Objective
The Objective Of This Salsa Contest Is To See Which Couple Or Team Per Division Can Best Interpret The Character Of Salsa Music And Dance Regardless Of Whatever Tricks Or Moves They Do. In Other Words, It’s Not The Tricks That Are Important But Making Them Be A Part Of Your Routine And What Salsa Represents. While Lifts Are Only Allowed In The Cabaret And Team Divisions And They Can Be Impressive, Doing Them Cleanly Is Even More Important. Again, If You Can’t Execute Properly The Tricks Don’t Do Them.

Goal
Albert Torres & The Committee Producing These Worldwide Competitions Between January And December 2006 Are Proud That The Winners Of Each Division Will Be Eligible To Be Part Of The World s Most Prestigious And Most Watched World Salsa Competition. Last Year We Hosted The First Salsa Competition Broadcast All Over The World. Our Goal Is To Give The Greatest Salsa Dancers In The world The Recognition They Have Deserved For Many Years. Our Time Has Come! This Is Why Some Of The Judging And Criteria May Be More strict Than Usual. Our Goal is To Take Salsa To Places Where It Has Never Been. Hopefully With everyone's Participation Whether It Be Competing Or Attending The Finals In Las Vegas Will once Again Be A Success. In supporting Salsa Events Like This, We Can Keep Our Music Alive And Pass It On To Future Generations. We Are Truly, Creating Unity Through Salsa. We Have Many Other Projects In Which We Will Educate The Rest Of The World Unfamiliar

With Salsa, The Beauty And History Of This Music And Dance. We Will Show The World That It Is Not Color Blind But That It Is Color Rich.

Registration
Contact your qualifying world salsa congress. Check the “World Calendar” tab of this web-site for details.

Contestants Can Participate In More Than 1 Category As Long As They Pay The Entry Fee established by the participating salsa congress Per Entry.

The Entrance To The Contest Is No Longer Valid If You Do Not Qualify For The Next Round.

The Rounds Are The Following: Preliminary Round, Semi- Finals & Finals.

Fees
To be determined by participating salsa congresses

FINALS WILL BE BROADCAST WORLDWIDE
Albert Torres And Salsa Seven Inc., After Many Years Of Hard Work, Are Proud To Announce That The 2^nd Annual World Salsa Championships Have Been Accepted Once Again To Be Broadcast Worldwide On ESPN International And ESPN Deportes. We Are In Negotiations To Also Have It On ESPN 2. Yes, The Finalists Of This Contest Will Be Seen Once Again Competing All Over The World!

The Final Decision On Which Divisions Will Be Broadcast Is Totally In The Hands Of The Network And The Producers Of The Competition.

The Dance Competition Will Be Judged By A Renowned International Panel Of Judges.

The Grand Prize In Las Vegas Will Be Over $20,000 US In Cash & Prizes Per Division.

1^st Place Per Division $10,000.00

2^nd Place Per Division $5,000.00

3^rd Place Per Division $2,500.00

Misc Prizes Per Division $2,500.00

Total Per Division $20,000.00

No Changing Of Partners Can Occur After You Have Entered The Preliminary Rounds.

Preliminary Rounds
Preliminary Warm Up Rounds For "On 1", "On 2", Cabaret & Youth Divisions Are 1.5 Minutes And Contestants Will Dance To The DJ s Pre Selected Music. Each Couple Will Then Perform A Routine No Longer Than Two Minutes That They Have Choreographed To Their Own Music Or Music From Our Pre Selected Songs. The Routine Cannot Go Over Two Minutes Including Their Entrance And Exit. If It Passes The Two Minute Limit We Will Have A Time Keeper For Each Routine. If Routine Is Longer Than 2 Minutes The Team Or Couples Will Be Deducted Percentage Points For Each Second Over Two Minutes.

The Team Division Will Not Have A Warm Up Period To DJ Music. They Will Be Expected To Be Prepared To Perform A Choreographed Team Routine Of Two Minutes Or Less.

All Dancers Of All Divisions Are Required To Bring Their Own 2 Minute Or Less Pre-Recorded Music On A CD Format. Only Music Of One Performance Is Allowed On Each CD.

Music & CD
Music Must Be At Least 80% Salsa. You Are Allowed To Mix No More Than 3 Different Songs In One Routine. The 20% Of Your Routine That You Are Allowed To Have Other Music Besides Salsa Can Be Any Music Of Your Choice As Long It Is On The Pre Selected Song List For The Finals.

Reminder: A Maximum Of 3 Songs Per Routine Can Be Mixed Into Your Routine.

We Encourage You To Prepare More Than One Choreographed Routine For The Various Qualifying Rounds In Case You Qualify.

IMPORTANT

Prepare 2 CDs With The Music For Each Routine. Example: Two Routines Equal 4 CDs. The CDs Should Be Ready To Be Played As Is. There Should Only Be Music For One Routine On Each CD. The DJ Will Not Slow Down Or Speed Up Your CD.

Costumes & Dance Etiquette
Contestants Are Encouraged To Wear Costumes Or Matching Outfits. We Strongly Suggest That Jeans Are Not Used As Costumes And That Ladies Wearing Dresses Or Skirts Wear Nylons Or Fishnets.

Suggestion: Gentlemen Wear Socks With Your Costumes When Wearing Long Pants.
Contestants Will Show Etiquette During Contest By Refraining From Distracting Others While Competing Couple Is Performing.

Judging Guidelines
Dancers Will Be Judged In The Following Categories: Timing, Overall Presentation, Appearance, Partnering, Style, Choreography & Audience Reaction.

Judges Will Decide Their Final Scores Following These Guidelines:

40% Timing

As You Can Notice By The Guidelines, The Judges Will Be Looking Closely To The Timing Of The Contestants. This Criteria Alone Represents 40% Of The Overall Score. Contestants Will Be Judged From The Moment They Are On The Dance Floor Whether It Be The Warm Up Period Or The Choreographed Routine.

We, The Committee Have Decided Not To Deduct Points If You Are Dancing "On 1" And Return By Breaking "On 5". The Same If You Are Dancing On “2” And Return By Breaking On “6” . If You Were To Return On Any Other Beat Than Those Mentioned You Will Be Deducted Points. The Amount Of Points Will Be Determined By Each Judge Depending How Many Times The Infraction Occurs In the Routine.

Be Aware That You May Look Great And Do Some Great Steps And Even Do Moves That The Crowd Will Love, But If Your Timing Is Not Consistent To Your Selected Division, You Will Be Deducted Between 10% - 40% Of Your Score.

10% Overall Presentation

You Will Be Judged By Your Overall Presentation. The Judges Will Be Looking At All Of The Categories In General In Which You are Being Judged On. They Will Also Be Watching Your Confidence On Stage.

10% Appearance (Includes Costumes)

No Jeans Allowed As Costumes. Points Will Be Deducted. We Strongly Suggest Tasteful, Colorful Professional Costumes. We Also Suggest That Ladies Wearing Skirts Or Dresses Also Wear Fish Nets Or Nylons. Suggestion: Gentlemen Wear Socks With Your Costumes When Wearing Long Pants.

10% Partnering

You Will Be Judged On How Well You And Your Partner Or Team Execute Your Routine And That You Are A Balanced Couple Or Team In The Showmanship Of Your Choreography. Leading And Following Is What This Category Is All About.

10% Styling

You Will Be Judged In Your Styling Technique And How It Blends With The Routine And Music. Hands, Movements, How Graceful And How Clean Certain Moves Are Done Will All Be Judged In This Category.

10% Choreography

You Will Be Judged On Your Choreography And Its Interpretation with Your Routine And Music. We Will Judge The Originality Of Your Choreography. In This Category We Are Also Looking At Your Creativity And The Level Of Difficulty Of Your Choreography And How Clean It Is Presented.

10% Audience Reaction

The Judges Upon Their Own Discretion Can Decide To Give An Extra 1% - 10% to Their Overall Score Depending On If They Feel That The Audience Reaction Is Sincere.

Additional Information For Moves Above The Shoulder

In The "On 1" & "On 2" Categories, No Move In Which Both Feet Leave The Ground At The Same Time Will Be Permitted Including Any Move Above The Shoulder Will Not Be Allowed. If At Any Time Either Dancers, Both Feet Leave The Ground, Points Will Be Deducted. If ANY Part Of The Body Of Either Dancer Goes Above The Partners Shoulders, The Couple Will Be Disqualified With No Refund. They Will Also Not Be Allowed To Re-Enter Under This Or Any Other Division During This Particular Qualifying Contest. They Can Enter Another Qualifying Contest In The Future By Registering And Paying The Entry Fee For That Particular Event.