2026 World Salsa Solo – DIVISIONS

By registering or purchasing a pass for the competition or the festival, you agree to these terms and conditions irrevocably.

Definitions of Divisions

Novice: a dancer that is 18+ and is in his/her first year of competing anywhere in the world in any Latin dance style. 

Amateur: a dancer aged 18 years or older who participates in dance primarily for personal, recreational, social or competitive enjoyment and who does not receive, and has not received, financial compensation from teaching, coaching, judging, choreographing for others, performing, or assisting in the instruction of any Latin dance style (This does not include volunteering at events for event entry, passes or similar, nor does it include promoting events, classes, schools, or dance-related products where the individual is not acting as an instructor, coach or judge).  

To be eligible, a competitor must meet all of the following criteria: 

• Has never competed at Semi-Professional, Professional, or equivalent levels in any Latin dance style anywhere in the world. 

• Does not advertise, promote, or represent themselves as a/an instructor, coach, judge, workshop leader, or similar teaching professional in any commercial or instructional capacity, including through social media, websites or third-party platforms. This does not apply to students who appear in class videos, performance footage, school marketing materials, competition promotions, behind-the-scenes content, training videos, or other content that showcases their student participation, learning or attendance at dance-related activities. 

Any individual who is identified to not comply with the above definition may be deemed ineligible for Amateur status at the organiser’s discretion.

Semi-Pro: a dancer that is 18 years or older who engages in Latin dance beyond a purely recreational capacity and has previously received, or currently receives, financial compensation for dance-related activities such as teaching, performing, judging, choreographing for others, coaching, or assisting, but where these activities are undertaken on a part-time or casual basis and is not their primary source of income. 

Additional conditions:

• A dancer who has competed in Professional divisions anywhere else in the world may not compete as Semi-Professional.

• Individuals who meet the definition of Semi-Pro for any Latin and/or Brazilian dance style must compete as a Semi-Pro for all styles (for example, someone who is considered Semi-Pro for Bachata cannot enter a Salsa category as an Amateur).

Pro: a dancer that is 18+ years of age and:

• regularly (or has previously) competes, teaches or performs anywhere in the world and whose main source of income comes from dance related activities; 

• promoted as a headline artists at an international or national events or festivals; or 

• voluntarily elects to move into this category, or has previously competed as a professional anywhere in the world.

Youth: a dancer that is 17 years of age and under at the date of the competition. Youth dancers aged 17yrs can choose to enter as a Novice or an Amateur instead of Youth, but not both, with the exception being that Youth dancers 17yrs may enter in Open Shines Teams and still compete in Youth categories.

Master40: a dancer that is 40 years and over at the time of the competition. A Master can enter into a Novice, Amateur, or Semi-Pro category provided they meet the eligibility.

Master60: a dancer that is 60 years and over at the time of the competition. A Master can enter into a Novice, Amateur, or Semi-Pro category provided they meet the eligibility. 

Master-Pro: a professional dancer that is 40 years and over at the time of the competition and meets the definition of “Pro”.