Show us your moves and win the crowd!

Do you know the dance moves to BTS? Aquors? BabyMetal? 2NE1? You’ve practiced as hard as them, shed blood, sweat, and tears, all to perfect your swagger. Time to show off all your hard work and compete to win #1!

How it Works: Welcome to the NEWEST ConnectiCon event Pop-Off!, where you get to perform choreography LIVE for a room full of cheering fans in two divisions: J-Pop/K-Pop and Idol. Professional judges will rate your technical skill, style, and execution. Win the hearts of the fans and win the fan favorite award! This will be our most up-beat event of the convention you don’t want to miss it!

IMPORTANT: Cosplay Event Rules and Guidelines are posted on the Cosplay Events main page. If you have not already, review these as well as the Pop-Off! rules below before applying. There may be something that is run differently at this convention than others you have attended!

POP-OFF! DANCE COMPETITION RULES & GUIDELINES

• Applicants may apply as a group or solo performer.
• All members of your performance group must be registered convention attendees to perform.
• Contestants must be at least 13 years old.
• No professional dancers* may enter the Pop-Off competition. If an individual is found to be a professional, their entire group will be disqualified. *A “professional dancer” is an individual who performs dance for monetary compensation as their primary source of income.
• Divisions: Pop-Off! is split into two competition Divisions: Idol and J-Pop/K-Pop.
  • Idol: This division is for dancers that perform choreography in costume from dances based on idol anime or other dances with an animated origin. Examples: μ’s, Aquors, AKB0048, Uta no Prince-Sama, Idolm@ster, Vocaloid
  • J-Pop/K-Pop: This division is for dancers that perform choreography from published performances or music videos that originate from real-life J-Pop or K-Pop musical artists. Examples: EXO, BTS, 2NE1, SNSD, Morning Musume, SMAP, BLACKPINK, Super Junior, SHINee, Arashi, AKB48, MOMOLAND
• All applicants will need to identify the source material for their performance and what song they intend to perform as part of the competition application. Edits combining two or more dances and songs may be considered on a case by case basis; please email the Event Coordinator.
• Performances are limited to 5 minutes maximum at length. Please include your music cue in your application (if applicable).
• All applicants will be expected to provide a link to a demo video of themselves performing a choreographed dance as part of the application process. The demo video needs to be at least 30 seconds long but it does not need to be in costume or of the song submitted for the competition. Many websites offer video hosting services, please contact the Event Coordinator if you require guidance on where to post a video. Please ensure that this video is publicly available so the Event Coordinator can access it.
• All applicants must link or email a picture of the dancer(s) in performance attire to Cosplay@connecticon.org as part of their application. If there is a social media outlet you would like linked along with the photo please provide this as well. Please keep the photo in .jpg file format only and have it available on a CD or Flash Drive at check-in as backup. “Performance Attire” consists of the outfit you intend to perform in, or of a similar outfit you would wear in another performance.
• All dancers will perform one dance within their division and a panel of three professional judges will rate the performance on five criteria within three categories:
  • Technical Skill: Movement, Flow/Musicality, Rhythm/Step Work, Transitions/Precision, Synchronicity.
  • Style: Presence/Charisma, Aesthetics, Facial Expressions, Energy, Showmanship.
  • Execution: Crowd Appeal, Use of Stage, Creativeness/Group Dynamics, Degree of Difficulty, Overall Impact.
• There will be a Best Of award for each category and division, and a Fan Favorite award voted on live by the attendees.
• Please arrive at the requested set-up time to receive event-specific rules and instructions. Please follow directions given by the staff during this time, as well as during the event. If you do not follow the rules set up by the Event Coordinator and event staff, you will be disqualified from the competition and may be unable to participate in future events.

CHECK-IN & AUDIO REQUIREMENTS

• Once participants arrive at the convention, all applicants must check in at Cosplay HQ to be able to perform. Anyone who is unable to check in before the event must contact the Event Coordinator as soon as possible.
• All performers will be asked to provide a professional photo of their dance group upon check in for use in promotions and voting. If you submitted a photo previously to Cosplay@connecticon.org, please let Cosplay HQ know.
• All performers must provide a CD or Flash Drive with a digital copy of your performance song. Please use .mp3 file format only. If you submitted your audio previously to Cosplay@connecticon.org please let Cosplay HQ know when you check in. Audio will NOT be accepted at the event start, it must be submitted through Cosplay HQ upon check in.
• There will be no live microphones onstage. All audio must be pre-recorded.
• There will be a block of rehearsal time set aside for performers to walk the stage and run your number. If you cannot make the allocated practice time, you will not be able to rehearse your event before the performance.
• Please pick up any flash drives/CDs at the tech desk after the event or on Sunday.