GREETINGS

COMPETITION

The competition, in both categories, can be developed in 3 (three) stages, according to the schedule established by THE ORGANIZATION: a) Qualifying Round, b) Semifinal, c) Final.

a) Qualifying Round: All registered couples will participate. They will dance one time or twice (on the same or on a different day) according to the schedule.

b) Semifinal: Couples that have been selected in the Qualifying Round will participate.

c) Final: Couples that have been selected in the Semifinal will participate.

At the time of the competition, at least ten couples must attend the qualifying rounds for the competition to be considered official (regardless of the number of couples previously registered). Otherwise, the championship will cease to be official and the winning couple will not be classified to compete in the semifinal instances of TANGO BUENOS AIRES FESTIVAL AND DANCE WORLD CUP 2024 (see section PRIZES).

In the Tango de Pista category, couples will compete in group performances, dancing to three recorded songs, selected by THE ORGANIZATION.

In the Stage Tango category, each couple will compete individually, dancing to one song of their choice. The music piece shall not exceed four (4) minutes and must be handed in to THE ORGANIZATION in digital format (mp3 file, storaged on a Flash Memory Drive) during the check-in instance. In that same instance, participants must state the name and surname of the author or authors of the choreography they will present (as it will be requested in the form to be completed). Couples may present different choreographies in the different stages of the contest.

THE ORGANIZATION will be entitled to eliminate from the competition those participants that:

a) Do not comply with the rules;

b) Carry out, during the competition, political or religious demonstrations (by any means) that may be offensive to the audience or the Organization, or affect the course of the event;

c) Commit any moral offense or improper act that tarnishes the image of the Dance World Cup 2023, or may cause displeasure in the public;

d) Carry out, in the context of or on the occasion of the Competition, inside and outside its facilities, any action of physical and/or verbal aggression against any person, whether participant, member of the jury or the staff, or general public.

In the presence of any of these assumptions, THE ORGANIZATION and BA FESTIVALS will implement the disqualification or elimination of competition, for either or both competitors, through documentation proving the reasons for the measure.

In order to guarantee the impartiality and professional integrity of the members of the jury, all competitors may not take private lessons given by any member of the jury while they are in the competition.

JURY

In both categories, the jury will be composed of a minimum of 4 (four) members, who— understanding and accepting the rules of the competition, and committing to their compliance—will determine the score of the participating couples. The juries will be appointed in accordance with BA FESTIVALS and THE ORGANIZATION of the Preliminary.

All the decisions of the jury will not be subject to appeal. By enrolling, participants accept this condition. In case of distrust or disagreement, participants may submit a written statement (in Spanish or English) to THE ORGANIZATION and NOT directly to the panel of evaluating judges. Any jury member who may have had a work relationship or been the teacher of any of the participants of the Preliminary for a period of at least 6 months close to the beginning of the competition, should refrain from scoring such participant. For this purpose, both the voluntary statements of the jury and the information provided by participants when enrolling will be taken into account. In these cases, to get the couple’s final score, the judges’ scores will be added, and this amount will be divided by the number of jury members who actually voted.

The final score for each performance will result from the accumulation of points, given by each member of the jury on a scale of 1 to 10 (with decimals), in accordance with the criteria described in the following section.

The jury will choose a winning couple in each category. Also, the jury (with the agreement of THE ORGANIZATION) may grant awards and special mentions to the second and third place, and will be entitled to award other mentions if deemed appropriate.

In exceptional cases (power interruption, incidents on stage, etc.), the jury and the supervisor may determine that contestants should dance to additional songs to arrive at a fair verdict. Participants may not refuse to perform.

In case of a tie, the couples with the same final score will have to break the draw, either by dancing two additional songs in the Tango de Pista category, or by performing a new choreography in the stage tango category, until a winning couple emerges from the votes of the jury.

SUPERVISOR

Appointed by BA FESTIVALS, the Supervisor will bear the responsibility of ensuring the compliance of the present Rules and properly solve any inconvenience not considered in these Rules and establish or inform about the clarifying or interpretative rules that he considers necessary.

CONTEST (EVALUATION CRITERIA)

1. TANGO DE PISTA (UNRESTRICTED ENTRY, AMATEURS AND PROFESSIONALS)

Tango de Pista is conceived as a social dance, where the most important aspects are the improvisation, embrace and connection between the dance partners.

Circulation of couples: Couples, as in a real dance hall, will dance in rounds and will have to constantly move counterclockwise without going backwards. They will be allowed, if needed, to walk one or two step backwards at most always within the space of the couple.

The couple must be aware and respectful of their own and other couples’ space in the round in order not to break the harmony when moving around. If a couple performs more than two phrases in the same spot, obstructing the circulation on the dance floor, the Jury may consider lowering their score.

In the event that one couple stops the flow of traffic around the dance floor, it is not possible for other couples to go past them. If the jury deems it necessary, the round of couples may have to dance to another tango to solve the inconvenience.

Once formed, the couple must not separate while the music is playing. For the position to be considered correct, the body of one of the members of the couple must be contained at all the time by the arm of the other. It is understood that in certain figures this may be flexible, but not throughout the whole duration of the dance. All movements and figures must be made within the space allowed by the couple’s embrace, so as not to get in the way of the other couples dancing. The leader may invite the follower to walk and/or turn to their right or left, without taking steps backwards on the dance floor.

iIt is not necessary for partners to break the embrace between tangos.

Evaluation criteria: The couple may perform any commonly used figures of “social” tango, including barridas (sweeps), sacadas al piso (drawn to the floor), enrosques (twists), ganchos (hooks), boleos,

etc., as well as embellishments always within their own space, without standing in the way of couples dancing around them. Jumps, figures that involve lifting both feet off the ground and any other choreographic possibilities typical of Stage Tango are completely forbidden.

The Jury will take into account the couple’s own interpretation in different styles as fundamental to the score. They will also consider their musicality, elegant walking style, but especially the connection between partners and the search for their own expression, as well as the ability to change the dynamics and speed accordingly depending on the tango being played.

Costumes: Outfits will not be taken into consideration during the judging process, but dancers are recommended to dress smartly. When choosing the outfit, hairstyle and make-up, please be reminded that Tango de Pista is a social dance and not a stage dance.

2. STAGE TANGO (UNRESTRICTED ENTRY, AMATEURS AND PROFESSIONALS)

Performance: Each couple will offer an individual performance with a song of their choice that shall

not be more than four (4) minutes long.

In case of having a problem with the choreography, the couple will decide whether to continue dancing or not, and the Jury will evaluate the manner and grace with which they solve the inconvenience; but the couple will not be allowed to repeat the performance.

If a technical problem should occur, the Organization along with the Jury will evaluate the repetition of the choreography at the end of the assigned performing time slot.

Evaluation criteria: Participants will be able to express their view of the Argentine tango dance. This means that couples will be allowed to perform movements, figures and embellishments that are not directly related to the traditional tango dance. But the choreography must include traditional elements of tango: figure eights, spins, long walks, boleos, hooks, and the “milonguero embrace.” Couples will be able to break the embrace and use techniques from other dance disciplines, as long as they are justified and enrich the performance of the dancer.

Aerial tricks and movements from other dance disciplines must not be excessive. This means that they must not exceed a third of the overall performance. The couple must include floor movement sequences throughout the whole stage floor.

Costumes: Outfits may be taken into consideration during the judging process.

FILMING AND PHOTOGRAPHING

THE ORGANIZATION of the Preliminary reserves the right to record all the stages of THE COMPETITION, by any means known or to be known—including but not limited to filming, recording, photographing, digitalization, etc.—by itself or third parties, in order to promote and advertise the event. The recorded material obtained will be exclusive property of THE ORGANIZATION of the Preliminary, who will have to turn a copy of it, as established by the Collaboration Agreement, to BA FESTIVALS. By entering the Championship, participants explicitly and irrevocably authorize the use of the recorded material, without this suggesting—or implying—any compensation for any reason whatsoever by THE ORGANIZATION of the Preliminary and/or BA FESTIVALS, in favor of any person or organization that claims entitlement to any right that may be invoked. This clause also includes, without limitations, all photographic material published and/or made available for promotion, advertisement, etc.

PRIZES

Each category of the PRELIMINARY OF TANGO BUENOS AIRES FESTIVAL AND DANCE WORLD CUP 2024 will have one winning couple, who will automatically qualify to compete at the TANGO BUENOS AIRES FESTIVAL AND DANCE WORLD CUP 2024, starting in the semifinal rounds, except for the winners of the European, Asian Championships and South American Championships who qualify directly to the final, and representing the PRELIMINARY and not the city of origin or residence of the dancers, without exception.

The first prize in each category will be provided by THE ORGANIZATION of the Preliminary and will consist of the total coverage of cost of travel and stay of both dancing partners, in the corresponding cases, including tickets from the city of residence of the winning couple to the City of Buenos Aires (airfares and travel included), accommodation and meal expenses for the days of the Preliminary’s Gala, semifinals and finals of TANGO BUENOS AIRES FESTIVAL AND DANCE WORLD CUP 2024, in the month of September, in order to participate in this competition. It will be the obligation of THE ORGANIZATION to guarantee by all the necessary means the presence and participation of the winning couple in the mentioned instances. In case of non-compliance, BA FESTIVALES may consider it as a breach of the agreement duly signed between the parties.

THE ORGANIZATION may establish additional prizes, and all contestants will obtain the corresponding participation certificate.

If the winning couple in any of the official categories renounces to participate in TANGO BUENOS AIRES FESTIVAL AND DANCE WORLD CUP 2024 from the semifinal instances, representing the PRELIMINARY, it will automatically also renounce to the prize consisting of the full coverage of costs of travel and stay, leaving both members of the couple unable to participate in TANGO BUENOS AIRES FESTIVAL AND DANCE WORLD CUP 2024.

Couples enrolled in the championship may participate in the classes or seminars given by the jurors as long as they are group classes. They may not take private or individual lessons with any member of the jury.

The winning couples in Preliminaries with a zone of influence in Europe and Asia, may participate in the final of the European and Asian Championships, this option is not mandatory, it is at the choice of each winning couple.

In those cases where the competition in one or both categories has lost its official character for not having the minimum of 10 participating couples, the ORGANIZATION of the PRELIMINARY will be exempted from the obligation to grant the winning couple the prize consisting of full coverage of costs of travel and stay. In this case, the Organization may choose to offer alternative prizes for the non-official competition.

A couple’s registration and subsequent check-in implies knowledge and acceptance of these Rules by each one of the participants.