Please see the following information from Provo High Ballroom regarding the Provo High DanceSport Festival on January 29 & 30, 2021.

“Coaches,

As I’m sure you are all aware, this is quite an interesting year to be working in the ballroom world. We are still trying to finalize details with the district to be able to run the 2021 Provo High School DanceSport Festival on January 29-30 in a way that allows our students to be able to compete while keeping our dancers and their families safe. More details will be announced later, but I wanted to inform you what we are planning for group events so you would have time to prepare.

We would like to try something new. We will be holding a video competition in two categories that we hope will allow companies to showcase their routines in a way that presents each company at their best and demonstrates their creativity.

1. The Single-shot Event: The first event will require coaches submit a customary single-shot video of their routine. The camera should be positioned so judges can see the whole company and their formations. The entire routine, beginning to end, will be filmed in one shot in a gym or dance room with no editing or special effects. Coaches may layer the music over the video so the music can be heard clearly, and we recognize this means you may attempt multiple takes. That’s okay. We want to see you at your best. Video and sound quality will not be taken into account while judging provided the quality doesn’t interfere with the judge’s ability to see what is happening in the routine.
2. The Music-video Event: The second event will have companies present a music video. The company may travel to one or several sites, edit together noncontiguous scenes, include close-up shots of faces or dancers’ footwork or highlights of one or two couples. For this category, site, creativity, editing, and any other of the videographer’s choices will be considered in judging as much as the typical components of music, formation, technique, and overall impressions by which routines are usually evaluated. We recognize this will have its own challenges and require thinking about routines which are meant to be performed live in quite different ways, but those components–unique challenges and creative thinking–seem to be hallmarks of 2020. We want to see what you can come up with in the next 2 months and invite you to create a piece that is meant to be seen as a video.

Both video events will have the same categories and general requirements:

• Each event will have Latin/Rhythm, Ballroom/Smooth, Swing, Cabaret, and Large Group categories. For each event, a company may submit up to two videos. So, for example, a company may submit one Latin and one Ballroom video for the Single-shot Event, and then submit one Cabaret and one Large Group video for the Music-video Event. This allows for a maximum of four video submissions per company.
• Each video will contain no more than 3 minutes of judged dancing. Videos are allowed an additional 15 seconds for establishing shots, credits, and an introductory slide to be detailed below. The total length of each video file should therefore be no more than 3:15.
• Each video will begin with a slide or establishing shot that clearly displays the title of the routine and the company presenting the routine. Each video will end with a list of the dancers included in the video.
• With the exception of the Large Group category, routines should contain between 3 and 8 couples.

Closer to the event, we will begin accepting submissions. All submissions will need to be sent in an mp4 format to David Ellison (davide@provo.edu) and Angela Williams (angelaw@provo.edu) after submissions open, and at that time submissions will be accepted on a first-come-first-served basis. The videos will then be broadcasted on Friday, 1/29.

While we know this may result in many questions, please remember more specific details will be released when we know what we are and are not going to be able to do. Until then, we wanted to inform you what we are planning to give you as much time to prepare as is possible. If you have any questions regarding the two video events, feel free to send these questions to davide@provo.edu and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Thank you for all you do for your students!

David Ellison
Angela Williams”