Dance is for everybody. I believe that the dance came from the people and that it should always be delivered back to the people.

-Alvin Ailey

Chreorgraphic Styles

  • A dancer performing a leap on stage with colorful lighting, wearing a red costume.

    Lyrical

    Lyrical dance is a dance style that embodies various aspects of ballet, jazz, acrobatics, and modern dance. According to Jennifer Fisher, lyrical dance is “strongly associated with clearly displayed emotional moods, fast-moving choreographic strategies, emphasis on virtuosic display, illustration of song lyrics, and, in group form, exact unison

  • The image shows a stage performance with a group of women dressed in matching costumes of black tops and long pink skirts, along with two men in different costumes. One woman in the foreground appears to be singing or speaking, while the others are smiling and posing. The background features a scenic backdrop of a large, leafy tree and a bridge, resembling a theatrical scene.

    Production

    Character/Broadway routines should consist of original, imaginative, or innovative dance movements that incorporate a theme, concept, or characterization throughout the entire performance. The use of small props or handheld props is allowed, but not mandatory or needed to compete in this category.

  • Performer on stage in costume with fishnet stockings, red hair, and expressive pose, flanked by two dancers with back to the camera, wearing sequin tops, fishnet stockings, and straw hats.

    Jazz

    Jazz incorporates traditional stylized dance movements and combinations, formation and/or level changes, leaps, and turns. Emphasis should be placed on proper technical execution, extension, control, and body placement. Props are NOT permitted unless part of the costume, and/or only used momentarily in the routine. Thematic routines with or without props should be in the SHOW or CHARACTER category..

More

  • A group of women in colorful, tropical costumes performing a dance on stage with a Christmas tree background. One woman in the front is holding a fire poi, smiling.

    Hula

    Hula, sensuous mimetic Hawaiian dance, performed sitting or standing, with undulating gestures to instruments and chant. Originally, the hula was a religious dance performed by trained dancers before the king or ordinary people to promote fecundity, to honour the gods, or to praise the chiefs.

  • A group of six dancers in black costumes holding pink feathered fans, with a man in a gray vest smiling in the center, on a stage with a dark background.

    Character

    Character/Broadway routines should consist of original, imaginative, or innovative dance movements that incorporate a theme, concept, or characterization throughout the entire performance. The use of small props or handheld props is allowed, but not mandatory or needed to compete in this category.

  • Two ballet dancers in blue costumes performing on stage, with one dancer doing a handstand and the other dancer holding her leg up, while two women stand in the background watching.

    Acro

    Acro routines should combine classical dance technique with acrobatic elements. It should showcase a dancer’s agility, flexibility, and strength while demonstrating proper technique with pointed feet, lengthened lines, and control. However, there are always exceptions when it is a clear stylistic choice, for example, a flexed foot or bent leg. Acro routines should be 60% acro, and 40% dance skills, and must follow the danceability level requirements, as well as the acro ability level requirements.