There is no USABDA Regional in Los Angeles in June. You must be looking at last year's web site when the event was in southern California. This year's USA Dance Southwest Regionals (previously called USABDA Western Regionals) is in San Jose on June 11, 2005.

I am on the organizing committee for this event. We do not allow costumes in any syllabus event at all. Our information page is at www.usabda-norcal.org/regionals . If you click down into "General Information" and look at the section on "Syllabus Restrictions," you will see the following statement:

"Costumes are not allowed in any syllabus category, regardless of age group."

Regarding your comment that the new dress code rules in the 2005-2006 rulle book on the National web site seem all the same, I'll reply that they are and they aren't They certainly will seem all the same to someone who has already been following the "no costumes in syllabus" rules for the past few years. They are just more clear and more specifically spelled out now. At one point they were trying to make a rule that ladies in Adult Syllabus couldn't wear heels higher than 2", but that got removed (thank god). Another rule that showed up earlier this year and then disappeared was that men in syllabus Latin/Rhythm could only wear white shirts. Now they can wear white, black, or midnight blue.

There are a few new details that people need to keep track of, though. For instance, there never has been a rule as to what color shirts men could wear in syllabus Standard. Now it's white only (black or midnight blue is also allowed in Smooth, but not Standard). There never used to be any restrictions on what materials a lady's syllabus dress could be made out of, but now certain types of materials -- including metallic and glittery -- are not allowed in syllabus.

Also, and most significantly, it used to be that the syllabus rules applied to ALL age group events. Now, "no costumes" syllabus dress applies to all age groups EXCEPT when specific Senior syllabus events are offered. Costumes are allowed in Senior age-group syllabus events. (By the way, at Southwest Regionals we don't offer separate Senior syllabus events, just Adult-age-group events, so therefore we don't allow costumes in any syllabus event at our particular competition.)

Any other questions? Let me know!!

oh no I did not mean (LA) Los Angeles , I meant Louisiana!!. There is a regional being held in June in Baton Rouge! I believe that is this the South Central Region.

It is still curious to me how each region right now is still defining the dress code. The way I read the revised rules I would agree with you that costumes are restricted as well as the material....

I am curious also why they allow costumes in the Senior level. In the regions that we partipate in, it is quite commom to offer Sr levels. As a matter of fact, that also varies. In this comp Sr.I is defined as over 35. Yet in the New Jersey regional SR.I was defined as over 50. I just make sure I am careful now to read the rules defnied by each comp very carefully.

I just took a look at the PDF packet for this year's South Central Regionals, and see what you mean. On page 3 they say that they're using the 2002-2003 Rulebook (which clearly states that costumes are not allowed in syllabus) yet on page 4 they say that people above newcomer can wear costumes.

Such discrepancies as you've been seeing from region to region have been going on for some time. The rule saying no costumes for any age group of syllabus events has been on the books for the entire seven years that I have been a USABDA (now USA Dance) member.

The DanceSport committee was/is aware that some chapters are following the rule while others were not. It is my opinion that all their work on the dress code rules in the past six months was in part an attempt to make the rules stronger and clearer so that they'll actually be applied and enforced in all USA Dance-sanctioned competitions.

As far as where Senior is defined...in the USA Dance rulebook it says that Senior I is 35 or older and Senior II is 50 and older. Competitions are not required to offer every single event in every single age group, so events are sometimes combined. The New Jersey event could have been offering an Adult+Senior I event, and then a separate Senior II event. If this is the case, it might have been less confusing if they said so somewhere in their competition literature (I have not seen it). Technically, if the dancers were required to be over 50, then that event should have been referred to as Senior II. To me, calling it just "Senior" means it's really Senior I (so that both Senior I's and Senior II's can dance in it).

The reason for allowing costumes in the Senior level is because it was a huge HUGE bone of contention for dancers in three of the six National USA Dance Regions. So, as a compromise, the decision was made to allow costumes in dancers in Senior age group syllabus events.

as someone who is starting to think about competing, I find all of these rules very restrictive and confusing. I am curious to find out why the USABDA feel that there needs to be all of these limitations e.g. senior level, junior level (why not focus on what the dancers are dancing!!) and why they can't finalize the rules in a more timely fashion.

Most of the rules came down directly from the IDSF (International DanceSport Federation). The IDSF wanted to make the rules for Pre-Teen and Junior I age group costuming very strict so as to prevent the sexualization of young children -- hence the acceptable costume diagrams, etc.

The rules for NON-syllabus Youths and Adults are aimed more toward preserving what the IDSF sees as the formality and tradition of ballroom dancing -- hence the rules about men being only allowed to wear certain color pants, etc.

USA Dance (USABDA) decided to adopt the IDSF rules so that competitions in the US would be run more like IDSF competitions in Europe and the rest of the world.

The rules for *syllabus* dancers were devised by USA Dance, based on existing customs in the US and on the spirit of the IDSF rules.

Dancing,
I understand your fustration.... I too, as an amatuar competitor often get confused with all the rules, even after attending comps for a decade...

Yet, as fustrated as I become I understand the logic.... I think that the governing board is trying to do just what you suggest.... Let the judges, judge the dance rather then the costumes the dancers wear.

As you being to compete, you will find that costumes play a big part of the whole event, and the new rules are tryng to correct this... Right now it is causing alot of confusion, but it will pass. It is difficult for me because all the large $$'s I have spent on costunes... they will stay home in the closet, when I go to comps.... But after all is said and done, I would rather compete in a very basis dress and be judged for our dance ability..

Janet