Rules & Regulations

General Information

Age Divisions

All ages are as of January 1, 2027.

Age averaging for groups

To find the appropriate age division for a group routine, add all the dancers' ages as of the reference date and divide by the number of dancers in the entry. Always remove the decimal point. For example, an average age of 15.8 becomes 15, so the routine is placed in the Teen division, ages 13 to 15.

Categories

Enter each routine in the category that describes most of its movement. Judges may change the division and/or category of an entry, if warranted.

Ballet

Consists of ballet technique with classical movement that reflects a ballet style.

Pointe

Consists of ballet technique with the use of pointe shoes.

Jazz

Primarily jazz technique with up-tempo music.

Lyrical

A combination of ballet and jazz technique in an emotional routine that encompasses around the music to drive feeling and rhythms.

Modern

A combination of modern and jazz merged together with a stronger emphasis on modern technique.

Musical Theatre

Consists of Broadway, movie or musical dance styles. May incorporate acting and/or costumes.

Contemporary

A contemporary jazz routine that draws from modern, lyrical and ballet movements.

Ballroom

Includes all styles of Ballroom. The most common being Foxtrot, Waltz, Rumba, Cha Cha and Swing.

Tap

Consists of tap technique. Any recorded tap sounds on the music track will be a deduction of five points. Clogging routines should not be categorized as a tap entry but under Specialty.

Hip Hop

Routines consisting primarily of hip hop technique.

Acrobatic Dance

Routines consisting of controlled acrobatic and rhythmic gymnastic movements involving balance and flexibility. May contain gymnastic passes. While a majority of the routine must contain acrobatic moves, it must also contain choreographed dance movement. There is no category for pure acro/gymnastic routines and the use of mats is strictly prohibited.

Pom Pon

A routine utilizing pom pons for at least 50% of the routine's duration. Acrobatic movement may be incorporated along with the dance steps and choreography.

Specialty

Clogging, ethnic/folkloric, character, novelty, etc.

Open

Any combination of two or more of the above categories.

Entry Fees & Time Limits

Entry fees are per number and performer. Late fees apply to registrations within 30 days of the event.

Intrigue allows a ten second grace period for each routine. One point will be deducted every five seconds after the grace period. A fee of $5 per dancer will be added if a routine goes over the allotted time.

Judging & Scoring

Judges evaluate the execution of movement, proper body position and the fundamental basis of a routine.

All entries are adjudicated by three judges. Each judge scores on a basis of 1 to 100 points. The combined score of the three judges is the total score, out of 300.

Entry Limits & Requirements

1. Regional competition is limited to the allotted available time. Entries are received and accepted on a first come, first served basis. If there are too many entries, solos and duo/trios must be available to compete on Friday starting as early as 7am. In extreme cases, competition may begin on Thursday. We will do our best to notify studios 14 days prior to the event start date if an early start to competition is likely.
2. Registration for the competition closes four weeks before the event. Entry information must be completed to be accepted. All contestants must be registered for the entire convention in order to compete.
3. The deadline for any changes to competition entries is three weeks before the competition.
4. There are no restrictions on how many numbers a performer can participate in.
5. Teachers who own more than one studio may submit entries for each studio, as long as both studios are registered separately for the convention and competition.
6. Live props are not allowed. General props are welcome and must be self-contained. No large scenery, dangerous or oversized props. No fire, glass, liquid, glitter, confetti or live animals on stage. Costumes must be age-appropriate.
7. Judges may change the division and/or category of an entry, if warranted.
8. Competition entry fees are non-refundable. Returned check service fee is $25.
9. All registered dancers may compete as long as they are not a teacher or professional.
10. Dancers may not register to compete under two different studios at the same event.
11. A dancer may enter more than one solo when the event allows for it based on competition size. Each solo must be in a different category. A dancer cannot enter two contemporary solos at the same event.

Studio entry limits, new for 2026–2027 regionals

Starting January 2027, regional events cap entries by the number of registered convention dancers a studio brings. The minimum to compete in any capacity, including Improv and Imagination, is 5 convention dancers. Each tier caps the studio’s total competition entries (every routine combined, including Imagination solos) and how many of those may be solos. Improv entries do not count toward the maximum.

Subject to change: if this event hasn’t sold out, limits may be increased closer to the event date.

Confirmations

If registered by the four week deadline, participants receive a confirmation email detailing the registered convention participants, competition numbers and payment information.

Music

Each studio must upload their music when registering on DanceComp Genie, in .mp3 or .m4a format only. All music must be uploaded 7 days prior to the event start date. To keep our events running smoothly, we cannot access music uploaded the week of the event. Intrigue also accepts USB drives as a backup. Each entry on the USB must be labelled with the entry number and routine title. Submit all backup USB drives to the Intrigue registration desk no later than two hours before the start of competition. We do not accept music on mp3 players, CDs or phones. All music must be edited for age-appropriate content, with no explicit lyrics.

Awards

Category Awards

1st place is awarded when a category has 3 or more entries, 2nd place with 5 or more, and 3rd place with 7 or more.

Division High Scores

High scores are announced in every age division: Mini, Junior, Teen and Senior. No minimum number of entries is required.

Overall Award

The overall highest scoring routine of the competition in each age division must be a group. Solos and duo/trios are excluded. All group sizes are combined: small groups, large groups, lines, productions and extended productions. There must be at least 3 group entries in that age division for the overall to be announced, for example one Mini small group and two Mini large groups. The winning entry receives a $300 credit toward their next Intrigue event.

Special Awards

Chosen by the Intrigue judges. Group entries only.

Studio Awards

Earned by a studio’s entry count and paid to its highest scoring group entry.

A studio can receive either True Director or True Producer at an event, not both. These awards are non-transferable: the dancers redeeming the benefit at Nationals must be the same dancers who competed in the winning entry, and the dancer count must match the winning entry exactly.

Safety

Please report all accidents and injuries to an Intrigue manager immediately.