SCTC 2020 JUDGES:

• Danilo Maddelena (SCTC competition supervisor & head judge 2017-2020)
  2014 – Present  – organizer of the Official Italian Tango Championship.
  2015 – Present – organizer of the Metropolitano Tango Championship held in Italy.
  Former judge in many international competitions, former head organizer of the European Tango championship.
• Vanessa Villalba & Facundo Piñero – One of tangos most sought after couple. Judges, maestros and performers all around the world, responsible for many of the finalists/winners of the mundial championship.
• Sabrina & Ruben Veliz (Los Veliz) – recognized as masters of masters they  have trained many of tango’s most talented dancers. Participated in most famous festivals around the world. They have been judges of many tango championships around the world including world tango championship. 
• Manuela Rossi & Juan Malizia – 2014 stage tango world champions and 2013 third place winners in tango salon. Highly accomplished in  competition, judged and performed at prestigious tango events all over the world.

GENERAL INFORMATION:

SCTC is an exciting international Argentine tango competition open to everyone, regardless of skill level or residency. Anyone (amateur or professional) from any country can compete.

Competitors are scored by our chosen panel of judges. All competition rounds will be open to spectators.
Social categories will feature multiple couples on the floor at the same time, dancing in improvised movements to random music. Stage categories will feature one couple (or one stage group) at a time dancing in choreography to pre-selected music.

• QUALIFYING ROUNDS are held on FRIDAY MAR 13, featuring all registered couples. 
• SEMI-FINAL ROUNDS are held on SATURDAY MAR 14, featuring only semi-finalists. 
• FINAL ROUNDS are held on SUNDAY MAR 15, featuring finalists. Winners and prize announcements will follow shortly. (GROUP STAGE will compete only on this day.)

Competitors are scored by the “ranking system”, rather than the “point system”. This allows for clearer distinction between competitor placements by negating possible conflicts in excessively even (and/or uneven) scoring by judges. For more info – see video here.

REGISTRATION RULES:

• Competitors of any nationality or citizenship are welcome to participate/register, but MUST BRING OFFICIAL ID on day of registration.
• All categories (except SENIOR TANGO) are open to both amateur and professional dancers. SENIOR TANGO category is not open to professional dancers. The status of “professional” is determined by the dancer’s main source of income and not by skill level.
• All competitors must be at least 18 years old by the date of competition. (SENIOR TANGO competitors must be at least 55 years of age OR cannot have more than 15-year age difference if one partner is below 55.)
• Competitors may have one or multiple partners, but can participate only ONCE in each category with the exception of group stage category.
• GROUP STAGE category will require a minimum of 3 registered couples in a group to be eligible to compete. 
• In order for the stage group category to be considered a competition and receive prizes, a minimum of 3 groups are required to register, otherwise it will be considered a showcase.
• Minimum number of couples must be registered to guarantee prizes. (See minimum for each category here.) In the event that fewer couples have registered, competition will become a showcase with evaluation by judges.

COMPETITION RULES FOR SOCIAL CATEGORIES (TANGO, VALS, MILONGA, SENIOR TANGO):

The social competition categories are danced IMPROVISED just as you would in a traditional milonga setting with extra emphasis on elegance, connection, technique, musicality, and style. Social categories are danced each day in groups of 7-12 couples at a time, to 3 different songs (per group, per category). Competitors are encouraged to dance as “naturally” as they can in respect to the traditional tango style. Judges will give extra attention to each couple’s posture, embrace, connection, elegance, musicality, walking, turns, and style.

• CLOTHING – competitors are encouraged to dress elegantly. Suits for leaders and dresses or skirt/top combos for followers. 
• EMBRACE – competitors must stay in embrace (both arms connected) while dancing. Both close and open embrace is allowed.
• LINE OF DANCE – couples must move counter-clockwise around the dance floor while dancing and avoid staying in place, dancing in the center, or bumping into other couples.
• MOVEMENTS – most traditional tango movements (ochos, sacadas, barridas, paradas, pasadas, enrosques, boleos, ganchos, adornos, etc) are allowed with exception to moves considered unsocial/non-traditional (extreme  boleos above the knees, high kicks, etc) or stage (jumps, lifts, release of the hands, etc). Neatly-tucked high boleos being used as embellishments are allowed.
• RESPECT – competitors must be respectful to judges, event organizers, and other participants.

COMPETITION RULES FOR STAGE CATEGORIES (STAGE TANGO & GROUP STAGE):

The stage competition categories are danced using CHOREOGRAPHY in a typical stage setting with an extra emphasis on aesthetic and artistic expression. Stage categories are danced each day featuring one couple (or team) at a time dancing choreography to their chosen music. Competitors are encouraged to dress-up and dance in a flashier and more expressive manner, using the entire floor as much as they like. Judges will give extra attention to artistic expression, musical interpretation, technical difficulty & execution, and synchronicity of the dancers.

• SONG – the chosen song must be 4 minutes or less.
• MOVEMENTS – competitors are allowed to perform their personal expression of tango but must incorporate traditional Argentine tango movements (close-embrace, walking, ochos, sacadas, etc) into their choreography. Aerial movements and movement from other dance disciples cannot exceed a third of the entire performance duration.
• MISTAKES – competitors are encouraged/expected to dance through their mistakes. Competitors are not allowed to repeat or start over for performance reasons.
• TECHNICAL PROBLEMS – if technical problems occur during performance, competitors will be allowed to perform again.