.
Q: As a dance parent, where can I find the competition schedule and when will it be available?
A: Please contact your Studio Director for information regarding the competition schedule.
The first draft of the schedule is sent to the Studio Directors at least one month before the Finals. Once we’ve received corrections, updates and quick-change conflicts back from each studio, we create a revised schedule and send the final version back to the Studio Directors.
Dates and times of other related events for the week are available in the Competition Details section.
Q: Can the Cadence Dance Finals accommodate scheduling requests?
A: Scheduling requests should be made at the time of registration and can be included in the Notes section of your entry submission. We will do our very best to accommodate as many requests as we can however in order to maintain a fair and conflict-free schedule for ALL studios, it’s not always possible & we appreciate your understanding in this matter.
Still have questions? Feel free to contact us, we’d be happy to hear from you!