A final schedule for all events will be emailed to studios who have paid in full 7 days prior to an event. If your registration is not paid in full, the only information we can share with you is the overview of the weekend. This will not include any entry numbers or specific performance times.

We do not have a specific format for our schedule. Each event is different and will be scheduled accordingly. Schedule requests are welcome, but not guaranteed, if sent via email to the Registration Producer 30 days prior to an event.

All dancers must perform during the session their routine division is scheduled in in order to be eligible for high score awards. If for any reason a routine needs to move to another session, they may still perform but will be judged for adjudication only.

All routines will perform in order of the entry numbers for that event. The only exception to this is if a RAVE Producer feels the need to move routines around in order to accommodate props or costume changes in order to help the event run smoothly.

We highly suggest performers are on site and ready to perform at least 1 hour before their scheduled performance time. We reserve the right to run our events at least 1 hour ahead of schedule.

*All ages are to be determined as of December 31, 2025*

◈ Itty Bitty 2-4
◈ Mini 5-7
◈ Petite 8-10
◈ Junior 11-12
◈ Teen 13-15
◈ Senior 16-19
◈ Pro 20+ (Advanced only)

Age Bump Rule: Dancers may only compete in group routines one age level down from their own. Example: Seniors are permitted to compete in teen routines, but not mini, petite, or junior routines. If a routine has a 16 year old dancer in it and averages age 11, it will still compete in the Teen division due to this rule. The only exception to this rule is EPIC Lines.

Determining Group Ages: Any duet, trio, or group routine will compete at the average age of the dancers. Once you determine this number, if there are any decimal points, round down. Example: If a group routine averages age 15.5 they will compete at age 15. If a routine would like to bump up their age from their average, they may do so when completing their registration, but must compete at that age for the entire season. No age changes will be made on site.

Pro Division: Any routine with a dancer 20 years old or older must compete in our Pro division. The only exception to this is 13 & over EPIC Lines.

Proof of Age: All studios are required to have proof of age for any dancer registered on their studio roster. This information should be accessible at any time.

◈ Solo: Maximum Time 2:45 minutes
A solo is performed by one dancer. No other dancers may appear on the stage during the routine, or the routine will be moved to a different division. Solos must compete in the level in which the dancer is registered on the studio roster. Dancers are permitted to perform a maximum of 3 solos per event. No dancer may have more than one solo in a category. Intermediate dancers with multiple solos may only place once in the high score for their age division. Any Advanced dancer with more than one solo will be moved into our Headliner soloist division.

◈ Headliner Soloists: Any Advanced dancer with more than one solo will be moved into our Headliner soloist division. This division will have its own high score announcement and dancers will have the ability to place more than once in the overall. Dancers that are moved into the Headliner division will not place in the regular solo high score for Advanced.
*If there is only one Headliner soloist at an event, they will remain in the regular solo high score and will only be allowed to place once.

◈ ICON Competition: Our ICON competition is open to all Advanced soloists. This is a separate score that the dancer will receive when performing their solo that encompasses all parts of their routine - performance, costume, technique, presentation, choreography, etc. Dancers may enter as many solos as they desire into our ICON competition but will only be able to place in our high score for the title of ICON once. ICON age divisions will be the same as solo age divisions.
ICON on the Rise Competition: Our ICON on the Rise competition is open to all Intermediate soloists. It will follow the same rules as our ICON competition.

◈ Duet/Trio: Maximum Time 2:45 minutes
A duet or trio has 2-3 dancers. No duet or trio may compete against themselves in a category. In order to compete more than once in a category, 50% of the duet or trio dancers must change. Duets and Trios with the same roster may not place more than once in the overall. Example: If Sally and Jack have a jazz duet and a lyrical duet, only one routine will place in the high score. If Sally and Jack have a jazz duet and a lyrical trio with Lucy, both routines can place in the high score.

◈ Small Group: Maximum Time 3 minutes
Small groups consist of 4-9 dancers.

◈ Large Group: Maximum Time 3:30 minutes
Large groups consist of 10-15 dancers.

◈ Line: Maximum Time 4:30 minutes
Lines consist of 16 or more dancers.

◈ EPIC Line: Maximum Time 8 minutes
EPIC Lines consist of 20 or more performers and must compete in Advanced. Participating in an EPIC Line will not affect a Novice or Intermediate dancer in their other routines. There will only be two age divisions for these routines: 12 & under and 13 & over. Average age will be determined by all of the dancers registered in the routine, but if the line has a dancer 20 years old or older, it must be registered in 13 & over regardless of average age. There is no specific performance division for EPIC Lines (i.e. jazz, tap, lyrical).

At any RAVE regional event, if a routine drops below the amount of dancers required for the routine division they are registered in, they will be given two options. Option 1 is to compete in their original division, but they will not be eligible for high score awards. Option 2 is to move to the division they now have the amount of dancers for. If this division has not yet competed, the group will be eligible for high score awards in that division.
Example: If a small group has 4 dancers and one is unable to perform, the routine can either perform as a “small group” and not be eligible for high scores, or they can be moved into the trio division. If the trios hadn’t yet competed, they would be eligible for high score awards in that division.

Except for technical difficulties on the part of RAVE, re-performances of any routine will be for adjudication only. The dancer may re-perform their routine for a new adjudication score and critiques, but will be ineligible for overall placements. A dancer who leaves the stage and does not re-perform will be scored based on their performance, and is eligible for all awards.

Extended Time: Any routine may purchase extended time. This should be done during the registration process and will cost $10 per minute over the time limit. EPIC Lines may not exceed 10 minutes and each minute past the 8 minute time limit will cost $15.

Studios are required to register each dancer on their roster in ONE level. Any dancer found to be entered more than once (for example with a different name spelling or birthdate) will automatically be disqualified from all routines they are registered for.

Please see below for our guidelines on assigning levels. Since there is no way for us to monitor how many classes or routines each studio is requiring of their different levels of dancers, we ask our studio directors to use their judgment on where to place their dancers.


◈ Novice:
We suggest that Novice dancers be your studio’s beginner level dancers. Generally speaking, this dancer attends a maximum of 5 hours of technique classes and rehearsals per week. This level is perfect for dancers with 1-2 years of competition experience. They have a knowledge of basic dance terminology and technique and can compete in any routine division of our competition. Dancers will only be permitted to compete at this level at RAVE for 2 years unless otherwise discussed with RAVE Producers.

◈ Intermediate:
We suggest that Intermediate dancers be your studio’s intermediate level dancers. Generally speaking, this dancer attends between 6 and 8 hours of technique classes and rehearsals per week. This level is perfect for dancers with 3-4 years of competition experience. These dancers are welcome to compete in any routine division of our competition and are the only dancers eligible to compete in our ICON on the Rise competition.

◈ Advanced:
We suggest that Advanced dancers be your studio’s most advanced dancers. Generally speaking, these dancers attend 8+ hours of technique classes and rehearsals per week. This level is perfect for dancers with 4+ years of competition experience. Any Advanced dancers may compete in any routine division at RAVE and are the only dancers eligible to compete in our ICON competition.

◈ Spotlight:
RAVE has added a level designed for dancers who have special abilities and face developmental or physical challenges. This level is intended to give dancers the ability to be judged fairly within their own level and give these dancers a place to ⭒GLOW⭒. Focus is placed on spotlighting these dancers in their unique abilities in an uplifting, respectful and loving way. Scoring will focus on showmanship, memorization, and musicality. Dancers registered in this division may only compete in routines in one other level of our competition. If they choose to compete in the Novice or Intermediate levels, they may still compete in EPIC Lines.

Example: If a Spotlight dancer wants to compete in a Novice small group, they may not compete in any Intermediate or Advanced routines other than an EPIC Line.

Entries in the Spotlight division will be adjudicated and receive a separate high score award, but these routines will not be eligible for overall high scores, excellence awards, or any monetary prizes. Any routine entered into the Spotlight division must have at least one dancer registered as “Spotlight” on their roster.

100% of all entry fees for this level will be donated to charity.

Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced level routines will receive adjudications, high score awards, and be eligible for RAVE Excellence Awards. Intermediate and Advanced groups will also be eligible for Entertainment Excellence Awards. Intermediate and Advanced groups will be eligible for Choreography Excellence Awards.

Automatic Level Bumping for Solos:
At RAVE, we want to create the most fair, competitive environment possible. To do this, we are implementing an automatic level bump rule. This rule will help to ensure that each of our events are judged fairly, dancers of all levels are all placed correctly in their overalls based on who they competed against on that specific day, and all of our dancers are recognized equally.
◈ Any dancer that scores within one point of the highest medal for the level above their current level, will automatically be bumped to that higher level per the judges discretion. For example: To receive the highest medal in Advanced, a dancer must attain a score of at least 297 points. If an Intermediate dancer receives a score of 296 or higher, they will automatically be bumped to Advanced.
◈ Any dancer that is bumped will only be affected for their solo(s) at that event. This will not affect any other routines registered at said event. Automatic bumping is also event specific. If a dancer attends another RAVE event, they may compete in their original level at that event, where they could potentially be bumped again due to their score.
◈ If an intermediate dancer who is in the running for ICON on the Rise is bumped to Advanced, they will be pushed automatically into the ICON Competition for no extra cost.

Duets, Trios, and Small Groups: The level of these routines will be determined by the highest level of the dancers in the routine. If a small group consists of 8 dancers and one of them is Advanced, the routine will compete Advanced.

Large Groups and Lines: The level of these routines will be determined by the majority of the dancers in the routine. No more than ⅓ of the dancers may be registered at a higher level than the routine is competing. See below for example scenarios.
*Large Group of 12 Dancers - 8 Intermediate & 4 Advanced: routine competes Intermediate or Advanced
*Large Group of 12 Dancers - 7 Intermediate & 5 Advanced: routine MUST compete Advanced
*Large Group of 12 Dancers - 4 Novice, 4 Intermediate, 4 Advanced: routine competes Intermediate or Advanced

Any dancer registered as Advanced may not compete in any Novice routine.

There will be no level changes made at any event. Any level changes must be made with our Registration Producer at least 3 days prior to the start of the event and will only be permitted with RAVE Producer approval. Any level changes requested by the dance studio will stay in place for the entirety of the season.

◈ All dance divisions with the exception of Ballet and Pointe are permitted to have 25% of acro/gymnastics tricks in them.
◈ Live singing will only be permitted in Song & Dance and EPIC Line routines. Please be prepared to perform with one of our wireless microphones as we will not be allowing anyone to plug anything into our system. A mic stand will be provided if requested.
◈ Our judges may move any routine to another category if they see fit.
◈ With the exception of the All Star category, no studio may submit more than one routine into the same category and group division with the same roster. Example: A studio may not submit two jazz small group routines with the same dancers.

Acro:
A routine that contains primarily acrobatic tricks, including, but not limited to walkover, front/back limbers, handstands, headstands, cartwheels, etc. There should be a blend of acro and dance together.

All Star:
Typically a jazz, hip-hop, pom, lyrical/contemporary and/or kick routine. These routines incorporate dance technique, synchronization and uniformity, staging and visuals, communication and crowd appeal.
All Star will be the only category in which a studio can compete more than one routine with the same roster. If a studio chooses to enter more than one routine in the All Star category, they must represent different All Star genres and the studio must be aware that the routines will be against each other in the category. The only exception to this rule is if a studio enters two or more routines into the All Star category with different rosters. If a studio enters more than one routine in the category and any of them represent the same All Star genre, the judges may move routines accordingly.

Ballet:
Routine consisting of classical steps & ballet technique. Flat Ballet shoes must be worn.

Ballroom:
Routine utilizing Standard or Latin Ballroom technique and must be performed with ballroom heels or ballroom shoes only.

Clogging:
Routine utilizing traditional or contemporary style clogging technique. Clogging shoes must be worn.

Contemporary:
Routine that combines both lyrical and modern movements.

Drill:
Routine performing military type moves with precision marching and may incorporate any type of dance.

Folkloric:
Routine incorporating ethnic styles of dance such as polkas, Hawaiian, Spanish, Bellydancing, etc.

Hip Hop:
Routine that consists primarily of Hip Hop Technique with influence from older street dance styles that include uprock, breaking, and funk styles.

Jazz:
Routine that utilizes jazz techniques such as pirrouettes, isolation, leaps, etc.

Lyrical:
Routine should demonstrate balance, extension, isolations, and control utilizing the lyrics or mood of the music. Usually combines Ballet and Jazz techniques.

Musical Theater:
Routine featuring any style of dance that interprets a song from a Broadway show or movie musical.

Open:
Routine with any of our listed categories or combinations of listed category styles. This is also a category where you may enter any style we have not listed.

Pointe: (Advanced only)
Routine that consists of ballet/pointe technique. Pointe shoes must be worn.

Pom:
Routine incorporating the use of Pom. Pom routines must use precise and definite movement. Any number of Acrobatics are allowed, however, no stunts, tosses, or pyramids taller than one person is allowed or a one-point deduction per judge will be incurred. The routine will be judged on both Pom techniques, dance steps, moves, and choreography.

Song and Dance:
Routine must contain both singing and any listed category of dancing. Judging will be based on both singing and dancing. A 0.5 point per judge deduction will be incurred if other lead voices are present in the prerecorded music. Two handheld wireless microphones will be available for your use.

Tap:
Routine must contain tap technique and primarily tap work. It is preferred that tap sounds not be prerecorded in music. Tap shoes must be worn.

We will provide an opportunity for all dancers to register into our headshot competition at each event. Dancers will need to submit between one and five professional style photograph(s) to our team via our online registration system or in person at our Registration Desk at the event. Our goal when judging these photographs is to provide your dancers with constructive feedback that will make them successful in the professional entertainment industry. In today’s world, professionals are being asked for both headshots and model cards. Please see below for an example. If submitting a model card, it must have a headshot on one side and all other photos on the opposite side. If only submitting one photo, it must be a headshot style photograph. We will not accept more than one piece of paper for a single entry. Dancers may enter this division as many times as they want.

◈ Music for all routines should be uploaded through our registration system no later than 3 days prior to an event. Any music not uploaded by this day will incur a $10 fee per routine not uploaded. Please note in your registration if any of your routines do not require music.
◈ Backups are required. Please have a backup copy of all of your music on a flash drive or iPod/iPad. While we hope we will never need these, it is important that they are accessible in case a technical issue arises. All backups should be labeled with the studio name and songs should be labeled with the song title and entry number for that event.
◈ RAVE will not tolerate any use of derogatory language, racial slurs, or profanity on our stages. Any routines that have any of this in their music will be disqualified from competition. Our team also reserves the right to stop any inappropriate music mid-routine and will not let the routine dance again until we have been given appropriate music.

◈ A studio representative should inform the backstage manager at the start of the event on who will be there to check in routines for their studio.
◈ Teachers and dancers may only remain backstage when it is nearing their performance time. We ask that dancers not performing join our audience, not stand backstage.
◈ We are not responsible for enforcing any studio specific policies (i.e. no parents backstage).
◈ Representatives should check in their dance at least 5 routines prior to their performance time. However, only the dance next to perform will be permitted to be waiting in the wings. If we are using a built stage, the backstage manager has the right to keep all dancers out of the wings.
◈ Any routine that is seen to have a dance teacher, assistant, or dancer not in the routine helping them in the wings will receive a 5 point score deduction.

RAVE welcomes props of all kinds and sizes, however we ask you to respect these policies in order to help us run a smooth event.
◈ Props must be able to be placed on stage and removed from the stage in 3 minutes or less. If your setup takes longer than this, please register for extended time so we can account for this when scheduling. See below for pricing.
$20: 2 more minutes
$40: 4 more minutes
$60: 6 more minutes
Props that take 10 or more minutes to set up will incur a $100 charge to the studio.
◈ Props are only permitted to stay in the venue on the day they will be used. Loading in and out of props must happen during our event hours. We will not have staff on site before show hours to unload props unless discussed with a RAVE Producer.
◈ RAVE staff is NOT responsible for the care or management of any props. Studios must have this organized with their staff and dance parents completely. We highly suggest labeling your props with your studio name.
◈ Studio staff is required to alert the Backstage Manager of any prop usage throughout the weekend. This should also be noted on your registration. Please make sure to note exactly what the prop is (i.e. petals, confetti, bench) so that we can prepare accordingly.
◈ Any prop item that is left on the stage following a routine should be cleaned up as fast as possible and is the responsibility of the studio. If the prop is not cleaned up in a short amount of time, it may result in a point deduction for the routine or studio fine (Petals, confetti, paper, etc).
◈ Any liquid or powder prop is strictly prohibited from touching our flooring. This includes water, paint, chalk, glitter, or any other powder substance. If you are using these types of props on the dancer’s bodies (like paint) please be prepared to immediately spot clean the marley flooring wherever the substance may have transferred from the dancer’s body onto our floor. This is the responsibility of the studio, not our backstage manager.
◈ Props left behind at the venue are not the responsibility of RAVE.
◈ For the dancers’ safety, the maximum height of all props both freestanding and hand-held is 10 feet, and no dancer shall stand any higher than 6 feet from the stage floor.
◈ Routines can request one 20 AMP power source backstage if they need to plug in and power a prop used for a routine.
◈ For the safety of the dancers, RAVE cannot dim or blackout the stage lights during a routine.
◈ No dangerous props may be used on stage (such as fire, swords or knives). Helium is also prohibited at RAVE events.
◈ Live animals are prohibited on stage.

◈ There is to be NO photography or videography at our events. We will have photo and video professionals on site to satisfy all of your media needs. This is to protect our dancers and dance teachers. Any routine that is seen to have photography and/or videography happening while it is on stage will suffer a 2 point deduction.
◈ Every venue has different rules about what they allow inside. Please be aware and respectful of this when attending our events.
◈ Our staff is not responsible for personal injury or property loss.
◈ The judge’s decision is always final.
◈ There is to be no smoking or alcohol use at our events.
◈ Sportsmanlike conduct is expected from all of our attendees. We reserve the right to disqualify a studio who is displaying unsportsmanlike conduct.
◈ By registering for our event, all dancers on your studio roster are consenting both RAVE and TourPro to the use of photos and videos from any of our events.
◈ Air horns or similar devices are prohibited.
◈ Dancers may NOT exit or jump off the front of the RAVE stage at ANY time during any RAVE event (including performances).
◈ ​​No bystander may approach the judging table or the judges themselves during the competition. Bystanders include but are not limited to: studio directors, teachers, parents and dancers.
◈ Protests about any routine must be made to a RAVE Producer prior to the awards ceremony for the session the routine competed in.