2021 International Competition

Global Dance Challenge International Competition is taking place in Shanghai, China, from February 1 – 7, 2021. All International participants will submit videos, to be shown during the live competition in Shanghai.

Entrance Qualification:

Interested in competing for the Global Dance Challenge Awards? Check the competition eligibility criteria below.

Am I Eligible To Enter?

The Global Dance Challenge is open to general and professional dancers and students from all around the world ages 6 - 22, of all economic, ethnic, and geographic backgrounds.

Candidates pay a set fee for a unique creative experience inclusive of competing and coaching from world-renowned master teachers and choreographers.

Rules & Regulations

All students and professionals of any nationality are eligible to compete.
Candidates must be aged between 6 and 22 as of August 6, 2021.
Category is determined by age of competitoras of an including August 6, 2021.

For duet competitors, age division will be determined by the age of the older of the two participants.
For group & ensemble competitors, age division will be determined by the average age of all competitors of the group or ensemble.

Candidates will be divided into the Professional Division (A) and General Division (B). Professional Division is for dancers who traing for 20 or more hours per week in a specific genre. All competitors who train for less than 20 hours per week in any given genre are placed in the General Division for that genre.

Category A Professional Ballet (Categories A & B) including Neoclassical Ballet and Contemporary Ballet (On Pointe)

Category A-1 Professional Ballet: Age 13-15
Category A-2 Professional Ballet: Age 16-18
Category A-3 Professional Ballet: Age 19-22

Types

Solo
Duet
Pas de Deux
Group (3 - 6 dancers)
Ensemble (7+ dancers)

- Neoclassical Ballet welcomes original choreography or most creations of the late 20th or 21st century. For example, A W. Forsythe or J. Kylian style choreography would be considered neoclassical.
*Candidates must clear the right to perform original choreographic repertoire prior to entry

- Classical Ballet Solo should be choreographed in the style of 18th to 20th century. Dancers in the A-1 Professional Ballet , B-1 General Ballet and B-2 General Ballet may present a classical variation or a piece of original choreography utilizing classical technique.

- Contemporary Ballet Solo (on pointe) For females, this should be original choreography set with contemporary movement but executed on pointe. For males, original choreography should be set with contemporary and ballet vocabulary. If the solos are not on pointe, the participant should be placed in the Open Category.

- All competitors in A Professional Ballet must prepare two separate variations; one in the Semi-Finals round and an alternate one in the Final round of the competition.

- Please note: dancers must have permission to present any original (neo-classical, contemporary, or in classical style) choreography to be presented at GDC prior to registering for competition.

- Category A may choose from the list of example classical variations below or a piece of original choreography utilizing classical technique.

See Examples for variations on classical variations.

* For those who train over 20 hours but cannot qualify for Category A-1 due to age discrepancies, GDC reserves the right to make exceptions based on letter of reference(s) from school of training and/or instructor with brief summary of dance experiences of the competitor.

**Original choreographic creations for GDC are very much appreciated.

***GDC reserves the right to designate the correct category of the participants’ entry. You must reserve all rights to the music and choreography for your performance. GDC is not liable for any fees or claims against usage.

Category A-C Professional Chinese Dance

If the competitor trains in Chinese Dance for more than 20 hours a week, they should enter in Category A-C, otherwise they should enter Category B-C General Division Chinese Dance.

The Chinese Dance category includes Chinese traditional and Chinese minzu dances. Participants are welcome to perform various representations of Chinese Cultural dances with choreography suited to the candidate’s ageand capability.

*The right to perform original choreographic repertoire must be cleared by choreographers prior to entering. original choreographic creations for GDC are very much appreciated

Category A-C1 Professional Chinese Dance: Age 13-15
Category A-C2 Professional Chinese Dance: Age 16-18
Category A-C3 Professional Chinese Dance: Age 19-22

Types

Solo
Duet
Group (3 - 6 dancers)
Ensemble (7+ dancers)

All Category A-C Professional Chinese Dance competitors need only prepare one piece for competition which will be presented in both the Semi-Final and Final round of competition.

*GDC reserves the right to designate the correct category of the participants’ entry. You must reserve all rights to the music and choreography for your performance. GDC is not liable for any fees or claims against usage.

Category A-D Professional Contemporary

If the competitor trains in Contemporary Dance for more than 20 hours a week, they should enter in Category A-D, otherwise they should enter Category B-D General Division Contemporary Dance.

It is important that the choreography is suited to the competitor’s age and capability. Original choreographic creations for GDC are very much appreciated!

*The right to perform original choreographic repertoire must be cleared by choreographers prior to entering. original choreographic creations for GDC are very much appreciated

Category A-D1 Professional Contemporary Dance: Age 13-15
Category A-D2 Professional Contemporary Dance: Age 16-18
Category A-D3 Professional Contemporary Dance: Age 19-22

Types

Solo
Duet
Group (3 - 6 dancers)
Ensemble (7+ dancers)

All Category A-D Professional Contemporary Dance competitors need only prepare one piece for competition which will be presented in both the Semi-Final and Final round of competition.

Category B-1 General Ballet: Age 7-9

Category B-2 General Ballet: Age 10-12

Category B-3 General Ballet: Age 13-15

Category B-4 General Ballet: Age 16-19

- All competitors in Category B General Ballet need only prepare one solo, which will be presented for both semi-final and final rounds.

Time Limitations

All Solos may not exceed 3:00 min.
All Duets, Group and Ensemble performances’ may not exceed 5:00 min.

Category B-C General Chinese Dance

If the competitor trains in Chinese Dance for less than 20 hours a week, they should enter Category B-C General Division Chinese Dance.

*The right to perform original choreographic repertoire must be cleared by choreographers prior to entering. original choreographic creations for GDC are very much appreciated

Category B-C1 Chinese Dance: Age 6-10
Category B-C2 Chinese Dance: Age 11-15
Category B-C3 Chinese Dance: Age 16-19

Types

Solo
Duet
Group (3 - 6 dancers)
Ensemble (7+ dancers)

- All competitors in Category B-C General Chinese Dance need only prepare one solo, which will be presented for both semi-final and final rounds.

Category B-D General Contemporary

If the competitor trains in Contemporary Dance for less than 20 hours a week, they should enter Category B-D General Division Contemporary.

It is important that the choreography is suited to the candidate’s age and capability. Original choreographic creations for GDC are very much appreciated!

Category B-D1 General Contemporary: Age 6-10
Category B-D2 General Contemporary: Age 11-15
Category B-D3 General Contemporary: Age 16-19

Types

Solo
Duet
Group (3 -6 dancers)
Ensemble (7+ dancers)

- All competitors in Category B-D General Contemporary Dance need only prepare one solo, which will be presented for both semi-final and final rounds.

Time Limitations

Professional and General Division Solos, all categories: no more than 3 minutes

Professional Divison, Ballet Category: Classical Ballet Pas de Deux: no more than 15 minutes (includes pas de deux, male and female variations, and Coda)

Professional Divison, Category C & D Duets: no more than 3 minutes

General Division, Category B Ballet, Category C & D Duets: no more than 3 minutes

Professional and General Division, small group dance, all categories (3-6 dancers): no more than 5 minutes

Professional and General Division, ensemble dance, all categories (7 or more dancers): no more than 5 minutes

Scoring

The scoring system is evaluated on a 100-point system.
Points will be given in the following areas:

Technical ability
Artistic performance
Musicality
Appropriate selection of repertoire or choreography
Overall complete presence
Costume and Presentation

The mark given for each participant is the average of scores given by four to seven judges from different backgrounds. In addition to providing a numerical score to each participant, judges may offer comments on the score sheet, to help guide participants.

For the Semi Finals, 20% of participants marks will come from designated Virtual Masterclasses. For Duets, groups and ensembles the Masterclass mark will be an average between all the participants. Participants will be marked for all categories that they are entered in. Videos of required materials for masterclasses will be available for distribution as of January 15.

Awards & Scholarships

Global Dance Challenge 2021 Awards and Scholarships

Global Award & Global Junior Award

Ballet

Ballet Category A-1 (Gold, Silver, Bronze)
Ballet Category A-2 (Gold, Silver, Bronze)
Ballet Category A-3 (Gold, Silver, Bronze)
Ballet Category B-1 (First, Second, Third)
Ballet Category B-2 (First, Second, Third)
Ballet Category B-3 (First, Second, Third)
Ballet Category B-4 (First, Second, Third)

Chinese Dance

Chinese Category A-c1 (Gold, Silver, Bronze)
Chinese Category A-C2 (Gold, Silver, Bronze)
Chinese Category A-C3 (Gold, Silver, Bronze)
Chinese Category B-C1 (First, Second, Third)
Chinese Category B-C2 (First, Second, Third)
Chinese Category B-C3 (First, Second, Third)
Chinese Category B-C4 (First, Second, Third)

Contemporary

Contemporary Category A-D1 (Gold, Silver, Bronze)
Contemporary Category A-D2 (Gold, Silver, Bronze)
Contemporary Category A-D3 (Gold, Silver, Bronze)
Contemporary Category B-D1 (First, Second, Third)
Contemporary Category B-D2 (First, Second, Third)
Contemporary Category B-D3 (First, Second, Third)
Contemporary Category B-D4 (First, Second, Third)

*Awards will be given within the Solo, Duet, Group and Ensemble sub categories that are in Category A, B, C, & D

GDC Prix D'Or Trophy

GDC Prix Trophy Awards

GDC Prix de l'Or (To the highest mark* in all of category A/B/C/D)
GDC Prix d'Argent (To the 2nd highest mark* in all of category A/B/C/D)
GDC Prix de Bronze (To the 3rd highest mark* in all of category A/B/C/D)

*Limitations: Any given solo competitor who receives top marks may be awarded only one Prix trophy for their highest ranked solo. The awarding of a Prix trophy to a duo, pas de deux, pas de trois, group or ensemble is not limited by whether or not any individual dancer in said duo, pas de deux, pas de trois, group or ensemble has already received a Prix trophy.

Special Mentions

Best Performance
Best Coach
Best Dance Organization
Best Choreographer
Most Potential

Awards Policy:

The winners in the Ballet, Chinese and Contemporary Dance categories will be announced separately.
Each participant will be judged per category entry however, should the same participant receive the highest mark for more than one category, they will only be eligible for one GDC Prix Trophy based upon their highest mark.
For all age divisions, Male and Female participants will compete separately unless there are less than 6 male participants. In that event, male and female participants will compete simultaneously, but a separate Best Male Dancer Award may be presented at the discretion of the jury.
The Global Award is presented in the Senior age division. The Global Junior Award is presented in the Junior age division.
The Artistic Director of GDC has the deciding vote to not present all of the announced awards.

Prizes & Scholarships

Prizes and scholarship information to be announced.

2019 Winners

We applaud all contestants and their instructors on their hard work and beautiful presentations and congratulate the following Global Dance Challenge 2019 winners on their accomplishments!

Category Awards & Medals

Category A1 Solo

Gold: #103, Margarita Roura – from Portugal
Silver: #102, Grace Bianchin – from Canada
Silver: #101, Ana Wu – from Canada
Bronze: #100, Leo Jun Hong Cheng – from Singapore

Category A2 Solo

Gold: #114, AntÓnio Casalinho – from Portugal
Silver: #127, Angel Vizcaino – from Mexico
Bronze: #117, Zhang Tengyuan – from China

Category A3 Solo

Gold: #129, Tali Elman – from Canada
Gold: #128, Zhu Jingyang – from China

Category A2 Pas de Deux

Gold: #131, António Casalinho & Margarita Roura Fernandes, for Flames of Paris Pas de Deux – from Canada
Silver: #130, Zhao Dian & Jin Wen Xuan, for Nutcracker Grand Pas de Deux - from China

Category B1 Solo

First place: #231, Maria Lopez – from Mexico
First place: #221, Luo Yuet Ho – from China
Second place: #219, Isabella Liu – from Canada
Second place: #218, Chen Yutan – from China
Third place: #211, Wang Lingyuyao – from China
Third place: #228, Mikayla Morris – from China

Category B2 Solo

First place: #247, Huang Jueya – from China
Second place: #258, Carolina Veiga da Costa – from Portgual
Second place: #237, Zhang Jinyue – from China
Third place: #242, Rhys Howes – from Canada
Third place: #261, Hiromi Abe – from Japan

Category B3 Solo

First place: #296, Margarida Noiva Conçalves – from Portgual
Third place: #268, Johana Gracia – from Mexico

Category B1 Duet

First place: #276, White Swan Ballet, for "Nutcracker Cane Dance" – from China
Second place: #277, White Swan Ballet, for "Coppelia Doll Dance" – from China
Second place: #275, Goh Ballet Academy, for "Spring Butterfly" – from Canada
Third place: #279, Beijing Aoba International Arts Centre, for "Happy Polka" – from China

Category B2 Duet

First place: #283, Doris Topete Dance Academy, for "Mi Corazon" – from Mexico
Third place: #282, Goh Ballet Academy, for "Double Eagle" – from Canada

Category B1 Group

First place: #287, Goh Ballet Academy, for "Who made mistakes" – from Canada
Second place: #285, Goh Ballet Academy, for "Petit Trio de Ballet" – from Canada

Category B1 Ensemble

First place: #289, Marigold Yifan Ballet Art Centre, for "Italy" – from China
Second place: #290, Goh Ballet Academy, for "Umbrella Dance" – from Canada
Third place: #293, Beijing Aoba International Arts Centre, for "Fijita" – from China

Category B3 Ensemble

Second place: #295, Suzhou Little Angel Ballet Company, for "Jasmine" – from China

Category C1 Solo

Gold: #301, Zhao Yichan – from China
Silver: #302, Connie Jin – from Canada

Category C2 Solo

Gold: #309, Sun Yunning – from China
Gold: 311, Ana Wu – from Canada
Silver: #307, Zhang Jinyu – from China

Category C1 Duet

Silver: #315, Goh Ballet Academy, for "Demon Sparrow" – from Canada
Bronze: #314, Goh Ballet Academy, for "Pretty Girl" – from Canada

Category C1 Group

Gold: #319, Princess Shera International Dancing School, for "As the Artisan Heart"
Silver: #317, Fanglan Dance Studio, for "June Jasmine" – from China
Bronze: #318, Goh Ballet Academy, for "Jasmine Flower" – from Canada

Category D1 Solo

Bronze: #402, Sophia Yao – from China

Category D2 Solo

Gold: #408, Lyric Fernandes – from USA
Silver: #415, Ana Wu – from Canada
Silver: #405, Zhang Xinyue – from China
Bronze: #406, Adele Liao – from China

Category D3 Solo

Gold: #420, AntÓnio Casalinho – from Portgual
Silver: #424, Angel Vizcaino – from Mexico
Silver: #425, Tali Elman – from Canada
Bronze: #418, Johana Gracia – from Mexico
Bronze: #423, Kyra Soo – from Canada

Category D1 duet

Bronze: #403, Princess Shera International Dancing School, for "Fire"

Category D1 Group Jazz

Silver: #404, Goh Ballet Academy, for "Rodeo Gals" – from Canada

Category D2 Group Jazz

Silver: #426, Goh Ballet Academy, for "Espionage" – from Canada

Prix de L'Or, Prix d'Argent and Prix de Bronze

Overall Top 3 marks in each category

Category A

GDC Prix de Bronze: #129, Tali Elman – from Canada
GDC Prix d'Argent: #127, Angel Vizcaino – from Mexico
GDC Prix de l'Or: #131, António Casalinho & Margarita Roura Fernandes – from Portgual

Category B

GDC Prix de Bronze: #258, Carolina Veiga da Costa – from Portgual
GDC Prix d'Argent: #296, Margarida Noiva Conçalves – from Portgual
GDC Prix de l'Or: #247, Huang Jueya – from China

Category C

GDC Prix de Bronze: #309, Sun Yunning – from China

GDC 2019 Jury Select Awards
Jury Honourable Mentions

A2 solo: #108, Nicholas Mihlar – from Canada
A2 solo: #111, Luo Yi – from China
A2 solo: #123, Yu Shan – from China
A2 solo: #126, Kyra Soo – from Canada
B1 solo: #232, Jhilian Yan Klassen – from Canada
B1 ensemble: #288, Gui Yang Fen Se Zu Jian Dance Arts School, for “Storm” – from China
B1 ensemble: #291, White Swan Ballet, for “Jewel” – from China
B1 ensemble: #292, Goh Ballet Academy, for “Waltz” – from Canada
D3 solo: #417, Nicholas Mihlar – from Canada
D3 solo: #421, Marie Keenan – from Canada
D3 solo: #422, Irene Ta – from Canada

Best Performance

B1 solo #207, Theepika Sivananthan, for "Cinderella’s Dream" – from Canada

Outstanding Dance Organization

Beijing Aoba International Arts Centre – from China

Outstanding Choreography

Barbara Bartnik, for "Incumbency" (as performed by competitor #423, Kyra Soo)
Kirsten Wicklund, for "A Deal with Chaos" (as performed by competitor #422, Irene Ta)

Most Potential