Competitions

01/

Blues Strictly

Blues Strictly is a blues competition where pre-matched partners compete in social dance.

Preliminaries are held with pre-registered partners, and a maximum of 6 couples advance to the finals.

The finalists compete against each other in the final competition, and prizes are awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.(The competition is held in a single level.)

02/

Blues Mix&Match

Blues Mix & Match is a blues competition where leaders and followers randomly meet and compete in social dance.

Participants are randomly paired for the preliminaries, and a maximum of 6 leaders and followers advance to the finals. In the finals, the finalists are randomly paired and compete against each other. Prizes are awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.

Rookie Level: Dancers who have been dancing blues for less than 3 years or have never competed before.
Amateur Level: Dancers who have never won an award at an international-scale blues event.
Advanced Level: All dancers above the Rookie level can participate.

03/

Slow & Fusion Challenge

Slow & Fusion Challenge is a competition where dancers compete by dancing to various slow & fusion music regardless of the type of dance.

While dancing freely with a partner to randomly played music, 6 leaders and followers are selected as finalists through a 'tap out & tap in' method. In the finals, the finalists are randomly paired into two couples and compete in a battle format. Prizes are awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.

Participants can join the competition on the spot during the party without any special registration.

04/

SeOUL TRAIN

SeOUL TRAIN is a blues solo competition in the format of the legendary American music & dance program 'Soul Train' line dance.

The preliminaries are conducted with each dancer freely dancing to blues music, and 8 dancers are selected to participate in the final. The selected dancers are paired in twos and walk out onto the stage to perform a line dance to the given music. Winners are determined in each round, and the final is conducted in a double-elimination tournament format. Prizes are awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.

What is double-elimination? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-elimination_tournament

Judging Criteria

We have established evaluation criteria for the Seoul Blues Dance Festival based on the content adopted by major global blues competitions, in order to facilitate fair judgment and the development of participants.

Blues Aesthetic

We are dancers who enjoy the blues. It is essential to understand and be able to express the major elements of the dance that make blues truly blues. This includes basic elements such as Grounded Posture, Rhythmic movement, Pulse, and Lag, as well as elements like ephebism, coolness/hotness, polyrhythms, polycentrism, and asymmetry. For more information related to these elements, please refer to the following links:

https://bluesunionboston.com/blues-stories/blues-aesthetics/ https://www.spurlock.illinois.edu/exhibits/online/blues/characteristics.html

* Please note that these criteria are not evaluated in the Slow & Fusion Challenge competition.

Partnership

We believe that partner dancing is perfected through good synergy between two dancers. It's important for each dancer, whether in the role of lead or follow, to fully dance their own dance while simultaneously creating a partnership that neither forces nor hinders each other's dance. This should make those dancing and those watching feel as though they are experiencing a single dance. Comfortable connection and empathetic leading techniques, along with expressive following, are necessary in this process.

Please note that these criteria are not evaluated in the SeOUL TRAIN competition.

Musicality

Music is a major element that forms dance, and it is the source of the dance energy that all dancers must be connected to. We examine whether the dancers can naturally express what they feel through the music from the moment the dance starts to the moment it ends. Understanding and expressing the pulse, texture, variation, style, and groove of blues music is essential in this process.

Creativity

We respect everyone's individual emotions felt through music and dance. We hope that all competition participants actively express this during the competition process. It's great to showcase skills honed through practice, as well as creative expressions gained through various experiences. We look forward to seeing participants confidently and uniquely express themselves through their dance within the blues, inspiring judges and other dancers alike.