1. The competitions will be under the management of the Association. All matters not dealt with in these rules will be referred to the Association whose decisions on such matters will be final and binding upon all concerned. Complaints or protests will not be considered unless made in writing to the Festival Office. Under no circumstances are such protests to be made to the adjudicator.
2. All competitions, unless otherwise stated, will be open to amateurs only, as defined above.
3. All competitions, unless otherwise stated in these rules and regulations and the class headings, will be open to any competitor without regard to residence or domicile.
4. The Festival is broken into three categories and all entrants are to indicate their affiliation on the entry form. The three classifications are:
5. Copies of the Syllabus and entry forms may be obtained from The Kiwanis Music Festival Office or by visiting the website www.kiwanismusictoronto.org. Additional entry forms may be obtained by photocopying a blank form.
The Association will levy a $35.00 administration charge for N.S.F. cheques.
7. The entry form must be signed by the competitor or a person authorized to sign on the competitor’s behalf and forwarded to the Kiwanis Music Festival Office accompanied by the appropriate entry fee.
Entries must be received at the Festival Office postmarked no later than Monday, January 21, 2008. Late entries will not be accepted. Entries postmarked after that date will be returned.
8. Entry fees cannot be refunded except under circumstances where the entry is rejected by the Association. Competitors desiring to withdraw their entry must do so in writing to the Festival Office as early as possible. The Association reserves the right to change venues if necessary.
Should competition dates conflict with any religious holidays, competitors are asked to provide details on the application form and efforts will be made to accommodate such conflicts.
9. AGE GUIDEliNES: Competitors must be no older than the prescribed age on January 1, 2008. Contestants may enter their own age category or any age level above, duets and trios included. A competitor may NOT enter an age category which is lower than his/her own age. Duet and trios must enter the category which corresponds to the age of the oldest person in the group.
Group entries ONLY may be averaged. Add the ages of all competitors and divide by the number in the group. (For example, a group with an average age of 10.5 and less is 10; an average age of 10.6 and more is considered 11.)
10. All entries must be properly completed with the names, ages and dates of birth of the competitors. Please bring copies of birth certificates to the competition in the event that proof of date of birth is required. Entries without the foregoing information will not be accepted.
11. There are three group categories: small groups (4 to 8 members); large groups (9 – 15 members); and line (16 members or more). All group entries must be identified in the appropriate space, either by a name, a number or the name of the selection to be danced. An individual competitor cannot compete in more than one group in each class.
12. Please indicate on the entry form if the competitor(s) are of novice standing (have never competed in any dance competition prior to January 1, 2008). A student who has competed in groups but has never danced a solo, duet or trio is still a novice competitor. Duets, trios or groups should be at least 75% novice (2 out of 3 in trio).
Competitors are urged to exercise care in entering the class information on the entry form since transfers to other classes are not possible following the closing date for entries.
13. Please notify the Festival Office of any change of address following submission of entry form(s).
14. The Association reserves the right to reject any entry for any reason.
16. The Association may, at its sole discretion, combine classes if it considers the number of entries in any one class to be insufficient. In addition, the Association reserves the right to subdivide any class into two or more competitions under circumstances where the number or character of the entries would justify such a subdivision.
17. The Association reserves the right to substitute or appoint additional adjudicators.
18. No competitor may approach the adjudicator. This may result in disquali-fication. No teacher or member of the public may speak to the adjudicator. Necessary questions from a competitor must be directed to the adjudicator’s secretary or to some member of the competition staff.
19. The marks awarded by the adjudicator are final. Only the top mark in each class will be announced.
20. The same routine or music cannot be used in more than one class by the same competitor.
21. A CD player with speakers will be provided and only this system will be used for all classes. The playing of each CD is to be supervised by the house technician.
22. Competitors MUST provide their own music on CD, one musical selection per tape, cued at the beginning of the selection. Only good quality CDs to be used. No allowance will be made for miscued CD’s. A backup CD is recommended.
23. The Association reserves the right to disqualify any competitor or group who is not ready to perform when called or whose CD is not properly cued.
24. Only children ages 8 and under will be allowed to be assisted onto the stage by a teacher, parent or assistant. Otherwise, only Festival representatives are allowed backstage. Teachers may not demon-strate or cue students of any age.
25. No substitutes will be allowed in solo classes. In the event of illness, one substitute will be allowed in duets or trios on notice to the Festival Office. The person substituting must be eligible with respect to age and other requirements to perform in that class.
26. A competitor requiring a “second start” due to a lapse of memory or illness will receive an adjudication but will not receive a mark.
27. No strobe or theatrical lighting will be allowed. Only handheld props that can be put in place by the dancers may be used. Props cannot be stored in the wings but must be in the backstage area immediately before and removed immediately after the performance. Breakable props are NOT ALLOWED. For the Folkloric categories, costumes will be allowed and judged. In addition, for Folkloric, props may include musical instruments played by the competitors or limited live musical accompaniment, if required, and if no set-up time is required.
28. The maximum time allowed for all solo performances, including Folkloric, is 3 minutes, for duets and trios 3 1/2 minutes and for groups 5 minutes. There is no time minimum. A penalty of 1 mark for every 10 seconds over the allotted time will be imposed. The maximum time allowable in Folkloric group dance categories is 7 minutes. The maximum time allowable for Production Numbers is 10 minutes.
29. All competitors should be in costume, warmed up and prepared to dance one-half hour prior to stated class time.
30. It is the responsibility of the teacher/student to check in.
31. Proper conduct in the auditorium and back stage must be followed at all times. Excessive noise or disruptions will not be tolerated and may result in the disqualification of entrants and/or ejection of audience members from the auditorium. Front of House and Backstage Managers will enforce this rule strictly.
32. During the competition, photography of any kind (including video cameras), is strictly prohibited. Any electronic equipment brought into the theatre may be confiscated.
33. Marks and pins will be presented during the competitions and in accordance with the following classifications and marks. Platinum minimum of 91, Gold minimum of 85; Silver minimum of 80; Bronze minimum of 70. All competitors reaching these marks will be awarded the appropriate ribbons.
34. Adjudicator’s reports will be available to competitors at the conclusion of each session.
35. Scholarships: All entrants are eligible. Scholarships that accompany trophies will be presented during the competition. Additional scholarships will be distributed following the competiton. The total scholarship pool will be approximately $10,000.00.
36. Bursaries: With thanks to the Kiwanis Club of Casa Loma and the Rick Nixon Memorial Bursary Fund, limited bursaries are available to help groups from City-Run Parks & Recreation Centres, Community Centres and Public Schools offset the cost of entry fees or transportation for Group Classes. To apply, please attach a letter to your entry form stating your request.