Lucky Dip is open to all dancers including teachers and embodies the true nature of social partner dancing.
- No need to enter with a partner
- Initially limited to 50 leads and 50 follows
Three Events
Competitors enter Lucky Dip and are then put into one of three events (each with their own trophies) according to their role and level.
- Tuakana-Teina Lead (experienced lead with less experienced follow)
- Tuakana-Teina Follow (experienced follow with less experienced lead)
- Ngā Teina (unmatched Level 1 & 2 competitors who do not make it into the Tuakana-Teina events)
Tuakana-Teina
The tuakana-teina relationship is an integral part of traditional Māori society providing a model for buddy systems where an older or more expert tuakana (brother, sister or cousin) helps and guides a younger or less expert teina.
Pairings
Our version of Lucky Dip is sort of semi-lucky in that we do have some say over who you might be paired with.
We form pools of similar level dancers (e.g. Level 4 follow from Chch and Level 1 lead from around the country) and randomly pair within these smaller pools.
This is to ensure that two top dancers do not get paired with each other and that we all get to meet and mingle with dancers from a different location as much as possible.
There are usually more Level 1 & 2 dancers than Level 3 & 4 dancers, this means that lower level dancers who cannot be paired with a Tuakana dancer will be put into the Ngā Teina event.
Partnerships will be revealed at the Friday dance party. Christchurch Champs is an Any Gender Any Role (AGAR) event and so your partner could be any gender - they'll just be dancing the opposite role.
Limited Availability - 1st & 2nd Choice
The number of partnerships available is set by the numbers of leads and follows wanting to enter. As with other categories with different levels on offer you enter one level as a lead and another level as a follow.
With Lucky Dip you can choose which role is your first choice. Depending on availability you might get in with your second choice role.
For example, if there are 40 leads and 50 follows then 10 follows don't get to enter as their first choice, but if they have also entered as a lead for their 2nd choice then they'll get to dance with one of the remaining follows.
The sooner you pay your registration fee, the more likely you are to get to enter as your first choice role.
📋 Judging Criteria
Lucky Dip is about how well the dancers bring out the best of the partnership - this is why synergy is an important part of the judging criteria.
