FAQ

1. Intermediate Division: Dancers who dance two or less hours per week. Maximum of one year previous competition experience. This division is meant for recreational dancers. 2. Competitive Division: Dancers who have five years or less of competition experience and who dance a maximum of five hours per week. 3. Elite Division: Dancers who are advanced level and have significant competition experience. These dancers have had extensive training. ** Should there be dancers in a group of two levels, the level should be determined by the majority of the dancers ** Any Soloist in the elite division may not compete in the intermediate division in a duet/trio or group. **All Soloists must compete all solo routines at the same level. ** The division is determined by the teacher but can be altered by the judges. ** The judges’ decision is final.

A large group is any routine less than three minutes in duration with 10-19 participants. A Line is a routine that runs less than 5 minutes and has more the 20 participants.   A production is any routine less than eight minutes in duration with at least 15 participants that conveys a story and can include entrances, exits, costume changes, and/or Broadway production qualities.

Open: A routine that is a combination of any of the other categories. Acro: A routine that contains primarily gymnastic tricks, There should be a blend of gymnastics and dance together.   Ballet: A routine that consists of classical steps and ballet technique. Ballet shoes must be worn.   Pointe: A routine that consists of ballet/pointe technique. Pointe shoes must be worn.                                                                      Ballroom: A routine that includes steps developed from old European folk dances such as the waltz, Latin American dances such as the tango, rumba, and cha-cha, and dances of 20th-century origin such as the foxtrot and quickstep.  Baton: Routine using baton(s) and baton technique.      Character: A routine that portrays a character that is easily recognizable, i.e. a cat, dog or movie or cartoon character, etc.         Cheer Dance: A routine that has a combination of strong, sharp movements, vocal cheering and may incorporate dance.                       Drill: A group performing military type moves with precision marching and may incorporate any type of dance.                                    Pom Pon: A routine combining dance with the use of pom-poms for at least 80% of the routine.  Folkloric: A routine incorporating ethnic styles of dance such as Polkas, Hawaiian, Spanish etc.                              Clogging: A routine that uses clogging technique.                                  Song & Dance: A routine that combines dancing and singing. The singing may have back up vocal accompaniment only.                    Theatre Acting: A routine that includes a performer portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play. Fashion Model/Sports Wear: (solos only) – Casual skirts, pants etc. select sport, skiing, tennis, horseback riding etc. Runway “T-style” modeling that must include modeling technique.                            Fashion Model/Swim Wear: (solos only)- Swim wear, Runway “T-style” modeling that must include modeling technique.                      Fashion Model/Formal: (solos only)- Any party dress or “After 5” attire. Runway “T-style” modeling that must include modeling technique.    Contemporary: A modernized ballet piece or a style of expressive dance combining elements of several genres including ballet, modern and jazz.  Hip Hop: A dance that consists of the latest street dance style, as seen in current dance videos.                                                  Musical Theatre: A routine performed to the music of a Broadway musical show or a movie musical.   Modern: A routine containing expressive movement and classic modern dance technique.                         Lyrical: A routine that is performed to the lyrics or mood of the music. Jazz: A routine that utilizes jazz technique such as isolations and contractions performed to upbeat music.                                                 Tap: A routine utilizing tap technique. Tap shoes must be worn. Voice: Routine may be any type of vocal presentation. Accompaniment must be on CD or digital file. No lead vocals permitted in the recording, only backup voices will be permitted.

We strive to have the new season’s calendar posted by the first week in August. Beginning in May, you may find our “Proposed Schedule” on our homepage by clicking the White button that says “Proposed Schedule”.  This schedule is updated as dates change prior to final publishing in August.  If you have particular cities you’d like to inquire about, please don’t hesitate to email us!

If you’ve entered the competition online and you are MORE than one week from a regional competition start date (or two weeks from a national competition start date), you should make any necessary changes to your existing routines by logging into the Teacher Center and choosing “Register/Make Changes”. Any changes necessary within one week of a regional competition (and two weeks of a national competition) must be made in WRITING, by emailing changes@starbound.net. These are considered “late” changes.  ** Any late changes are subject to change fees.

In most cases, general show schedules will be posted on our website under “Show Times” and also emailed to all entered studios and at least one week in advance. Individual “studio schedules” will become available FOR ALL PAID IN FULL ENTRIES on the Tuesday before a regional event and five days before a national event.  They can be accessed via the Teacher Center on our website.

Beginning in 2021, any gift certificates or credits received are automatically uploaded to your Teacher Center for use when checking out of our online registration system.  If you still have paper gift/credit certificates in your possession, all gift certificates and credit certificates must be mailed to our office (420 Route 9, Lanoka Harbor, NJ 08734) in their original form well in advance of the event to receive credit. Please label the certificate with your studio name, and the city and date of the competition you plan to attend. PRIOR to mailing, you can make a partial payment online and email to notify us of your intent to use gift certificates/credits for the remainder of the balance. Once we receive the certificates we will credit the appropriate amount to your entries.

Venues are posted on our website. Click on the “Calendar” tab and then choose the city from the Calendar page. The venue information will be listed there.

All special requests must be submitted in writing to info@starbound.net. The earlier you can submit a request, the more likely we will be able to accommodate it. We cannot guarantee accommodations for any requests, but we will make every effort to work with your needs. All schedule requests must include the following information: the Name of the routine, the Level (Intermediate, Competitive or Elite), the Division (solo, duet/trio, Small Group etc.), AND the Age Group (9-10, 11-12 etc.) that applies to each routine.

Productions have a time limit of 8 minutes. Lines have a limit of 5 minutes. All other routines have a time limit of 3 minutes. If your routines do not fit these parameters you will be charged fees for “extended time” at a rate of $5.00 per performer in the non-conforming routine.

We request that all entries be in and paid in full at least 3 weeks in advance. Entries may be accepted after that date, but for scheduling purposes, we request entry as soon as possible.

At Starbound, our Title entries are a separate entry from the standard Solo category.  You can enter BOTH the Title and the Solo Category, and will pay for each separately and perform in both categories in the schedule.  A Title entry will answer an interview question from the judges and then will perform. The Title entry will ONLY be eligible for the Title Awards.  To be eligible for the “top soloists”, a performer must be entered in the standard Solo category. A performer may ONLY be entered in the Title division ONCE per event.

-Contestants who are enrolled in a Starbound Competition will be able to register on-site for an “Improv” dance-off.

-Space is limited!  Register Early!

-Choose one, either a Hip Hop or Contemporary music Selection when entering for the Improv dance-off.

-Competition will consist of four rounds of 1 minute of dancing for each music genre, with all contestants, regardless of age, improvising on stage at the same time.

-Judges will identify the performers who will advance to the subsequent improv rounds, until 1 winner is announced for each music genre.

-NO ACROBATICS PERMITTED.

 

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