Event Information

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At the Southeastern Dancesport Championships, we offer many different ways to dance so that everyone has ample opportunity to demonstrate their skills. With so many options, we want to make sure that everything is clear. For this competition, the rules about most of the events can be found in the USA Dance Rulebook, although there are a few events that are more unique.

 USA Dance has established a new leveling scheme for the 2025-2026 season based on proficiency classes. If you have competed in a USA Dance competition since the 2024 National Championships, you can see your proficiency class here. The following levels will be offered at the 2026 National Championships:

• N-Class Pre-Bronze
• E-Class Bronze
• D-Class Silver
• C-Class Gold
• C-Class Open (equivalent to Novice)
• B-Class Open (equivalent to Pre-Champ)
• S-Class Open (equivalent to Championship)

Competitors are allowed to enter up to two levels of the events offered at Nationals. We are also offering A-Class Open (Rising Star) events, which are open to all competitors that are ranked at A Class or below. These do not count towards the two allowed levels, so B Class dancers can compete in B Class, A Class, and S Class events. 

 The amateur division is for couples where both partners are  amateur dancers and both are the same level. In these events, the couple  is judged against the other couples on the floor. Dancers of all ages  are welcome, with the youngest age division being Teddy Bear (7 and  under) and the oldest being Senior V (75 and older). 

The new event type for this year's Southeastern Dancesport Championships is Jack & Jill events. In these events, dancers are randomly paired with partners, and they have to use their skills of leading and following to put on a masterful performance, even though they have no choreography to fall back on. There is no additional fee for Jack & Jill events.

For this year's Jack & Jill events, competitors will dance every dance twice with two different partners. In the finals, leaders and followers will be judged separately and awarded separately.

We offer two levels of Jack & Jill, based on the steps dancers are most familiar with. Dancers who are comfortable with the Bronze or Pre-Bronze syllabus should enter the Beginner level. Dancers who are familiar with the Silver or Gold syllabus or Open figures should dance in the Advanced level.

Master of Syllabus events are special amateur events that we encourage everyone to dance. They are open to all with the one restriction that all figures must be drawn from the USA Dance syllabus. This ensures a fair basis for comparison while allowing competitors to measure their ability to dance fundamental figures against dancers of all levels. There is no additional fee for Master of Syllabus events.

These events are for the best of the best. Professional couples, who have made dance their career, compete against each other at the highest level. Expect to see beautiful dancing with impeccable technique, fantastic musicality, and deep emotion.

Pro/Am and Mixed Am divisions are mixed couple divisions where two dancers of different experience levels compete as a couple. In Pro/Am, one of the dancers is a professional while the other is an amateur, and in Mixed Am, both dancers are amateurs but of different skill levels. In these events, the lower-level partner is judged.

In past years, we have offered Teacher/Student and Rookie-Vet events. Due to changes in the USA Dance rules, both of these event types will now be run as Mixed Am events.

Dancers who want to showcase their skills in their role on their own or who do not have a partner can dance in the Solo category. In these events, which are split between leaders and followers, competitors demonstrate their choreography in their role in the absence of a partner. This is an excellent opportunity for dancers to show their ability to execute their technique and for judges to truly evaluate a dancer's ability as an individual.

Switch-Role events were first run at a USA Dance Regional Championship in the 2024 Southeastern Dancesport Championships. In these events, competitors change from leading to following and back over the course of a song. This year, we are pleased to offer two different levels of switch-role events.

In the Beginner level, couples switch roles twice. The first switch will occur after 20-30 seconds. The second switch occurs 45-60 seconds later.

In the Intermediate level, couples are required to switch at least twice, but they can switch more if they wish. There is a prescribed switch after the first 20-30 seconds of music, and couples must perform one additional switch on their own before the end of the song. 

Switch-Role events are open to all couples and all levels. There is no additional fee to compete in Switch-Role events