Contests Contest Rules Contest FAQ Video Performances

Contests

Get ready to show your stuff!

photo courtesy Rich Chang

As you know, bluesSHOUT! has always been on the leading edge of blues dance competition. We’ve all been growing and expanding our Blues dancing horizons, and we want everyone to have the chance to show how far you’ve come! We’ve kept some old favorites, but this year, we’ve added some new divisions, too. Check it out!

All contests are free, and you can sign up at the event the day of the contest. Got questions? View our competition rules and listen to Damon answer your most common questions. Got more questions? E-mail Damon personally. While we’ll have a brief competitor’s meeting and you can ask questions of the judges in person then, we’d like to emphasize the brevity of this meeting, so please read the rules and listen to the FAQ before the meeting. (Prompt attendance at the contestant meeting is mandatory.)

Note: Since BluesSHOUT! does not charge an entry fee for contests, you must have either a Full Weekend Pass or an After 5PM Pass to participate.

Friday, August 19

Novice Jack 'n' Jill

  • Sign up: no sign up, just get out and dance.
  • Prelims: Friday night, first band break (9:45PM); Tap-out dance.
  • Finals:During band break (appx. 10:30PM)
  • You must have a Full Weekend or After 5PM Pass to participate:.

If you’re new to competing, this comp’s for you! The Novice JnJ is open to any dancer who has never made the finals in a Blues competition. Just grab someone and start dancing. The judges will continue tapping out the crowd and you'll keep selecting new partners until we reach approximately 5 couples. Then partners will be assigned at random, and you'll be judged as a couple in the final round. Dancers will be judged on Blues Aesthetic, Musicality, and Creativity.

Expert Jack 'n' Jill

  • Sign up: no sign up, just get out and dance.
  • Prelims: Friday night, first band break (9:45PM); Tap-out dance.
  • Finals:During band break (appx. 11:00PM)
  • You must have a Full Weekend or After 5PM Pass to participate.

The Expert JnJ is for dancers who have made the finals round in at least one Blues dance competition previously. No prelims; just grab someone and start dancing. The judges will continue tapping out the crowd and you'll keep selecting new partners until we reach approximately 5 couples. Then partners will be assigned at random, and you'll be judged as a couple in the final round. Dancers will be judged on Blues Aesthetic, Musicality, and Creativity.

Saturday, August 20

Strictly Slow Blues

  • Sign up: at event by 4:30pm Saturday.
  • Contestant meeting: 5:10pm Saturday.
  • Prelims: 5:20pm Saturday.
  • Finals:: Saturday night dance, 1st band break (approx. 9:45PM)
  • You must have a Full Weekend or After 5PM Pass to participate.

This competition is for partnered couples. The music selected by our DJs will be 90 bpm or slower, and will be of various styles of Blues music. One round of music will be suitable for ballroom style Blues dancing, another round will be suitable for jook joint style Blues dancing, and the third round will be “DJs choice.” Dancers will be judged on Blues Aesthetic, Musicality, and Creativity.

Strictly Fast Blues

  • Sign up: at event by 4:30pm Saturday.
  • Contestant meeting: Saturday afternoon, 5:10PM.
  • Prelims:Saturday; immediately following Slow Blues prelims.
  • Finals:: Saturday night dance, 2nd band break (appx. 10:45PM)
  • You must have a Full Weekend or After 5PM Pass to participate.

This competition is for partnered couples. The music selected by our DJs will be 150bpm or faster, and will be of various styles of Blues music. One round of music will be suitable for ballroom style Blues dancing, another round will be suitable for jook joint style Blues dancing, and the third round will be “DJs choice.” Dancers will be judged on Blues Aesthetic, Musicality, and Creativity.

Sunday, August 21

Invitational “Instructor’s Choice” Strictly

photo courtesy Dennis Goetz
  • Sign up: no sign up, Invitational.
  • Prelims: none.
  • Finals:Sunday night dance, 9:30PM
  • You must have a Full Weekend or After 5PM Pass to participate.

This year, instead of our usual Instructor JnJ showcase competition, we're asking our instructors to pick some of their favorite up-and-coming dancers and challenge them to show what they've got. While not strictly a Pro/Am competition, we've encouraged our instructors to partner with dancers who are not teaching regularly at the national-level blues dance events (for example, bluesSHOUT!, Emerald City Blues Festival, Down Home Blues, Austin Blues Party). The instructors' partners will be judged on Blues Aesthetic, Musicality, and Creativity. One lead partner and one follow partner will be chosen as winners; the instructors will not be judged or awarded prizes.

Solo Blues Cuttin' Contest

photo courtesy Dennis Goetz
  • Sign up: no sign up, just show up at meeting.
  • Contestant meeting: Sunday afternoon, 5:10PM.
  • Prelims:5:20pm Sunday.
  • Finals:Sunday night dance, 10:15PM
  • You must have a Full Weekend or After 5PM Pass to participate.

This is a solo dance contest - no partner required. You may dance in any style of Blues dance. The music selected by our DJs will span the range of the Blues genres and tempos. Judges will select finalists from the preliminary rounds based on Blues Aesthetic, Musicality, Creativity, and Interaction, but the finals will be audience-judged.

Champions Division

  • Sign up: none, Invitational.
  • Contestant meeting: None
  • Prelims: Sunday; immediately following Solo Blues prelims (appx. 5:30pm)
  • Finals:Sunday night dance, 11:00PM

Invites are based on placement in a select Blues competitions that took place during the past year. We'll have contestants from last year's bluesSHOUT! and winners of Blues competitions from around the country, as well as the winners in each partnered division this year. The champions will compete Jack and Jill style to DJed music. Judges will be looking for the couple that shows the most Creativity, Musicality, and Blues Aesthetic.

Prizes

First Place winners will receive passes to next year's bluesSHOUT! and an invitation to compete for cash prizes in this year's and next year's Champions division.

Second and Third Place winners will be awarded passes to some great events like: