ENTRY FEE - Please note:
You MUST have a Full Festival Pass, Team Pass or Volunteer Pass in addition to entry fee for the Gózalo Dance Championship - Social Dance Battle.
$60 per couple entry fee if paid by December 4th
$70 per couple entry fee if paid by December 30th
$80 per couple at door if space available
*Register early and get the 10% discount
CLICK HERE to sign-up now (10% discount already applied)
Must enter with a partner - Must designate one (1) lead and one (1) follow
*Register early and get the 10% discount
CLICK HERE to sign-up now (10% discount already applied)
Limited to 32 entries (1 couple = 1 entry)
PLEASE NOTE: We will not add more at the last minute.
Please register early to save your spot. Thank you.
Schedule
Salsa Social Dance Battle workshop - All regular attendees welcome to attend workshop
2:00PM in the Grand Expo Hall - Mixed Music Room
Gózalo Dance Championship
Salsa Social Dance Battle
Preliminaries
3:00PM in the Grand Expo Hall - Mixed Music Room
Salsa Social Dance Battle
Finals
7:30PM (SHARP) on the Main Stage in the Grand Expo Showroom
Gózalo Dance Championship
Salsa Social Dance Battle
Competition Rules
This competition is considered OPEN: both Amateur and Professional compete in the same category.
Fee per competitor- Online:
$60 if registered by December 4th
$70 if registered by December 30th
$80 at the competition (ONLY if space is available) (Cash or Venmo)
All entries (1 couple = 1 entry) will be subdivided into three pools by draw, which will take place in front of all participants.
In each pool, the couples will be competing in direct elimination to advance to the finals. The number of finalists will be no more than 8.
$500 prize money will be given to the winning couple, plus trophies and Full Festival Pass to the 2027 Reno Latin Dance Fest.
Normal Re-draw: If a couple does not have a challenger in the first stage due to the number of participants, then the judges will find one from the eliminated teams in the same pool.
Obligatory Re-draw: If normal re-draw is not required, then the judges will choose a couple of competitors eliminated in the previous stage to compete against each other to find a place in the finals.
The champion and the first runner-up will have guaranteed access to the finals at the next year’s Gózalo Dance Championship
Salsa Social Dance Battle.
The competition will be 2 vs. 2 asking couples to improvise Salsa partner dancing.
The title of the song to be used will be chosen on the spot.
The competitors will each have 40 seconds to improvise, twice per round.
Number of turn and spin combinations limited to max of three (3) per 40 seconds
Stepping of the basic and keeping timing must be consistent whether you’re dancing on1, on2 or even on3… the rhythm of your basic step must be CLEAR.
In addition, once you step on the dance floor/stage, competitors must keep the rhythm of the basic step timing for both 40 seconds they participate within the same round/song. You may switch the rhythm of the basic step timing each round/song based on your preference for the music you’re listening to.
Jumps/Tricks: lifting both feet off the ground will be allowed with the only purpose of interpreting the music correctly BUT will be limited to one set of two (2) 8 counts per 40 seconds (only one trick off the ground per 40 seconds). A sequence of tricks done randomly, even if applied technically sound will not be taken into consideration by the judges, as "Salsa" partner dancing is the main focus of this competition.
The song being selected will come from various styles of salsa.
One Open Division
"SALSA" WILL BE CONSIDERED THE MAIN FOCUS OF EVERY PARTICIPANT IN ORDER TO WIN THE COMPETITION
