Step Into the Spotlight

SEPT 7 UPDATE:All showcase divisions are now closed due to time constraints including Pro Am, Amateur, Junior, Professional Rising Star and Team Showcase divisions. Professional Showcase divisions remain open.
Heated divisions remain open but will definitely close very soon due to time constraints.

STEP 1 – Click the link above to register for all of your competition divisions (both showcases and heats; opens March 11)

Early bird pricing for competition entry fees ends on Wednesday July 31, 2024. Entry fees are non-refundable.

If you signed up for the wrong division or level, please email jennifer@canadasalsacongress.com by Sept 1st and we will transfer your entry to the correct division.

STEP 2 – Purchase your Full Pass via the link above.

ALL competitors MUST be paid attendees at the Canada Salsa & Bachata Congress and must purchase a Full Pass with reserved seating, or a Full Pass or a Performer/Competitor Full Pass. No exceptions.

To purchase the Performer/Competitor Pass you must meet one of the 3 requirements below:

1. Be on a team that has been confirmed to perform at the event

2. Be on a team confirmed to perform at the event and you are competing (no minimum number of competition entries required)

3. Be entered and paid to compete in a minimum of 4 heats or 2 showcases or 3 heats and 1 showcase.

STEP 3 – Submit showcase music by September 15th (link below)

STEP 4 – Onsite at the hotel, check in for your competition divisions based on the schedule posted on our schedule page. Checking in means going to the competition table and checking in to receive the number for your back and ensure that you are listed in the correct divisions. If you are competing on multiple days and times, you only need to check in once.

Important: Spots in the Showcase divisions are limited due to time constraints and will sell out. Spots will be given out on a first come, first served basis. Your spot will only be reserved once payment has been received. Please register early to avoid disappointment.

Aug 26 Update: Many showcase divisions are now closed due to time constraints. Team divisions, most junior showcases and most pro am showcase divisions now closed.

Due to high demand and time constraints, we will close the heated divisions a few weeks before the start of the event and usually we do not allow new heat entries onsite.

17th Annual Canadian Salsa & Bachata Championships

*Full Schedule available on the Schedule page
*Schedule subject to change 

Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024

Evening
Check in 6:00pm-9:00pm

Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024

Morning
Check in 7:30am-8:00am
Competition: 8:00am-12:00pm

Afternoon
Check in 9:00am-11:30am
Competition: 12:00pm-6:00pm

Evening
Check in 11:30am-5:00pm
Competition: 6:00pm-1:30am

Friday, Oct. 11, 2024:
*Note: We encourage all Friday competitors to check in on Thursday if possible

Morning
Check in 8:00am
Competition (Pro Am Showcases): 8:15am-12:00pm

Afternoon
Check in 9:00am-11:00am
Competition (Pro Am & Am Am Heats): 12:00pm-7:00pm

Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024
*Note: We encourage all Junior competitors to check in on Friday if possible

Morning
Check in 8:00am
Competition (Junior 17 & Under Showcases & Junior Am Am Heats): 8:30am-11:00am

A Showcase division means that the couples choreograph their own routine to their choice of music.

A Heated division means that several couples are dancing on the dance floor at once to music selected by the DJ. This is social dancing – choreography not necessary.
When registering for a heated division, know that all heated divisions are named just. I.e. Amateur Just Salsa, Amateur Just Bachata

The competition is open to all local, national and international dancers. 

The Pro Am heated competition will be divided into men and ladies categories and most categories for Pro Am and Amateur heats will be divided by level – Beginner, Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate, Pre-Advanced and Advanced. Competitors may enter their own level plus two levels above (plus age divisions such as Over 40 and Over 50).

Professionals in the Pro Am Heated divisions may enter a maximum of 5 students in the exact same category and division (e.g. 5 female students in Pro Am Ladies Just Salsa On 1 Beginner). 

!New Definition for Amateur: Amateurs may not compete in Rising Star Professional, or Professional level competition, or as the Professional in a Pro-Am competition. Amateur level dancers may teach, and receive payment for teaching or performing.

New! Rising Star Definition: Rising Star is an entry level professional division. Once a dancer competes as a Rising Star Professional, they can no longer compete as an amateur. Rising Star Professional dancers may partner an amateur in the Pro-Am divisions. Rising Star Professionals may also compete in the Professional division. Should a Rising Star professional win 3 competitions in a dance style with a minimum of 3 competitors, and/or make the final with a minimum of 8 competitors, they will not be permitted to compete in Rising Star in that style in the future. If a dancer wins Rising Star at an event in a style with a minimum of 3 competitors, they may not compete in Rising Star again at the specific event, in that specific style. 

Professional Definition: Once a dancer competes as a Professional, they can no longer compete as an amateur. Professional dancers may partner with an amateur in the Pro-Am divisions.  

Amateur Intermediate Showcase is an entry level amateur division. Should a dancer win Amateur Intermediate Showcase 3 times in a dance style with a minimum of 3 competitors, they will no longer be permitted to compete in Amateur Intermediate Showcase in that style in the future.  Intermediate dancers can challenge and enter Amateur Advanced Showcase as many times as they want, but if an Amateur Intermediate dancer wins the Amateur Advanced division with a minimum of 3 competitors, and/or makes the final with a minimum of 8 couples, they will no longer be permitted to compete in Amateur Intermediate Showcase in that style.

Amateur Advanced Showcase: An advanced amateur level of showcase competition. There are no limits to how many times a dancer can win Amateur Advanced Showcase.

Over 40 & Over 50 Divisions: In Pro Am divisions, the amateur must be at least 40 years of age or older (or at least 50 years of age or older) on the day of the competition. In Amateur divisions, BOTH dancers must be at least 40 years of age or older (or at least 50 years of age or older) on the day of the competition.

Open: A competition division which is open to all levels (Professional, Amateur or combo of both), open to all ages, and open to all styles unless otherwise specified in the division title. Open Team Open Showcase (Anything Goes): “Open Team” means that the team can be all amateurs or all professionals or a mix of both amateur and professional dancers. “Open Showcase” means it can be any genre of dance – anything goes!

There will be general admission seating on both Thursday afternoon, Thursday evening and Friday daytime to watch the competition. VIP seating upgrades are available for Thursday evening.

The Canada Salsa & Bachata Congress will be capping all showcase division entries as we meet our maximum number of entries based on the time allotted each day for showcases (Thursday afternoon, Thursday night & Friday daytime).Please register early to avoid disappointment.

The Canada Salsa & Bachata Congress reserves the right to combine or cancel divisions based on registration. Minimum of 3 couples per division. If a division is canceled, entry fees will be refunded. The Canada Salsa & Bachata Congress reserves the right to limit the number of dancers that can enter a division based on time limitations.

Music for performances and competition showcase divisions must be submitted in advance: 

Please submit your music for each performance in advance by uploading directly division link. Here’s how:

Deadline to submit music: Sunday September 15th

Make sure that you include the EXACT team name in the message box that we have listed on our Performance Schedule on the Schedule Page (ie Steps Dance Company_Amateur Team) especially if your school/company has multiple teams performing at the event. If it is a couple performing, please include first and last name of each dancer.

File Naming: Detailed naming of your upload file is very important to the efficient organization of the DJ for performances and competitions. Please name each file as follows: {GroupName}_{TeamName}_{Genre}_{Show/Competition}

EXAMPLES FOR PERFORMANCE:

StepsDanceCompany_AmateurTeam_Bachata_Show.mp3

Tito_Tamara_Salsa_Show.mp3

EXAMPLES FOR COMPETITION SHOWCASE:

StepsDanceCompany_OpenTeam_Salsa_Comp.mp3

Maria_Carlos_Amateur_Salsa_Comp.mp3

Music Format: MP3 with preferred bitrate of 320 (minimum bitrate of 220) or WAV format or Mac AIFF file. Make sure you are submitting good quality files, ie not music downloaded from YouTube.

Any performance music not submitted in advance will only be accepted at tech rehearsal during the congress weekend in USB format (one track only), clearly labeled with name of the performance team/couple. 

Any competition showcase music not submitted in advance will only be accepted at competition check in on Wednesday October 9th and Thursday October 10th. USB format (one track only), clearly labeled with name of the competition team or couple and the division. If you are performing / competing in numerous divisions, you will need multiple USBs.

Professionally-shot and edited competition videos by OGV Productions, delivered within 24 hours!

1. Click here to order your videos and for all the info

2. Must be ordered in advance

3. Payment can be accepted via PayPal or cash on site