Contests & Shows

We pride ourselves on being the stress free weekend at the end of the competition year, where we can all come together, let our hair down, be creative, take epic classes and party/dance all night long! With that said, what’s a little competition amongst friends!

TAP is a WSDC Sanctioned Event and hosts a myriad of Sanctioned Jack & Jill Contests (All Gender / Any Role / Improv Divisions), and a couple other comps for funzies! Please see our schedule for a full list of Divisions.  Here is the breakdown of each division offered:

Jack & Jill Contests (Points Based):

• Novice Jack & Jill – Open to any dancer who hasn’t pointed up out of Novice. (Typically starts on Friday evening)
• Intermediate Jack & Jill – Must meet World Swing Dance Counsel requirements. (Typically starts on Friday evening)
• Advanced Jack & Jill – Must meet World Swing Dance Counsel requirements.
• Allstar Jack & Jill – Must meet World Swing Dance Counsel requirements.

Fun Contests & Shows:

• Strictly Swing B (Nov & Int) – Contestants sign up a couple and dancers are not allowed to have any Advanced points.
• Strictly Swing Open (< Champ) – Contestants sign up as a couple. All levels welcome except bonafide Champion Dancers.
• Champs/Allstar Strictly – This is Friday Nights big show! At minimum, must have Allstar points. This contest is designed to be a good time and a show more than a serious contest. This is a celebration of both dance, improv skills and showmanship. We try to do something different each year for this contest. We did a DJ Battle, we’ve done sudden death… stay tuned for what each year will bring! 
• Inspirational Champs Improv Show – This typically is a standard Champions Jack & Jill contest. Although depending on the year and scheduling considerations, we sometimes run this as an invitational division. If you’re coming to TAP and are not on staff, but would like to be in this division, please let us know! 

Notes on dancing in multiple contests:

• Non-Dominant Role Jack & Jills – Yes please! Feel free to dance one division as a leader and one division as a follow. We follow the World Swing Dance Council’s restrictions here. You can only dance 1 level down from your highest ranking, or you can petition down one more level in accordance with WSDC’s rules. Please be advised that to make our schedule even remotely work on time, we often are forced to run contests simultaneously in two ballrooms. We do our best to make sure we account for people dancing up or down 1 division, but as of now, we can’t see a way to make 2 division separation totally accounted for. So you might need to choose a division if you make semis. Please see WSDC full specs HERE.
• Strictly Swing Divisions – Follow normal guidelines above for your traditional role. For non traditional roles that a dancer has less points in than their traditional, you may dance down. This is a great place to sharpen your skills.
• Allstars – You man dance in both the DJ Battle SS and the Strictly Swing Open division. If you are in the Invitational, you may not dance the Allstar Jack & Jill.

Possible Division Condensing
Although TAP is typically a very well attended event and has almost always reached the upper tier for each leveled division; with the Global Pandemic, it is almost impossible to predict turn out or the state of affairs leading up to the event that might cause fluctuation in competition numbers. So please know that there is always a chance that any division might fall below the threshold to run. If ultimately we all face that situation we will follow WSDC guidelines and condense division down.  Please know this is not our intention, but it’s always a possibility.