LETTING EVERYBODY TAKE THE STAGE

National Dance Challenge (NDC) was originally developed as New Zealand’s first troupe only competition to provide the opportunity for as many dancers as possible to take to the stage and celebrate the joy of dance together.

Each year, dancers will gather from across the country to compete in all genres, and all age groups, novice and experienced in a fun filled, competitive, supportive environment. Held in June, our competition will run across three days, at Westlake Girls High School on Auckland’s North Shore.

ABOUT NDC

NDC is a not-for-profit organisation, run completely by volunteers. Profits from our competition are reinvested into the dance community with thousands of dollars each year gifted in grants. We also aim to ensure the continual improvement and growth of our competition, engaging international judges and improving facilities and the experience for our performers and their families.

 

THE COMPETITION

Our competition attracts competitors from across the country, with over 2,400 competitors in 2023. We are delighted to provide an outlet for performance and competition for the ever-increasing number of children who choose to dance at school and those who learn and train as their hobby or chosen sport.

We have specialist divisions for Primary, Intermediate and Secondary School students as well as a novice section and a Dance without Limits Category.

There is no greater joy, than the joy of dance and dancing together is even better!

Dance schools from all over New Zealand come to compete at our ever-growing competition and we love creating a high-energy environment to celebrate the amazing team-work that makes troupe competitions so great. We are also delighted to provide an outlet for performance and competition for the ever-increasing number of students who choose to dance at school. NDC welcomes and encourages school teams to compete in our competition with specialist divisions for Primary, Intermediate and Secondary students.

Our Dance Without Limits category truly represents what the NDC stands for. It’s a chance for everyone to shine on the stage and show the value of team work and the incredible bonds that grow between performers as they trust each other on stage. We are excited to offer this new section and the opportunity for children who are physically or developmentally differently abled to take the stage, experience the joy of performance, have some fun and show their talents while taking in the applause and appreciation of a live audience. NDC aims to bring as many dancers and studios together as possible, united by the joy of troupe dancing. We’ve included a novice section where 75% of dancers competing must be new to competitions. This helps ensure more children and studios can participate and enjoy the NDC competitions.

We’ve got answers to your

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

General Questions

  • Yes! Check it out here

  • Entries open in February along with class sponsorships.

  • Make sure you follow our social channels to ensure you are notified when entries open. About a week prior to the entries opening, we’ll post a link to the 'Entry app' on our Facebook, Instagram and our website which allows you to log in to and set up your profile, enter your details e.g. Studio name, Email address, Phone number etc.

    Then when entries open, you can log in and choose the genres and age/school year groups you are wanting to enter before paying by credit card on completion to confirm your entries.

    Multiple entries can be done at the one time. Over the following weeks, your dancers will need to log in to register their dates of birth and school year group to your school/studio to ensure you meet age limits for each class. This is a quick process and simple instructions will be provided on entry confirmation/payment.

  • Log in to the entry app again and you should be able to make any changes here with regards to titles, group numbers etc. You can also add additional entries, with confirmation of entry acceptance made once the entries have been paid for.

  • No, we encourage you to enter and participate in as many genres as you like. For example, a primary school dance group may wish to enter a jazz and a hip hop routine.

  • Yes, your entries are only confirmed once payment is received. You will need a credit card at the time of entering to pay for your entries, however, we can provide you with an invoice to give to your school, should you require reimbursement.

  • See our syllabus for full details.

    • $30 per troupe

    • $30 per NYPA entry,

    • $30 troupe administration charge.

    • Senior Solo Awards (2 dances) are $60 with an additional $15 administration charge.

  • NYPA is a national competition held annually in Palmerston North in October and requires a nomination from a supporting competition such as National Dance Challenge to compete. By entering this at NDC you will perform your troupe once, in the class of age and genre, but will also be judged against other NYPA entries across the weekend.

  • Unfortunately, Admin fees are non-refundable. Entry fees will only be refunded if the event is cancelled.

  • We want to ensure the competition is an open and inclusive space for everyone and we do our very best to make this a reality.

    Check out our Anti-Bullying Policy here for more information

Parking, Tickets & Schedules

  • Parking is available onsite at Westlake Girls High School in two carparks (one near the bus station and the other off Wairau Road, please refer to the map on our website. Please do not park in Smales Farm without checking their rules and regulations.

  • The full schedule will be released on May 1st in the form of an app. Here you can pre-purchase tickets and merchandise and stay up-to-date across the weekend on how classes are tracking as we report in real time.

  • We will not know the exact timetable until all entries are submitted and the schedule has been put together, however we do know that the school event will be held on the Thursday prior to Kings Birthday Weekend. The Finals Gala will be held Monday afternoon. Other classes will be advised on the NDC app, released on the 1st May. Keep an eye on our social media pages for more information.

  • When the NDC app is released on the 1st May the full schedule will also be available, allowing you to see what session, on what day and at what time your child will be dancing. Log in with your email address (a code will be sent to your email to confirm) then you will be able to see the schedule and purchase tickets for the correct session. There is a tab on the app to choose and pay for your tickets and they will be available for you to pick up at the venue.

  • Yes, but only if sessions have not sold out prior.

  • Tickets will be emailed to you then you can print or send them on via email.

    Note: Ticket numbers are checked at the door to avoid duplicate copies being used.

  • Sessions are just $6 per person to watch and dancers in that session do not require a ticket. The Finals Gala held on Monday is $15 for adults and $10 for seniors and 12 & under.

  • At the end of each session, the results will be announced on stage and then added to the class in the app.

  • Your teacher (or the person who entered your dance into the competition) will gain access to the report. They will need to log in to the NDC app with the email address they used when entering the competition and the report will appear under the ‘actions’ tab shortly after results have been made public

  • The person who entered the competition will have access to do this using the same email address they used when they entered. These things can all be found under the ‘actions’ tab on the app.

  • Keep an eye on the app so you can see where we are up to. We will not start a session more than 30 minutes prior to that session’s official starting time, however classes within that session will then keep running even if they are more than 30 minutes early.

  • Team trophies, certificates and special awards will be given on stage at the prize-giving and the ribbons for each dancer in your team will be available for collection from the front desk in the foyer after the announcement. All teams receive ribbons.

Got another question?

Get in touch with us.