Competition Team

Members of the Ballroom Dance Club at Georgia Tech Competition Team take the dances and techniques learned in lessons on the road to demonstrate their skill against other collegiate and amateur dancers around the country. Joining our competitive team is a great way to learn more dance styles and progress at a faster pace than our social lessons. Our competitive team lessons cover the International styles of Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Cha Cha, Rumba and Jive.

Tryouts

Tryouts for the competitive team are held every semester. We are limited in the number of people we can accept by availability of space, instructors and the need to make sure everyone has a dance partner. Many of our competitive dancers start with little or no prior dance experience, all we expect are a positive attitude and a willingness to learn. Tryouts are low stress and will consist of a beginner lesson in Waltz and Cha Cha. Competitive team members will need a dance partner for the semester - you can either find a partner at tryouts or be paired with one by the coaching team. If you have any questions, you can contact our competitive coordinator.

Expectations

Competition team members are expected to attend weekly lessons and take advantage of practice times to keep up with the material taught. If you cannot attend a lesson, it is expected that you communicate this to your dance partner and the coaching team in advance and learn the missed material before the next lesson. The club books open practice times to make space available to the team. We also offer weekly “rounds” where music for each dance style is played back-to-back in a competition format – these are great practice for stamina and competitions!

Choreography Lessons

Competition team choreography lessons are broken up into three levels: Newcomer, Bronze and Technique. New team members start off in the Newcomer lessons. Every semester returning tryouts are held where returning team members demonstrate the choreography they have learned and have the opportunity to move up to the next level of lessons. Newcomer and Bronze lessons are taught by more advanced team members, while Technique lessons are taught by a professional dance coach.

Competitions

Competition team members are also expected to compete in minimum one competition per semester. The team will attend 3-4 competitions each semester. There are both local and travel competitions, but at least one each semester will be local.

Dues

Competition team dues are paid per semester to cover lessons. Each competition will have a registration fee and may also include as travel cost depending on location, both of which are subsidized by the club to the best of our ability. Cost per competition may vary based on the number of attendees. A maximum possible cost will be announced at the time of signup and will not be exceeded – actual costs are often much lower.

Lesson Schedule

Please check the calendar on the main page for the most up to date information.

Upcoming Competitions

Costs

• Comp Team Dues: TBA
  • These partially cover the cost of coaching, registration, travel, and lodging
• Competition Fees: $60-$110/competition
  • These cover the remaining (subsidized) cost of each competition
• USA Dance Membership: $25/year
  • Required for NCDC and USA Dance Nationals

* Comp team affiliates must also pay for entry to the competitions they attend