Dance Categories - Schedule to be announced

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*Subject to revision for the 2026 Festival

MAUPINFEST

Rules as of September 2025

• Register at the festival prior to contest call times.
• The dancer who registers last will dance first.
•  Dancers who have won first place in a category two years in a row must sit out of that category for one year. (This refers to winning the same specific category, so, if you won Category A two years in a row. but only won Category B once, you can enter Category B again, but you MUST sit out Category A, and this refers to active contest years. The festival and/or contest being on hiatus cannot count as your "sit-out" years.
• Shoes with taps are allowed but not required.
• Contestants eligible to dance for the National Championship contest must finish first in their respective age categories (Junior, Adult, Senior) or have previously placed first in a buck/flatfoot dance contest in the United States recognized and evidenced by the MaupinFest dance judges.
•  The Youth, Adult, and Senior Buck Dance categories consist of a single round. The National Championship category consists of two rounds (preliminaries and finals). The top three scores in the National Championship preliminaries will advance to the National Championship finals where these three contestants will dance against each other again for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. For more information, see the Scoring Criteria page.
• A tie for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd places at any point in any of the dance categories, including the National Championship, will result in a tie-breaking dance off. This includes ties among more than two contestants. If there is a tie for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place at any point in any category, all contestants will dance to a medley of two tunes which will be chosen by the band.
• Contestants may choose their tune in the Junior, Adult, and Senior Buck Dance categories, and in the preliminaries of the National Championship category. However, they must submit their chosen tune with their registration or the band will choose the tune. In the National Championship finals, all contestants will dance to a medley of tunes chosen by the band.
• Dancers are scored in five criteria: "Rhythm and Timing" (1 to 25), "Authenticity" (1 to 25). "Matching the Music" (1 to 25), "Posture and Smoothness" (1 to 15), and "Variety of Steps" 1 to 10). The total scores of each judge will be added together to find the grand total score for each dancer per round (This applies to all dance rounds, including tiebreakers). The top three scores in each category's preliminary will advance to the top three.
• If there are no finals in the category, the highest score receives 1st place. If there are finals, the top three will dance again against each other for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. In the case of finals, or ties in any category, the scores from the previous rounds do not carry over and the judges will use new scoresheets. For more information, see the Scoring Criteria page.
•  Any disqualification of a contestant will require a unanimous decision.
• The decisions of the judges are final.

Scoring Criteria

· Rhythm and Timing (1 to 25) - The highest scores will go to dancers who are dancing at the same tempo as the band and maintain this throughout the performance. 

· Authenticity (1 to 25) - The highest scores will go to dancers who use percussive steps no higher than 6 inches above the floor. Steps involving the foot coming more than 6 inches above the floor (for example, kicks, jumps, hops, bounces, leaps, wagon wheels, and sideways heel clicks in the air), twirls, and claps will not gain any points. You will not be penalized for any of this, but using these techniques will not net you any points in authenticity, so it is best to focus on close-to-the-floor percussive steps that match the music. 

· Matching the Music (1 to 25) - The highest scores will go to dancers whose percussive footwork closely matches the note values of the melody. In theory, judges should be able to close their eyes and tell whether a dancer is in time with the music and matching the melody. (If the lead instrument’s sound changes from “bump-dit-ty”, to “boom-chang”, or “chucka-chucka”, for example, the dancer’s sound should do the same and be in sync with the lead instrument.)

· Posture and Smoothness (1 to 15) - The highest scores will go to those who dance in a posture that is upright but relaxed, with arms held loosely by the sides, and movements being smooth, not stilted or jerky.

· Variety of Steps (1 to 10) - The highest scores will go to the dancers who use a variety of steps with the goal of matching the music, not overdancing the tune.