Dancer Rules & Registration
BBB CUBA 2025
USA Dancers MUST arrange for their accommodation in Havana through Your Cuba Travel by the Oct. 15 2024 Deadline
https://yourcubatravel.com/ballet-beyond-borders-2025
This is the BBB sanctioned travel agent for the accredited housing USA visitors to Cuba must use.
Official BBB Dance Challenge Rules
BBB embraces the changing landscapes of our global dance art form. While excellence is our goal, we also seek to preserve the heritage we passionately share. We strive to protect, inspire, and connect the next generation of young artists with professionals of the highest caliber and with mentors that align with these ideals. Dance is a cultural phenomenon and dancers are natural diplomats. Ballet Beyond Borders is a Ballet Nation that serves as a catalyst for promoting cooperation and easing conflict by creating mutual understanding and using dance to advocate for human rights, justice, and global peace.
Ballet Beyond Borders is a Festival that provides a cultural, educational and diplomatic exchange to further human understanding and spark vital communication. BBB presents classical ballet and all genres of dance from Folkloric and Native American cultures with indigenous nations of Africa and South America, hip-hop, tap and contemporary choreography. BBB is an inclusive society.
BBB presents you with an opportunity to leave your footprints on a global stage. Ballet Beyond Borders is an OPEN land, with an OPEN heart and an OPEN dialogue. Please bring your dances and your stories, your technique, and your artistry to our ballet nation.
Prizes, Scholarships & Education: Prizes will include cash, scholarships, and awards to prestigious programs in the USA and abroad. In addition to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in every category, special recognition prizes from the distinguished jury panel.
All winners in the online competition will be announced at the award ceremony. Online competitors will have access to classes via zoom and on demand, streamed special events January 11th-14th and the Gala finale whilch will be available two weeks after. Online Competitors participate in the competition via video of their dances.
-All amateurs, students, and professionals of all nationalities are eligible and encouraged to participate in the BBB dance challenge.
Teachers/Directors are not allowed to be in group pieces with their students nor are they allowed to be a dancer in a student’s Young Choreographer submission. (Does not apply to students who are also student-teachers in their school)
-BBB Participants may enter the dance challenge in:
Solo
Classical Pas de deux
Duet
Group 3 or more dancers
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Participants may compete in separate ballet, contemporary/modern, open, or choreography categories. Solos may only compete in one routine per category.
Ballet
Contemporary/Modern
Open Category includes Hip Hop, Flamenco, Ballroom, Tap and all forms of ethnic/cultural dance.
Young Choreographer
Age Categories--determined by your age on January 1st, 2025 for both in person and online
Children: 6-9
Student: 10-12
Junior: 13-15
Senior: 16-18
Professional: 19+
These age groups apply to Ballet, Contemporary/Modern and Open Categories. Young choreographer category: Will follow the age groups but Professional is capped at 30 years old.
BBB 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.
Solo Ballet Category rules:
Ballet slippers or pointe shoes must be worn.
No pointe shoes allowed in the children or student categories-EXCEPT for dancers in the student category age 12 who may perform on pointe at the discretion of the teacher or coach. The jury will be instructed not to judge higher or lower based on a young dancer's performance on pointe.
Classical variations: Choreographed in the style of 18th & 19th century and is defined as original choreography or choreography from a Classical ballet.
All age levels will perform one variation that can be either a classical variation or a piece of original choreography utilizing classical technique or neoclassical choreography. (Please bring age-appropriate choreography. This may also include demi-character dances or variations that incorporate storytelling and original choreography.)
List of sample ballets for classical variations (you may choose another variation, or you may bring an original classical variation choreographed for or by you.)
Coppelia (A. St. Leon)
Diana & Acteon (A. Vaganova)
Don Quixote (M. Petipa)
Flower Festival at Genzano (A. Bournonville)
Grand Pas Classique (V. Gsovsky)
Giselle (J. Perrot, J. Coralli)
Harlequinade (M. Petipa)
La Bayadere (M. Petipa)
La Esmeralda (M. Petipa)
La Fille Mal Gardee (B. Nijinska, D. Romanoff)
La Sylphide (A. Bournonville)
Laurencia (V. Chabukiani)
Le Corsaire (M. Petipa)
Les Sylphides/Chopiniana (M. Fokine)
Napoli (A. Bournonville)
Paquita (M. Petipa)
Pharaoh’s Daughter (P. LaCotte)
Raymonda (M. Petipa)
Swan Lake (M. Petipa, L. Ivanov)
The Flames of Paris (V. Vainonen)
The Nutcracker Suite (V. Vainonen)
The Sleeping Beauty (M. Petipa)
Walpurgis Nacht (L. Lavrovsky)
*Neoclassical Clarification: Original choreography or most creations of the late 20th century. If you are unsure as to whether your solo is considered Neoclassical, please email us a video sample of the piece, and we will confirm. *George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, William Forsythe, Nacho Duato and Frederick Ashton or any choreographer you have not worked with directly is not allowed unless permission has been officially granted from the choreographer or their official trust and proof is shown to the BBB administration. In some cultures neoclassical might be defined as Lyrical: a merging of ballet, contemporary and jazz techniques, or a “stew“ of various disciplines, or, "contemporary” movements executed on pointe. In regards to the BBB vision for “neo-classical “performances - Original choreography with innovative approaches to technique, musicality and movement are highly encouraged and appreciated.
Solo Contemporary/Modern Category Rules: * Dancers may compete in this category without competing in the ballet category
No pointe shoes are allowed in the Contemporary/Modern category
Contemporary competitors will perform one piece.
Solo Open Category Rules
This category includes all styles of dance: tap, hip-hop, break, indigenous, folkloric, theatre, etc.
Open competitors will perform one piece.
Young Choreographer
This category is for original work choreographed by a competitor who is age 6 – 30. Solo, duet, or group pieces are accepted in any style. Competitors may submit two pieces in this category. One solo either performed by them or another dancer and one duet or group piece.
You may NOT use a piece that is already entered in another category in BBB Cuba 2025.
Rules for length of Performances:
All solos in all categories may not exceed 3:00 minutes
All duets/group/ensemble dances may not exceed 5:00 minutes
Young choreographer may not exceed 5:00 minutes
!!! - Exception = Classical Pas de Deux category is the length as dictated by the established choreography and Music.
Deadline for Music Submission
Your music must be submitted by email in Mp3 orM4a format by January 1st, 2025.
BBB Fees for Registration:
SOLO FEES
Solos (all categories): $200 SOLO FEE CHANGE AS OF 2021*
Your initial entry fee will cover ALL categories. If you wish to compete in more than 1 category there is no additional fee.
Young Choreographer: dancers performing for a choreographer do not need to register individually for this category. The choreographer is the competitor
Young Choreographer: If two people are choreographing a piece together they each pay the full fee and each register separately. Please contact us at bbb@rmbt.org if you are collaborating on a young choreographer piece.
DUET/GROUPS
Pas de deux/duet: $200 total
Groups 3+: $300
The fee is all inclusive and includes your participation on stage and off at all master classes and cultural programs as well as any special event offered by BBB. There are no refunds and no exceptions. The registration fees do not contain insurance for the participants. BBB assumes no liability for a dancer's participation, either on or off-stage, in any and all foreseeable and non-foreseeable situations for the duration of the contest.
Instructions TO REGISTER - PLEASE READ