Presenting our 20th annual ballroom dancing competition:

Yes, but prices increase on March 28. To avoid paying the higher rate, please pay online by March 27. Note that at this time, we only accept payment via Eventbrite. Spectator tickets will also be sold at the door for $15 for non-students and remain free for students.

YES, we require that all dancers wear shoes that will not mark or damage the floor! We recognize that dance shoes can be a big investment. However, we want to help Stanford keep the basketball court floor in good condition. Suede-soled dance shoes are strongly encouraged. Heel protectors are required for high-heeled shoes. Competitors may not apply powder or oil to the floor or their shoes’ soles.

Yes. As long as you send your payment in by the early, you will not be charged any additional fees.

We do not allow costumes in the Newcomer or Bronze level. Please refer to the Rules for more details.

At this time, we only accept payment online via Eventbrite.

Competitors should make every effort to sign up for the correct events with their intended partner before registration closes on March 28. However, a limited number of adds will be accepted on the day of the event, provided that they are received by the cutoff time for that competitive section and the event is not full. Add requests will not be accepted if they are not received before the cutoff time.

The beginner level is reserved for dancers with less than 2 years of dance experience; the intermediate/advanced level is for dancers with 2 or more years of dance experience. You may compete in one or the other but not both. Please keep in mind that this rule does not distinguish between leader or follower or by dance – a dance experience is a dance experience.

Yes! Our competition is open to all amateur dancers. The only restriction is that you cannot be a professional dancer – someone who has declared that they are a professional or whose full-time profession is teaching or performing dance.

In the Newcomer and Bronze levels, you must do Bronze level syllabus moves; in Silver, you may do Bronze and Silver level syllabus moves; in Gold, you may do Bronze, Silver, or Gold level syllabus moves. Any published syllabus (Arthur Murray, Fred Astaire, DVIDA, ISTD, etc) is accepted for American-style events. The ISTD syllabus is accepted for International Events. In Advanced, Open, and Nightclub events, there are no choreography restrictions. However, no lifts, drops, or aerials are allowed in any event.

Yes. Technique is far more important than the level of moves you are performing. A good Bronze-level routine danced with great technique will place higher than a gold-level routine danced with poor technique.

Yes. While you may never dance down a level, you can sign up for your level and one level above that. For example, if you are a Bronze-level dancer, you can sign up for Bronze and Silver-level events. We encourage everyone to do this as it provides more opportunities for competing for everyone. The only exception to this is in the Nightclub events, where you may only sign up for one level (Newcomer/Beginner OR Intermediate/Advanced) for each Nightclub dance.

First, newcomer/bronze or bronze/silver level dancers qualify as rookies, and silver/gold level and above dancers qualify as veterans. So, “Rookie/Vet(eran)” events are for partnerships where one dancer must be a rookie and the other a veteran. “Leader Rookie/Vet” events are for partnerships where the leader is the rookie, and the follower is the veteran. “Follower Rookie/Vet” events are for partnerships where the follower is the rookie, and the leader is the veteran. Rookie/Vet events are closed bronze syllabus events. Costumes are optional.

Stanford Cardinal Classic is a CDA Fair Level competition and will use fair level points to determine when couples are entered at a level that is too low for their calculated proficiency. To check your fair-level points, you can use the CDA Point Lookup Tool.