OTB Street Dance Competition July 2024 – Tower Ballroom, Blackpool
Who’s ready to join us in the most famous Ballroom in the world? We are absolutely delighted to be back at this stunning venue for this special event.
Please use the tabs at the bottom of this page to navigate through the information you need to plan your time with us. Below shows the events on both days and some general info however for the main info, use the tabs shown in red.
Original Saturday Programme- (note some age categories may have changed since this was released so please see the age category tab below) https://www.onthebeat.dance/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WEEKENDER-SATURDAY-6TH-JULY.pdf
Original Programme- (note some age categories may have changed since this was released so please see the age category tab below) https://www.onthebeat.dance/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WEEKENDER-SUNDAY-7TH-JULY-.pdf
Over the weekend dancers can enter/ take part in the following
Workshops on both days
X 1 team event
X 1 set routine event
X 1 freestyle solo event
X 1 duo event
X 1 fun duo on the Saturday (either little & large or parent & child)
X fun duo on the Sunday (either mixed dance school duo or teacher/ child duo)
X 1 trio OR quad event
X 1 house battle event
Plus access to the party night
Then subject to winning their set routine/ freestyle solo, a chance to compete again in ‘tops of’ as shown below.
Please see below more info on the events over the 2 days and relevant guidelines.
Saturday 6th July
Workshops
Workshops are included for anyone to take part in.
Trios/ Quad
Dancers can only be part of 1 (either a trio or a quad). Depending on entries, the trios/ quads may be combined within 1 age category (meaning the under 10 trios may be against the under 10 quads, and so on) or if there are a lot of entries, split into a separate trio event/ quad event. There must be 4 dancers to make up a quad and 3 dancers to make up a trio. The age the group enters goes off the eldest person in the group (not a 75% rule). As there is no split level for this, a teacher is not permitted to take part in either event. Please see the event programme for quad/trio age categories and set music. Tricks/ freezes are permitted in any round however please take extreme care and consider the safety of other dancers on the floor. Music is set for each age group so please look out for the confirmed tracks on here.
New for 2024 includes a teacher trio/ quad! All members of this group must be teachers either from the same or different schools.
Solos
Freestyle solos- rules as shown on website
Tops of Solos/ Elite All Stars
Winners of all class member sections compete for ‘tops of class member’ title. Winners of all beginner sections compete for ‘tops of beginner’ title. Winners of all intermediate sections compete for ‘tops of intermediate’ title. All these events will be run as a normal Street Dance ‘freestyle’ solo final with the judges immediately awarding the winner on the spot once the music has stopped playing based on a joint decision made whilst the dancers perform their solo. Elite All Stars will be included in this for advanced winners but with their own choreo as rules shown on the website.
Mum/ Dad Freestyle Battle
Winner of mum/ dad freestyle events will go head to head in a battle style freestyle here to be crowned top parent freestyler of the year! Judges will immediately award the winner on the spot once the music has stopped playing based on a joint decision.
Little & Large/ Parent & Child
These are both fun events. Please note that dancers are only permitted to enter 1 of these events (not both). As there is no split level for this, a teacher is not permitted to take part in either event (including if the teacher happens to also be a parent).
There is no guidelines on freezes/ tricks however please take extreme care with anything you are doing near other competitors and also for the safety of your own partnership.
Parent & child duo event should be one dancer and one adult. The ‘parent’ can not be a teacher (including a teacher who is a parent of a competitor) or a competitive dancer. The parent does not have to be the parent of the child they are dancing with.
Little and large is a duo event suitable for 2 dancers with a minimum age difference of 4 years (and ideally a height difference). There is no age category for little & large (all combined).
Older Teams
Team rules as shown on website
Parent Teams
Team rules as shown on website. We would love all schools to put forward a parent team for this event. It is great fun and sets the party vibe for the night.
Party Night
Definitely a highlight of the weekend. Join us for a family style disco. Make sure you bring your props for this (hats, funky glasses, accessories etc)
Sunday 7th July
Workshops
Workshops are included for anyone to take part in. More info will be released on what workshops will be available as we get closer to the event. There will be something for all ages and abilities.
Set Routine Solos
Our extremely popular set routine solo events– rules as shown on website.
Tops of Set Routine
All winners of each dance compete again for ‘top of dance 1/2/3/4/5/ 6 title’. Each ‘top of’ will be danced as a final with the judges immediately awarding the winner on the spot once the music has stopped playing based on a joint decision made whilst the dancers perform their routine.
Younger teams
Team rules as shown on website
Duos
Duo rules as shown on website
Mixed Dance School Duo/ Teacher & Student Duo
These are both fun events. Please note that dancers are only permitted to enter 1 of these events (not both).
Mixed dance School Duo is run as a typical duo event. Dancers may pair up with a dancer from another school- this must be a different dance school completely (not a sister school in a different area etc)
The aim of this event is for dancers to make new friends through competitions and should be seen as a fun event. It should be put together at the competition and not before.
There is no guidelines on freezes/ tricks however please take extreme care with anything you are doing near other competitors and also for the safety of your own partnership.
As there is no split level for this, a teacher is not permitted to take part in this event.
Teacher student duo- New for 2024!
Teachers can pair up with any student in their school (we suggest picking names out of a hat for this as could be tricky to decide!)
House Battle
This initially runs in the same way as a normal solo event until the judges have selected some finalists to battle. Dancers should use house figures/ foundation in all parts of this event- house music will be played throughout. In the battle part of the event, competitors are each given a few bars of music 2-3 times with the judges immediately awarding the winner from each battle round until they have found the overall winner of the battle. As this isnt split level, teachers are not permitted to take part in this event
Schedule
SATURDAY SCHEDULE
11:30am – Promenade doors open
12.15pm- Ballroom doors open for dancers & spectators (teachers access will be earlier)
12.45pm – Warm Up Workshop with Natasha!
12.45pm-1.15pm- aimed at 11 years & under
1.15pm- 1.45pm- aimed at 12 years & over
2:00pm – Trios/Quads for 7 years & under, 9 years & under & 11 years & under
*awards will be presented immediately after each final*
2:30pm- Trios/Quads for 13 years & under, 15 years & under, 16 years & over, parents, teachers
*awards will be presented immediately after each final*
3:00pm – Freestyle solos for 11 years & under (class members/beginners/intermediates)
*awards will be presented immediately after each final*
4:30pm – Advanced freestyle solos for all ages & parents freestyle
*awards will be presented immediately after each final*
5:00pm – Freestyle solos for 12 years & over (class members/beginners/intermediates)
*awards will be presented immediately after each final*
6:00pm – Tops of solos (class members, beginners, intermediates) & elite all stars
*awards will be presented immediately after each final*
6:30pm – Little & Large/Parent & Child
*awards will be presented immediately after each final*
7:30pm – All 12 years & over team events
13 & under beginners (4 teams)
15 & under beginners (1 team)
16 & over beginners (1 team)
13 & under intermediates (4 teams)
15 & under intermediates (3 teams)
16 & over intermediates (3 teams)
15 & under advanced (1 team)
Parents teams (3 teams)
8:45pm – Party
Don’t forget your party props everyone!!
10:30pm – Approx finish time
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
8am – Promenade doors open
8.30am- Ballroom doors open for dancers & spectators (teachers access will be earlier)
9:00am – Beginner/ Intermediate Level Workshop with Yazmin (aimed at dancers entering set routines 1-3 or dancers age 11 years & under)
10am – All 11 years & under beginner team events
5 & under beginners (2 teams)
7 & under beginners (6 teams)
9 & under beginners (7 teams)
11 & under beginners (6 teams)
11:00am – All 11 years & under intermediate team events
9 & under intermediates (2 teams)
11 & under intermediates (6 teams)
11:30am – Set routines 1-3 (all ages)
*awards will be presented immediately after each final*
*workshop 2 held in another room with Yazmin (see below)
1:45pm – Set routines 4-6 (all ages)
*awards will be presented immediately after each final*
3:45pm – Tops of set routines
*awards will be presented immediately on the spot
4.15pm – All 11 years & under duos events
*awards will be presented immediately after each final*
5:10pm – All 12 years & over duos events
*awards will be presented immediately after each final*
5:50pm – Teacher/Student duos/Mixed Dance School Duos
*awards will be presented immediately after each final*
6.20pm – 11 years & under house battle
7pm – 12 years & over house battle
7:30- 7.45pm – Approx finish time
*Whilst set routines 1-3 run on Sunday, at 12pm we will also be running an Intermediate/ Advanced level workshop in another room (this will be communicated to teachers). Dancers doing set routines 1-3 are encouraged to do the morning workshop. (This workshop is aimed at dancers entering set routines 4-6). This will finish by 1pm at the latest and will allow plenty of time for dancers doing set routines 4-6 to get ready for their set routine events.
Age Categories
Please see below the age categories for all solo events. Everything else will be as the original schedule.
Original Saturday Programme https://www.onthebeat.dance/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WEEKENDER-SATURDAY-6TH-JULY.pdf
Original Programme- https://www.onthebeat.dance/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WEEKENDER-SUNDAY-7TH-JULY-.pd
DANCE 1 (WILL2K)
4 YEARS & UNDER
5 YEARS
6 YEARS
7 YEARS
7 YEARS ADD NEEDS
8 YEARS
9 & 10 YEARS
9 & 10 YEARS ADD NEEDS
PARENTS
DANCE 2 (4 MINUTES)
6 YEARS & UNDER
7 YEARS
8 YEARS
9 YEARS
10 YEARS
11 YEARS & OVER
PARENTS
DANCE 3 (JUMPIN)
7 YEARS & UNDER
8 YEARS
9 YEARS
10 YEARS
11 YEARS
12 & 13 YEARS
14 YEARS & OVER
PARENTS
DANCE 4 (AH TXE TXE)
7 & 8 YEARS
9 YEARS
10 YEARS
11 YEARS
12 YEARS
13 & 14 YEARS
15 YEARS & OVER
DANCE 5 (CAUGHT UP)
8 & 9 YEARS
10-12 YEARS
13 & 14 YEARS
15 & 16 YEARS
17 YEARS & OVER
DANCE 6 (NEED IT)
9-11 YEARS
12 YEARS
13 YEARS
14 YEARS
15 YEARS
16 YEARS & OVER
CLASS MEMBERS
4 YEARS
7-9 YEARS
BEGINNERS
2 & 3 YEARS FS
4 YEARS & UNDER
5 YEARS
6 YEARS
7 YEARS
8 YEARS
9 YEARS
10 YEARS
10 YEARS ADD NEEDS
11 YEARS
12 YEARS
13 YEARS
14 YEARS
15 & 16 YEARS
17 YEARS & OVER
ADULT ADD NEEDS
INTERMEDIATES
7 YEARS & UNDER
8 & 9 YEARS
10 & 11 YEARS
12 & 13 YEARS
14 YEARS
15 YEARS & OVER
ADVANCED
11 YEARS & UNDER
12 & 13 YEARS
14 & 15 YEARS
16 YEARS & OVER
PARENTS
Judges
Speakers
-
Andry Oporia -
Chris DonnellyJudge -
Ess GreenJudge -
Natasha Gooden -
Yazmin HarcourtJudge
Important Information
A Body of Persons Approval (BOPA) has been issued for this event by the local Council. Under BOPA conditions, the priority is to ensure the safety and well-being of all event participants, with particular attention to children up to school-leaving age. This should be considered a team effort between:
* Event Organisers
* Event Staff
* Licensed Chaperones
* Dance School Teachers/Leaders
* Parents/Guardians/Responsible Adults
It would be much appreciated if all attendees could take note of the following information.
Photo/ Video Policy-
As this is a private event for event participants and their family/friends, our organisation would like to be able to permit the use of cameras to capture these special memories. We would however like to bring your attention to the following:
All events (ex teams)- If you are intending to upload photos/videos of your participant to social media, it is recommended that you consider your privacy settings so that you limit your audience to close friends & family. Our team may also take videos and photos to use on OTB social media pages. If anyone does have any concerns/objections to this or would like us to make adjustments for any particular event, please speak to your dance school lead who will communicate this with our events team.
Team events- One nominated person from the dance school performing their team routine may video the routine from the front. It is strictly prohibited for anyone else in the venue to take a video recording. It is then at the teachers discretion where that recording gets shared. This is so that the teacher can decide who has access to their choreography and also for safeguarding reasons which are considered different to a solos/duos type event. Still photographs are permitted but please consider the points highlighted in the solos/pairs sections above.
Child Supervision & Sign in/ Sign Out Procedure-Participants up to school-leaving age are supervised by a responsible adult at all times. Participants of this age will not be permitted to pass our door/security team without a responsible adult accompanying them. On arrival and departure, event participants are asked to inform their teacher/group lead so that they can record attendance times at the event.
Safeguarding info- Our safeguarding policy can be found here
The Designated Safeguarding Lead for OTB is Jessica Porter, she will be in attendance for the duration of the event and will be based on the stage. Alternatively, you can email info@onthebeat.dance
Venue Information
Please see the venue page for information on travel, parking, changing facilities, emergency procedures and first aid.
The event will be held inside the Blackpool Tower Ballroom. Please note there are 2 entrances to the Tower. Please use PROMENADE ENTRANCE. Once in the building, please head up the stairs/ use the lift towards the Ballroom.
At this point, the security team from Blackpool Tower will conduct a bag search for all guests (please see venue information notes re food/drink policy)
After the bag search, you will then be invited to join the main entry queue ready for the Ballroom doors opening on both days.
Wristband Information
Advanced tickets are available to purchase via your dance teacher only.
Please have your wristbands on and fastened securely before entering the building. Lost, damaged or forgotten wristbands will not be replaced and will have to be re-purchased. Please see our full wristband policy here.
There will be a limited number of wristbands available on the door – priority access will be given to those who have a wristband in advance. Please note that bands are only available to people attending with a dance school and are not on sale to the general public.
Door wristband prices-
Single Day bands- £28.50
Weekend bands- £50
Allocated Seating- All seating will be reserved clearly with your dance school name.