We are very excited to announce that American Star Ball Championships will be the first event in the Star Dance Smooth Tour!!!
The prize purse for the Star Dance Tour stands at $53,000.00 per style. In each style $25,000.00 will go to the couple that earns the most points throughout the tour and another $28,000.00 will be distributed among 2nd to 12th places. As in the previous tour, there will be an audience-voting feature! The audience will be asked to vote for their favorite couple in the semifinal and the couple with the highest number of votes, but not selected by the judges for the group final, will participate in the showdance portion of the event. The audience can vote via text or internet. The tour will be streamed live so audience members at home can still vote.
The Rules
Points earned per dance in the group competition (or the qualifying professional competition) are:
A first place will earn you 6 points
A second place will earn you 5 points
A third place will earn you 4 points
A fourth place will earn you 3 points
A fifth place will earn you 2 points
A sixth place will earn you 1 point
If there is a seven-couple final, seventh place will also be awarded 1 point in each dance towards the solo performance and the wildcard couple (see below) will earn 3 points total going into the solo dance. This wildcard couple will be selected by the audience watching the semifinal of the Open Ballroom or Rhythm competition and they will participate in the showdance of the Star Ballroom and Rhythm tours only (they will not dance in the final of the group competition) and they will earn 3 points total going into the solo dance.
We also feel that in order to keep the point system as balanced and fair as is humanly possible in the Showdance portion of the competition, the highest judge’s score and the lowest score for each couple will be eliminated. Then the Showdance scores will be averaged and added to the group competition points towards the result.
In the Star Tour “Showdance” portion of the competition, each couple including the audience’s “wildcard” will perform a solo routine. Routines should be 3 minutes or less, any couple that dances over three minute will get a deduction of a point per second over 3 minutes. (eg. if you dance 3 minutes and 10 seconds, 10 points will be deducted from your final tally during that leg of the tour) and this score carries forward. There are no restrictions on material. Props can only be used if they are attached to the dancer or costume. Nothing can be placed on the floor as “scenery” including chairs. The seven couples will dance in order of their placements in the group event with the wildcard performing first followed by the finalists in reverse order of placement. 9 judges will be selected at random to judge the solo routine.
The judges will award 5 different scores for each couple.
1. Storyline and Artistry (was the routine more than just steps, did the routine have a storyline, did they bring their storyline forward through musicality and interpretation). 20 points.
2. Difficulty. (Were the steps easy to do or was it a difficult routine) 20 points
3. Technical performance. (entrances and exits, connections etc.) Points should be deducted for any obvious errors – missed lifts, missed connections, falls, etc. 25 points
4. Creativity and originality (is the routine clever, were there any groupings that were unique even if they were not performed well). 25 points
5. Clarity. (Was the work clear and easy to follow, both physically as well as developmentally) 10 points
As in the previous tour, we will have the audience-voting feature. As we mentioned, the audience will be asked to vote for the couples in the semifinal and the couple with the highest number of votes, but not selected by the judges for the group final, will participate in the showdance portion of the event. The audience can vote via text or internet. The tour will be streamed live so audience members at home can still vote.
The audience will vote again following the solo presentations and this vote will also count toward the amount of points the couples receive. The audience vote is tabulated in percentage up to 100% meaning each couple will receive a percentage score and this will be converted to points. If a couple receives 30% of the vote they will automatically receive half the points 15 extra points towards their final tally in the solo competition. Voting will end 5 minutes after the last couple performs their solo routine. And all scores will be added and tabulated and a winner and placements will be announced and rewarded.
The couple with the most points at each leg will win the showdance portion. Prize money at each leg will be awarded for the Showdance section.
Also $500.00 will be awarded by us to the audience’s favorite couple in the solo presentations in addition to the prize money awarded for that leg of the tour by the organizer.
In the event of a tie for any position in the overall tour, a dance-off will be used. The two couples will be asked to draw for a dance then a minimum of 3 judges will make their decision.
City Lights or soon to be called “San Jose Open” (Jan 2017) will be a double-point event that means double points will be given at the City Lights (San Jose Open) competition where the finale will take place, January 2017. The couples must attend a minimum of 60% the competitions advertised in each tour in addition to City Lights (San Jose Open) to qualify for the grand prize. (For example if there are 4 competitions they must do 3. If there are 5 they must do 4. If there are 8 must go to 5. If there are seven they must go to 5.)
Couples must be present and compete at the City Lights (Sand Jose Open) Competition in January 2017 to qualify for the grand prize of the Star Tour, and it is not counted as an event attended. Couples most attend 60% of the tour, to qualify for any money.
We also want to reiterate that everyone is welcome to support the competition and participate in the Open Smooth event at the competition, regardless of whether they wish to participate in the Star Tour. If for any reason a couple does not want to be part of the Star Tour but still wants to compete in the Professional Open Smooth event, you just have to let us know before the competition starts, so we can make any changes necessary to our selections.
