At Fevah Modern Jive we pride ourselves on our attention to detail and continuous improvement. Even if you've competed or judged before we recommend having a good read of the rules and judging criteria as we have made some key improvements in our approach this year.
These rules apply across all categories in the competition. Rules that are category specific are detailed in the description of each category.
This is a Modern Jive competition so we expect to see Modern Jive dancing which is a social partner dance often with an underlying concertina (in and out) type of movement. Modern Jive borrows from many dance styles and so we are likely to see an influence from other styles on the competition dance floor.
- The majority of the dance needs to have a clear concertina component that shows that the overall dance is primarily Modern Jive and not some other style.
- When connection with your partner is broken for break away / non-contact dancing it should be regained within 8 Modern Jive counts (16 beats of music).
Supported Moves
Leans
In a lean a dancer is supported along the whole body of their partner. Leans are considered the simplest and safest supported moves and are allowed in all categories. A lead should still ask for permission before performing a lean on their partner.
Dips
The leader of a dip supports their partner using hands or arms and often with some part of the torso in contact to tilt their partner off vertical, and the partner should also be supporting their own weight as much as possible.
Drops
The leader of a drop supports their partner using hands or arms to lower their partner close to the floor, often to horizontal.
Seducers
The leader of a seducer uses their hands and arms to initiate the move and their upper leg to support their partner when tilted into position. (In some dance schools the term seducer is used interchangeably with "dip")
Splits
Dancers in the splits parallel to the floor are assisted with the support of their partner for lowering into position and/or rising out, qualifying this as a supported move.
Aerials
We consider aerials or lifts to be moves where a dancer supports the weight of their partner with the aim to take them off the floor. These moves can vary in several ways and are often split into different types: baby aerials and full aerials.
Baby Aerial
Is a move intended to take one partner off the floor and support the majority of their weight at or below chest height of the supporting partner.
Full Aerial
Is a move intended to take one partner off the floor and support the majority of their weight above chest height of the supporting partner.
Other Moves
Death Spiral
A death spiral is where the leader of the move is spinning their partner who is horizontal on the floor (laying down) and often outstretched. Death spirals require good floorcraft, a large amount of space and often for an extended period and therefore they are only allowed in Showcases and Teams.