Competitions

*Invitational will be our All-Star and Champion artists, paired with the winners of some of our other competition divisions.

What is a Jack and Jill Competition?

A Jack and Jill competition is a social dance-based competition that you do not need a partner to enter. In preliminary and semi-final rounds, you are judged individually as you dance with a variety of random partners to randomized music selected by the DJ. In the final, you are paired with one partner that you will stay with for all songs and are judged as a couple.

In Novice and Newcomer, finals and preliminaries are both danced in heats. This means that many couples dance at the same time. In Intermediate and above, preliminaries are danced in heats and finals are usually a battle (two couples at a time) or spotlight (one couple at a time). This makes those finals a bit more like a performance.

If you are new to Jack and Jill Competitions, we suggest reading the Brazilian Zouk Dance Council’s guide for competitors.

2023 Prize Sponsors Included:

What are the rules?

Jack and Jill competitions only have a few rules:

• You must wear shoes (Foot Undeez, bare feet, flip-flops or socks not allowed)
• Your private areas must be covered
• No lifts (a lift is defined as a movement where both of a person’s feet leave the ground and their weight is supported by their partner)
• You must dance in the role you signed up for for the whole dance
• Dance accenting the downbeat (eg. 1, 2 &; “Brazilian Zouk” timing – “Lamba” timing constitutes an error, although LambaZouk movements are allowed)
• You cannot use props or costumes (including removing jackets, hats or clothing for show or stylistic purposes)

In addition, you are required to be on-time for competition check-in and to pick up your bib number. Failing to do so can result in a scratch (your elimination from the competition).

What role can I do?

You can dance as either a Lead or a Follow in your division. BZDC only tracks one role per competitor. So, if you compete as an Intermediate follow, you would also compete in Intermediate if you chose to lead.

You may only enter one competition and only in one role (for example, you cannot enter as a Novice lead and an Intermediate follow, or as both a lead and a follow in Intermediate).

What am I judged on?

You are judged primarily on Timing, Technique, and Teamwork. In addition, some points are given for Presentation and Difficulty. You can learn more about the criteria on the Brazilian Zouk Dance Council’s website and by reading their guide for competitors.

What level should I enter?

Your level is determined by the number of BZDC points you have. You can look up your points on the BZDC’s website if you have competed before.

Newcomer

• If you have a Newcomer pass or ZTN is your first congress and you are still familiarizing yourself with Brazilian Zouk basics, you should enter the Newcomer division. For those with a Newcomer pass, the competition is included in your event ticket.
• You can also enter Newcomer if you have not competed in another Jack and Jill, or if you have never made it past the preliminary round in a Novice Jack and Jill.
• You should not enter the Newcomer division if you have ever competed, or if you feel like your dancing is above a beginner level.

Novice

• If you have a regular Full Pass and have never competed, you MUST enter Novice unless you have been teaching regularly for more than 2 years (if you have been teaching for at least two years, you may compete in Intermediate).
• If you have never competed or have never made it past a preliminary round in Novice, you may compete in Newcomer instead.
• You must continue to dance in Novice until you have 20 Novice points.

Intermediate

• You may compete in Intermediate if you have been teaching regularly for at least two years.
• You must compete in Intermediate if you have 1-29 Intermediate points, or if you have 20 Novice points.
• You must continue competing in Intermediate until you have 30 Intermediate points.

Advanced

• You must compete in Advanced if you have at least 30 Intermediate points or if you have 1-39 Advanced points.
• You must continue competing in Advanced until you have 40 Advanced points.

Should I compete?

Competing is a personal choice. We think it’s a great thing to try at least once! It’s also a great way to meet people and build new dance relationships, win prizes, and add some excitement to your weekend.

Just remember that while skill may take you part of the way, Jack and Jills do have an element of luck that makes them exciting – but it also means it’s not what you should be using to judge your ability to social dance with others.