The Torbay Dance Festival

SUPPLEMENTARY RULES FOR DANCE July 2026

Please read in conjunction with the General Festival rules

D1 The Festival does not accept liability for the infringement of copyright, recording or performing rights arising out of an entrant’s accompaniment or performance.

D2 No performer may present more than one performance in any solo class but may appear twice in one class in duet, trio and quartet classes and up to 3 times in a group class.

D3 Performers may enter solo performances only in their own age group.

D4 Dancers who enter the Performance class may not enter any other solo, duet, trio or quartet classes, but may appear in group classes.

D5 Pointe work is not allowed for any dancer under 13 years or in any novice class.

D6 Dancers under 13 years may not enter Modern Ballet or Contemporary sections, excluding groups. 

D7 A group must contain a minimum of 5 performers.

D8 A performer may not perform a dance more than once during the course of the festival with the exception of Championship performances. A performer may repeat a winning dance for a maximum of 2 years.

D9 Time limits are the maximum allowed and must be observed. All dances will be timed and monitored and marks will be deducted if timings are exceeded.

Solos 10 and under –  1.5 minutes with an extra 30 seconds in Musical Theatre classes.

Solos 11 and over –  2 minutes with an extra 30 seconds in Musical Theatre classes.

Novice Solo 10 and under –  1.5 minutes.

Novice Solo 11 and over  – 2 minutes.

Duets, Trios and Quartets  – 2.5 minutes with an extra 30 seconds in Musical Theatre classes.

Groups  – 4 minutes with an extra 30 seconds in Musical Theatre classes.

Championship solos – 1.5/2 minutes with an extra 30 seconds in the Musical Theatre Championships.

D10 Dancing out of section can take place only before the allotted class time (not after the class has taken place) and will be allowed only in the end of day slots allotted to the purpose of dancing out of section, provided that there is room. All requests to dance out of section should be made in writing, with a valid reason and made as far in advance of the festival start as possible. Dancing out of section will result in a report and mark only (no cup or medal if the out of section dancer/s happens to gain the highest mark in that section). In an All England qualifying year, a qualifying mark may be awarded. A Championship place may be awarded by the adjudicator.

D11 A performer not ready to dance in the order of the programme may be disqualified. All performers should be ready to dance 30 minutes ahead of the scheduled section time.     

D12 A re-dance within a section will be permitted by agreement with a Dance Committee representative.

D13 During improvisation classes, no one except festival personnel and performers in the current class will be allowed backstage or in the backstage dressing rooms.

D14 Novice classes are open to performers who have not won any section of the same genre. Wins in duet/trio/quartet sections are included – e.g. you may not enter a novice solo if you have won a duet/trio/quartet of that genre, but being part of a group win does not remove eligibility for solos/duets/trios. Please ensure the Dance Section Chair is notified if a dancer becomes ineligible to enter the novice class after an entry has been made and the entry will be transferred to the relevant open age class. The exception to this is in respect of Novice Group Performers who may perform in a 2027 Novice Festival group if their Novice status changes at North Cornwall or Exeter Festivals in 2027.   

D15 All music should be uploaded at the time of entry, but if this is not possible, by the deadline given for the specific festival, which will be visible on the website and on social media. Failure to upload music by the deadline may result in the entry being cancelled. CDs will no longer be accepted. Back up music should be held on a phone. Please ensure the Character or Greek title/introduction is given to the check in desk on the day of the dance. Lengthy titles or introductions beyond 30 words will be counted against the dance time. The teacher is responsible for the quality of the upload which will be taken into account by the adjudicator. 

D16 Backing music for all Musical Theatre sections must not contain any vocal.

D17 Side stage and wings are out of bounds to all except performers in the current class and Festival personnel. Exceptions to this rule allowing one parent/carer/teacher to accompany a dancer side stage are

• Open section dancers aged 6 years and under
• Novice section dancers aged 8 years and under
• Open section dancers aged 7 and over or Novice section dancers aged 9 years and over where additional needs require them to be supported. All requests to accompany Open section dancers 7 and over and Novice section 9 and over must be made in writing to the Dance Committee Chair before the start of the festival
• Group sections, where it is required that a teacher or other responsible adult accompanies their group to ensure appropriate discipline. This responsible adult (18 year or over) is named on the entry form and if the person is not backstage with the group, the group will not be permitted to perform    

D18 All props should be hand held and manoeuverable onto the stage by the dancer where possible. If it is necessary to bring a prop in advance, it should be brought on the morning of the performance and be removed by the end of the day. Props left backstage may cause a hazard and will be removed by the Committee. In line with All England Dance rules, no prop should weigh more that 10kg and should not need to be assembled backstage. No prop should make any mess on stage, be breakable or be a living creature. The Committee reserves the right to refuse props that do not comply with these requirements.   

D19 Stage group rehearsals without the use of the theatre sound system will be allowed for groups and will take place in lunch and dinner breaks. A booking sheet will be held at the foyer desk and teachers may sign up for stage slots. 

D20 Dancers who are unfamiliar with the stage may look at it to become familiar before the festival starts each morning between 9.00 and 9.20 am. No rehearsal is permitted at this time. 

D21 Teacher passes for auditorium entry will be provided free of charge. Dance School Principals will be contacted prior to the festival to provide names of staff who require a pass. No free teacher entry to the auditorium will be permitted without a pass and we are unable to issue passes if the teacher’s name has not been provided by the principal by the deadline. 

D22 Certificates and adjudication sheets are filed alphabetically at the certificate table and may be collected by performers and parents/carers. If principals (or a representative) wish to collect certificates and reports themselves, please ensure the Committee is made aware of this before the festival. Please note that if a representative is collecting a number of certificates/reports, they will need to know the names of the performers they are collecting as they will no longer be filed by school. 

D23 Individual winners and dance school principals are responsible for the return of all cups, cleaned and undamaged. The committee reserves the right not to award a trophy to any individual or school. Cups awarded in 2026 should be returned to the Cup Secretary by 1^st February 2027.

D24 We are an inclusive festival and welcome performers with additional needs. Notification of the nature of any condition and any adaptations required must be stated at entry for the Performance class and by email to the Chair of the Dance Committee for all other classes when entries are submitted, in order that provision may be made, if possible. 

D25 Group rehearsal is not permitted in the changing areas. Individual stretching and vocal warm up is welcome.

D26 In order to support our safeguarding policy and license issued by Torbay Council, phones are not permitted to be in sight or used in side stage and backstage areas to ensure that photography and filming cannot take place. If a dancer is filmed or photographed from the auditorium, side stage or backstage, their performance will be stopped and they may be disqualified.

D27 Choreographers are encouraged to check the content descriptions for all genres, but please specifically note that acro moves are not accepted in lyrical dances and acro groups are not permitted in the modern sections for safety reasons as we do not have the necessary warm up facilities and do have a raked stage.