![Champs Logo 2017]()
NSW Ceroc Modern Jive & West Coast Swing
Dance Championships
Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th June 2017
The Grand Ballroom at Bankstown Sports Club
8 Greenfield Parade, Bankstown, Sydney
With more than 250 competitors across two days of competitions, plus two great dance parties with 8 hours of solid social dance time open to both social and competitive dancers alike, our annual championships weekend is one of the highlights of our year!
Whether you’re a competitor or a spectator, this amazing entertainment spectacular of dance talent is sure to inspire you all weekend long! With impressive dancing and choreography from all over Australia and New Zealand, it’s an event not to be missed!
The Venue
The Grand Ballroom at Bankstown Sports Club will boast our BIGGEST EVER DANCE FLOOR at almost 300sqm, lots of space for competitor seating, competitor changing rooms worthy of concert stars such as Marcia Hines who performed there on New Years Eve, hundreds of free undercover parking spaces, and 13 restaurants and bars open until 6am.
In addition there’s the Travelodge Hotel right above the Ballroom, so why not make a weekend of it?
See Getting There and Accommodation for more details.
The Date
Be aware that the date this year is ONE WEEK EARLIER than normal, which means it’s not a long weekend – so get your annual leave requests in for Monday 5th June and, if you’re a CMJ Champs regular, get ready to enjoy your first June long weekend off in years!
The Schedule
We’re kicking off on Friday night at 7.30pm with our Pre Champs Dance Party, with 4 hours of non-stop music to get you used to the comp dance floor and give you the opportunity to meet and dance with all the out of town visitors. Everyone is of course welcome at the dance party, not just the competitors.
Saturday will be an early start for Modern Jive team and showcase competitors, with rehearsals expected to start around 8.30am (depending on number of entries). The Modern Jive day is always HUGE, so we’re expecting to start at around 10.30am and go right through until the medal presentation close to midnight.
Sunday will be another early start for Pro Am and Classic routine competitors, and we expect to start around 10.30am and conclude with the medal presentation at around 6pm.
We will then be closing the Ballroom for a dinner break, and will be back open at 7.30pm for our Post Champs Dance Party and Performance Night, with freestyle music going right through until shortly before midnight, and some fabulous performances at 9pm.
Closer to the event when we know how many entries are in the competition, we will publish a more detailed timetable so spectators can plan for their arrival time depending on which categories they want to see. Competitors, you’re going to be there the whole day, so just book a hotel room and settle in for the weekend!
Ticket Sales
Competitor entry opens on 1st March, and STRICTLY closes on 19th May. Go to Competitor Information for more details and to register online.
Spectator and Dance Party tickets will be available on the door, or you can pre pay for a Social Pass which will get you access for the whole weekend at a discounted price. Click here for details.
Competition Categories
Below is a summary of categories across the two days of competitions. For full explanations, qualification criteria and rules, see our Competitor Information page.
Saturday (Modern Jive):
Freestyle
Beginner / Intermediate / Intermediate Plus / Advanced / Champions
Dance With A Stranger
Levels as above, judged as individuals until the final when matched with a randomly selected partner
Over 40s Intermediate Plus Freestyle
Both halves of the partnership must be over 40 years young and Intermediate Plus level (and may also enter Freestyle but with a different partner)
Triples
Open level, any gender combination of one leader and two followers
Mix n Match
One Teacher or Champions qualified dancer plus one student no higher than 2 years experience
Showcase
One couple with their chosen music and choreography (min 2.5 mins, max 4 mins)
Team Cabaret
Minimum 3 couples, maximum 10 couples with their chosen music and choreography (min 2.5 mins, max 4 mins)
Sunday (West Coast Swing):
Strictly Swing
Novice – Intermediate – Advanced/All Star
Jack n Jill
Levels as above, judged as individuals until the final when matched with a partner (WSDC points applicable)
Pro Am Strictly Swing
One Teacher plus one student no higher than Novice level
Pro Am Routine
One Teacher plus one student (open level) with their chosen music and choreography (min 2.5 mins, max 4 mins)
Classic Routine
One couple (open level) with their chosen music and choreography (min 2.5 mins, max 4 mins)
The Music
Our Competition DJs for the weekend are Nicky Haslam for Modern Jive and Ian Lee for West Coast Swing. Your Dance Party DJ is Julie Gunn.
Usually, most people at this event are Ceroc / Modern Jive dancers (as indicated by the Modern Jive competition day being about six hours longer than the West Coast Swing day!).
All music played at the dance parties will therefore be suitable for Modern Jive dancers, however be prepared that there will be more songs than usual played at the slower end of your Modern Jive scale, to allow West Coast Swing dancers to enjoy them too.
Likewise West Coast Swing dancers, you will find that there will be more songs at the faster end of your scale, so the Modern Jivers are not excluded. Just trying to keep everyone happy!
Food and Drink
The venue has 13 reasonably priced bars and restaurants downstairs, plus there is a bar right outside our ballroom that will be open from 5pm each day.
Please be reminded that drinking and dancing is generally not a good combination. Anyone considered to be behaving inappropriately or to be under the influence of alcohol or other substance which may cause harm or offence will be asked to leave the venue, and in the case of competitors, will be disqualified from the competition.