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2026- 2027 SEASON RULES

GDO RULES & REGULATIONS 2026/2027

 

Please read the following rules and regulations carefully. Failure to comply with the GDO rules may result in disqualification from the competition. These rules may differ from other competitions, so please read carefully.

Global Dance Open is organized by Ultimate Dance Productions Ltd, registered in the UK. 

 

Inscripting in the competition, implies understanding and compliance with the rules.

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1. Participation

2. Membership

3. Age Divisions

4. Entry Types

5. Time Limits

6. Inscriptions

7. Music

8. Age-Appropriateness 

9. Pas de Deux

10. Props

11. Boys Sections

12. Musical Theatre

13. Deadlines

14. Performance conditions

15. Pointe shoes

16. Costumes

17. Judges

18. Scoring System

19. Reclassification 

20. Scholarships and Prizes

21.    Finals

 

1. Participation

  • GDO is open to dancers of all nationalities. Participants may enter either independently or through a dance studio.

  • All dancers must qualify by competing in either a country qualifier or a virtual qualifier. Dancers who reside in a country that hosts a live qualifier are required to attend that event; virtual qualification is not permitted in these cases.

  • Dancers who train across multiple dance studios or in multiple countries must obtain approval from the GDO Head Office. All decisions made by the Head Office are final.

  • ​In cases with dancers that train across multiple dance studios/countries, all duet/trio/ensemble/crew must be performed at one qualifier. Solos must be done in country of principal dance school/nationality

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2. Membership

  1. All dancers must have valid annual membership to participate in any GDO event (valid 1 season) This is automatically added on your account when inscripting.

  2. Annual membership is 12€ and is non-refundable

 

3. Age Divisions

  • MINI: 5-8 years

  • JUNIOR: 9-11 years

  • TEEN: 12-14 years

  • INTERMEDIATE: 15-17 years

  • SENIOR: 18-29 years

 

  1. Age is taken from 1 January 2027

  2. In Duet/Trio/Crew/Ensembles, the age division is taken by the oldest dancer

  3. Dancer’s must compete in their correct age division in solos

  4. Mini dancers cannot compete in Senior category 

  5. GDO reserves the right to check identity cards at the Qualifiers or Finals

 

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4. Entry Types

Solo: 1 Dancer

All age divisions:

  • Ballet Repertoire

  • Classical (Includes Non-Repertoire & Neoclassical)

  • Contemporary

  • Jazz

  • Acrodance

  • Lyrical

  • Showdance

  • Tap

  • Musical Theatre

  • Folklore

  • Hip-Hop/Street/Commercial

 

5. Boys Sections

The following solo categories are split into boy divisions

  • Ballet Repertoire

  • Contemporary

  • Jazz

  • Lyrical

  • Showdance (Intermediate Only)

 

GDO reserves the right to split further boys category depending on numbers of entries

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Duet/Trio: 2-3 dancers

All age divisions:

  • Ballet (Includes repertoire, non-repertoire & neoclassical)

  • Contemporary

  • Folkore

  • Jazz

  • Acrodance

  • Lyrical

  • Showdance

  • Tap

  • Musical Theatre

  • Hip-Hop/Street/Commercial

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Small Ensemble: 4-10 dancers

Junior, Teen, Intermediate Divisions:

  • Ballet (Includes Repertoire, Non-Repertoire & Neoclassical)

  • Contemporary

  • Jazz

  • Acrodance

  • Lyrical

  • Showdance

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Senior Divisions:

  • Contemporary

  • Jazz

  • Lyrical

  • Showdance

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Large Ensemble: 11+ dancers

Junior, Teen, Intermediate Divisions:

  • Ballet (Includes Repertoire, Non-Repertoire & Neoclassical)

  • Contemporary

  • Jazz

  • Acrodance

  • Lyrical

  • Showdance

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Senior Divisions:

  • Contemporary

  • Jazz

  • Lyrical

  • Showdance

 

Ensemble: 4+ dancers (These categories are not split into Small & Large Ensembles)

Mini Divisions

  • Ballet (Includes non-repertoire, repertoire & Neoclassical)

  • Contemporary

  • Jazz

  • Lyrical

  • Showdance

  • Tap

  • Acrodance

  • Musical Theatre

  • Folklore

  • Hip-Hop/Street/Commercial

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Junior, Teen, Intermediate Divisions:

  • Tap

  • Musical Theatre

  • Folklore

 

Senior Divisions:

  • Ballet (Includes non-repertoire, repertoire & Neoclassical)

  • Acrodance

  • Musical Theatre

  • Tap

  • National/Folklore

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Hip/Hop/ Street/ Commercial

  • Small Crew: 4-10 dancers

  • (All age divisions except Mini: Hip-Hop/Street/Commercial)

  •  Large Crew: 11 + dancers

  • (All age divisions except Mini: Hip-Hop/Street/Commercial)

 

  1. There will be backstage to ensure the number of the dancers performing is the same as that registered

  2. There will be a 50€ fine per additional dancer not registered, as well as the missing inscriptions.

  3. Please note that there is no longer neoclassical - neoclassical entries should be placed in the ‘Classical (Includes Ballet & Neoclassical) category

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6. Time Limits

  • Solo: 2:15min (Exception for Ballet Repertoire solos)

  • Duet/Trio: 2:45mins

  • Small Ensemble/Crew: 3:30mins

  • Large Ensembles/Crew: 4:00mins

  • Mini Ensembles/Crew: 3:00min

  • Junior, Teen, Intermediate & Senior Ensembles: 4:00 mins

  • Pas de Deux: 6:00 mins 

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  1. Music longer will not be accepted into the system

  2. There is no tolerance for longer routines

  3. These are maximum times, routines may be shorter

 

7. Inscriptions

  1. Inscriptions must be made through the GDO dancecompgenie platform: http://globaldanceopen.dancecompgenie.com/

  2. Dance studios must make an account. Please ensure you use an email you wish to receive communications. Be careful with email spelling to avoid communication problems.

  3. Dance teachers (person responsible for inscriptions) are responsible to ensure legal names are spelt correctly and date of birth is correct.

  4. Incorrect naming spelling and date of births will create issues as results, photos and videos are all connected to this info on dakiki app

  5. Should a dancer be found to have entered the wrong D.O.B, they may be disqualified. This will be a decision made by head office.

  6. Dancers can enter as many solos as they wish at qualifiers, e.g: if a dancer enters 2 variations in the same category, only the highest score will receive medal if placed & only the highest score will be invited to finals if invited.

 

8. Music

Music cannot contain swearing or offensive in any language. Music must not contain swearing, offensive or discriminatory language in any form. This includes (but is not limited to) the following:

  • F***

  • S***

  • B****

  • N*****

  • C***

  • Racial, sexual, or derogatory slurs 

Any music containing inappropriate content will result in disqualification or the requirement to submit a clean version.

  1. Music must be submitted via the online platform- music emailed will not be accepted

  2. Music is the responsibility of the dance teacher, who should check and verify before uploading and after uploading.

  3. Dance teachers should keep a copy of music on a USB at events to allow easy access should there be any issue. Music on phones are never accepted.

 

 

9. Musical Theatre

  • Backing tracks must not contain any vocals. Tracks with vocals will result in immediate disqualification or the requirement to submit a clean version.

  • Music tracks cannot have any vocals (spoken or sung)

  • Participants will have a choice between headset or hand-held microphone where available.

  • All soloists and duet/trio must use a form of microphone.

  • 4 headset/microphones per group maximum will be permitted

  • All dancers in a group must sing- ensemble members must also sing

 

 

10. Age-Appropriateness 

  • Dance teachers must take into serious consideration age-appropriateness of choreographies. Over sexualized content will not be permitted at GDO.

  • Adult themes such as cabaret, should not be used for Mini or Junior dancers

  • Should a judge consider a routine is inappropriate for an age division, the routine will be disqualified.

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11. Pas de Deux

  • Eligible for Teen, Intermediate & Senior

  • Maximum duration: 6 minutes

  • The performance may include:

  • Adagio & Coda

  • Please note, coda is optional (you may perform only the Adagio if preferred)

  • One single audio file only- The entire piece (Adagio and Coda, if included) must be edited into one continuous track. No separate tracks allowed for Adagio and Coda

  • Must be selected from the Classical Repertoire List 

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12. Props

  • Props must be carried on and off stage by competitors, except for Mini/Junior dancers who may accept help from one adult. Any adult helping with a prop cannot wear clothing that displays dance school name.

  • 20 second time limit to place to prop

  • Props should be placed onstage and removed at end of choreography (No unweighted helium balloons)

  • Props must be actively used be competitor. Scenery is not allowed.

  • If judges determine the prop is not relevant or not used in a choreography, it will result in point deduction.

  • No dangerous props are allowed (sharp objects, helium balloons)

  • Glass props are not allowed

  • No props that leave behind dust, smoke or uncleanable mess should be used.

  • No liquids- bubbles/water

  • No live animals

  • Country flags cannot be used in choreographies

  • Any props that involved mess (e.g paper, petal, etc) must be cleaned up by the participants as quickly as possible. It is advised against using this in choreographies.

  • GDO does not take responsibility for the safe keeping of props at the event. Studios are responsible for the transport and safe keeping of props.

  • GDO does not take responsibility for any injury caused by props backstage to dancers/teachers.

 

13. Deadlines

  • Inscriptions are due in full on the closing of inscriptions

  • Payments submitted after the closing date will incur a 10% late fee, applied weekly from the deadline. If payment is not received within three weeks, registrations will be cancelled. Registrations may also cancelled at any time past the deadline.

  • Inscriptions will not be finalised until payment is made and choreographies will not be scheduled

 

14. Performance conditions

  • No lighting effects are allowed at qualifiers or finals

  • If music stops during a performance due to a theatre fault, the dancer(s) will get the opportunity to dance again.

  • If music is uploaded wrong, the performance will not be allowed to repeat

  • If a dancer forgets their dance, they will not be allowed to dance again. Exceptions with younger dancers may be made at Qualifiers.

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15. Pointe shoes

  • Dancers must be 12 years old to perform in pointe shoes- solos/duet/trio/ensembles

  • Intermediate & Senior MUST wear pointe shoes in the solo repertoire section

  • Pointe shoes can only be worn in Ballet Repertoire & Ballet sections (not contemporary)

  • Dancers under 12 years cannot wear pointe shoes in any choreography in the competition. There will be checks by backstage teams and if underage dancers use pointe shoes, it can result in disqualification.

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16. Costumes

  • All costumes should underline the character of the dance 

  • Costumes MUST be age appropriate

  • Appearance and grooming are important and will be taken into the consideration by the jury.

  • Costumes should leave no mess on stage (feathers, sequins, etc). It is performer’s responsibility to remove from any debris from the stage. 

  • Should the stage require cleaning of more than 1 min, a point reduction will be applied.

  • Costumes can change between Qualifier and Final.

 

17. Judges

  • The competition’s jury panel will comprise highly recognized judges within the dance community

  • Judges are completely independent

  • The decision of the judges is final. No appeal can be made.

  • Judges’ comments are provided for the qualifiers only. There will be no feedback at the finals.

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18. Scoring System

Minimum Marks for Podium Eligibility

  • 75 marks – Eligible for 3rd Place (Bronze)

  • 80 marks – Eligible for 2nd Place (Silver)

  • 85 marks – Eligible for 1st Place (Gold)

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Ranking System Application

Placements will be determined by ranking the total scores from highest to lowest.

If multiple participants achieve the Gold qualifying score (85 marks or above), they will still be ranked according to their final scores, and podium placements will be assigned as follows:

  • Highest score: 1st Place (Gold)

  • Second highest score: 2nd Place (Silver)

  • Third highest score: 3rd Place (Bronze)

This ranking system applies regardless of how many participants meet the minimum qualifying score for each medal category.

​

 

19. Reclassification 

Please refer to our style descriptions page for style descriptions. If there is a doubt on the choreography, please send a video to the GDO for clarification: info@globaldanceopen.com

 

Reclassification Process:

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  1. The routine will be moved to the correct category at the end of the whole competition.

  2. If the routine is in qualifying position, it will be decided by the GDO whether they will receive an invitation to the final.

  3. Routines moved are not eligible for re-adjudication or appeal.

 

20. Scholarships and Prizes

  • Medals and/or trophies will be awarded as prizes

  • Scholarships will be chosen and awarded by our judges

  • Scholarships are not based on medal placement but at judge’s discretion.

 

 

 

21. Finals

 

1. Participation

 

  • Participants may only compete with one solo in each category at the Finals.

  • Participants may only take part in one duet/trio in each category at the Finals.

  • Should dancers participate more than once in a group category, be prepared for quick costume changes.

  • For mini categories, dancers may only compete once per category (ensembles/crew included)

  • Dancers should be available the full Finals until announced the styles of each day

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2. Choreography

  • Dancers cannot change the music or choreography between Qualifier qualifiers & finals. Choreography Changes can be made for improvement

  • The music submitted and used at the Qualifier must be the same version used at the Global Dance Open Finals. Even if the full permitted music duration was not used at the Qualifier, the routine may not be extended at the Finals to use the remaining available time.

  • Dancers in Ballet Repertoire section must perform the SAME variation chosen for the qualifier 

  • A choreography can only be entered once in the competition, e.g the same solo/duet/trio/group cannot be entered in multiple dance styles

 

3. Substitute Dancers

  • The dancer of a Solo cannot be altered between qualifiers and finals

  • One member of a duet/trio may be substituted between the qualifier and final (as long as the dancer competed at the qualifier)

  • Group members may be substituted between the qualifier and the final, provided the dancer has competed in the qualifier.

  • Any changed should not affect the age division/ entry type

  • Any decisions on substituting dancers by the organisation are final

  • All changes must be notified to Head Office: info@globaldanceopen.com

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