It has been 14 years since the first South Island Swing Dance Competion, and 4 years since they were last held – it’s about time we give it another go! An opportunity for people to perform, challenge themselves, develop their dancing, have fun, or just celebrate their friends and community – there’s a little something for everyone.
With the Christchurch Big Band Festival on Labour Weekend tempting dancers from around NZ to visit Christchurch, and all the social dancing opportunities we could want all weekend across the city, the lack of a dancing-focussed event on the Saturday night was an opportunity we couldn’t miss to reinstate the SI Swing Dance comps this year.
We’d love to see you there!
Details you need to know:
When: Evening of 26th October 2024 (Labour Weekend), ~5:30 pm – 11:30 pm. Check out the schedule below for estimates of timing for all the categories.
Where: Hagley College Auripo Auditorium, 510 Hagley Avenue, Christchurch
Who: Everyone can enter! You don’t need to be a South Island resident to take part, we love visitors! (Although if you’re a North islander or from further afield you’re gonna have to *bring it* if you wanna steal our (mostly metaphorical) trophies away).
If you’re looking for a partner to enter something with we will set up a document on the Facebook event page to help people get in touch with each other and see who is keen and available.
Who else? Special guest judges Jesse Peeters, Ana Bogdanovic and Becky Collett
Who else else? Audience welcome – if you don’t want to enter why not come along anyway and support (and see some fab dancing!). Or if you have family or friends keen to come along and see you compete we’d love to see them! And bring your dancing shoes – we’ll try schedule a few social dancing opps in between categories while the judges deliberate.
Categories:
The following categories will be running if entries permit. Limited numbers so sign up promptly to guarantee your spot.
Mix and Match (Lindy hop)
Open to everyone, you enter this category on your own as a lead or follow (or as either and will be assigned an option based on role ratios), and during the compeition you will be randomly assigned up to three partners to dance with. All levels encouraged to join in.
Strictly lindy (Lindy hop)
Enter with a partner, be ready to throw down some of your best lindy hop moves! Numbers strictly limited for this category (see what we did there) so register early so as to not miss out.
Tuakana-Teina (Lindy hop)
A chance for more experienced dancers (tuakana) to support and have fun with our newer dancers (teina). Enter with a partner, with each pair to be made of one dancer who started swing dancing in 2023 or 2024, and one dancer who has danced for longer than that (everyone who is in this position and is entering other categories strongly encouraged to find a newer dancer to enter this category with).
Blues (partnered)
Enter with a partner and come and get your blues groove on.
Solo
This is your chance to show off your solo jazz/Charleston inspired moves and grooves.
Switching “Match and mix” (Lindy hop)
In celebration of all the switch dancers in Christchurch (and around NZ) now who love both lead and follow roles, enter this category on your own and you’ll find yourself stealing in then collaborating with different people to dance different roles.
Showcase (anything goes!)
Pick a song (4 min or less), and some buddies (optional) and choreograph your own routine. If numbers permit we will run a “Small showcase” category (1-3 people) and a “Large showcase” category (4+ people). The winning performances in each category to perform at the Sunday night of the Big Band Festival. Due to time considerations we will be limited to a maximum of 8 in each category and no one person can go in more than three showcases except by special arrangment (contact us at swingtownrebels@gmail.com).
At this stage due to limitations in the space-time continuum (not enough tiiiime…) we won’t be running categories for fast and furious or balboa. If this makes you utterly miserable please add a comment to your registration form and if we get enough interest for one or more of these categories we will re-evaluate!
Competition rules and general judging criteria can be found here.
Schedule
Key dates and registration information:
| Registration costs | ||
| 1 category only | $20 | |
| 2 categories or more | $40 | |
| Teina | FREE | A new(ish) dancer only entering in the tuakana-teina category is free. Note that new dancers are also encouraged to also enter other categories, which then costs the usual fee. |
| Spectators | $10 | Registration at the door |
| Kids | FREE | No charge for the little Rebels to come and support |
| Chan Kang Memorial Scholarships | If money is preventing you or someone you know from entering, please get in touch with us to discuss our Chan Kang Memorial Scholarships to enable more participation in swing dancing in Christchurch |
| Registration details |
| Registrations for all events will open August 31st (gives you time to find some partners!) |
| Numbers are limited for all categories and entrants will be assigned on a first come first served basis until full upon which people will be added to a waitlist. Some events may not run if a minimum number is not reached. |
| If you wish to change or add events, change showcase names or add people to showcases you will be able to do so until registrations close (unless an event is full). |
| All competitors in a showcase must register but one person must register as the showcase leader. |
| Registrations close on 5th October |
| Confirmation of categories that are running and the lists of competitors will be released shortly following close of registrations ~30th September prior to the event). Some categories may not run if insufficient entries are receieved. |
| If you are travelling in from out of town and your attendance is contingent on being in a particular category, flick us an email and we can confirm earlier than the registration close date whether you have achieved a place in the list, to allow you to confirm your travel plans. |
Prizes:
Mainly pride, kudos and bragging rights, probably chocolate, a chance of wine, other spot prizes are a possibility.