Adjudication Policies For Participating Schools
Updated 07/31/23

1. Only ACDA Institutional Members in good standing are eligible for adjudication.  Membership dues are payable to ACDA and sent to the National Office.  See current Membership Information on the ACDA web site (www.ACDA.dance) or contact the ACDA National Office at info@acda.dance.
2. No more than two works from any institution may be adjudicated in a Conference season. An adjudication fee will be charged for each piece. Once a work has been adjudicated, it cannot be submitted for adjudication at any other Conference during the same Conference season. Adjudicated works that are not accepted for the Gala Concert in one Conference season may be reworked for adjudication in subsequent conference seasons. However, once a work has been accepted for a Gala Concert performance, it may not be resubmitted for adjudication by the same institution.
3. A student, faculty member, or guest artist may choreograph a work presented for adjudication in any idiom; however, only students may perform. In addition to student performers, musicians may be visible to the audience whether they are students or non-students.
   • Definition of a student:
     • A student is one who is officially declared by the Institutional Member as meeting one of the following criteria during the academic year in which the work is adjudicated: 
       • A candidate seeking a degree, diploma, or certificate, full or part-time, or if not seeking a degree, diploma, or certificate, having an equivalent focus and track of study as determined by the institution is considered a student
       • An individual had student status in the semester prior to a Conference
       • A high school student registered and paying for college classes and considered by an institution to be participating in its program
4. Students may only register and perform with one institution per Conference, except in the case of institutions that share an official administrative structure.
5. If two works are submitted for adjudication, a student must have choreographed at least one of the works.
6. The maximum time for each work presented for adjudication is 12 minutes.         
   • The burden of meeting the time requirement rests with the choreographer.  ACDA recommends that the choreographer allow a time margin within the 12-minute limit for technical errors or individual theater peculiarities.
   • The work will be timed in performance and judged to begin when any one of the perceived elements of choreographic choice (lights, sound, movement) is visible or audible to the audience. This includes the rising of the curtain on a pre-lit stage.  A curtain rising with no perceptible light, sound, or movement does not trigger the start of timing.
   • The work ends when all perceived elements of choreographic choice have been diminished (no lights, no sound, no movement).
   • Bows are not included in the 12-minute time limit unless they are required as part of the work by the choreographer.
   • Adjudication Concerts generally do not include bows.  If there is no Gala Concert, bows during Adjudication Concerts are at the discretion of the Host Institution.
   • The production crew may alert a school if a work is running close to or over 12 minutes during tech rehearsal. In no circumstance will the production crew be responsible for keeping the work within 12 minutes.
   • If a work exceeds the 12-minute limit during adjudicated performance it is the ACDA Executive Committee Member’s responsibility to confirm if the error was the responsibility of the school or if a technical error on the part of the crew caused the work to go over the 12-minute limit.
   • If a work goes over 12 minutes, it is ineligible for the Gala Concert and consequently ineligible for the National Festival. It will, however, continue through the adjudication process with feedback from the adjudicators.
   • It is the responsibility of the ACDA Executive Committee representative to enforce the time limit and to communicate with the faculty or staff member from the presenting institution as to the ineligibility of any particular work.
   • The 12-minute time limit will be observed even if there is no Gala Concert scheduled during a non-National Festival year.
   • All setup and teardown for each piece, including the host institution, must fit within the three (3) minutes before and after the piece, which is the maximum adjudication break. This applies to all works, regardless of placement within the concert. 
7. To reserve adjudication slots, institutions must officially register student(s) for a Regional Conference.  Any adjudication registration without a corresponding school registration of student(s) will be canceled.
8. It is the responsibility of each school to obtain and secure all appropriate and necessary licenses and permissions prior to bringing any works to Regional Conferences and National Festivals for performance.
9. Institutions that will not be available to participate in the Gala Concert (e.g., leaving the Conference early, dancer injury, etc.) will receive adjudication feedback but are not eligible for consideration for Gala selection.  Institutions in this situation must notify the Conference Coordinator and ACDA Executive Committee representative prior to the Gala selection. The ACDA Executive Committee representative will inform the adjudicators of the titles of any works not to be considered for the Gala.
10. If an institution chooses to bring a work choreographed by a Conference adjudicator, that work may not be considered for the Gala Concert.  Feedback will be given only for performance.  The Conference Coordinator, upon receiving the program information from the Institutional Members, will notify any Institution planning on bringing an adjudicator-choreographed work to the Conference of this policy immediately. Should the Institution still choose to bring the aforementioned work, the Conference Coordinator will inform the Executive Committee representative attending the Conference as soon as possible. The ACDA Executive Committee representative will assure that all adjudicators are informed of this policy prior to the Adjudication Concert.
11. Each registered school must identify a faculty or staff member who will accompany their students throughout the adjudication process.
12. No attempt is to be made during the adjudication process or in the selection of works for the Gala Concert to classify or equate college dance programs. All works presented for adjudication will be evaluated solely in terms of performance and choreography. 
13. All dances will be given the same amount of time for technical rehearsals. The minimum amount of time is 15 minutes, while some conference schedules allow for a few extra minutes. The technical rehearsals for these concerts are always very tightly scheduled. Schools are expected to arrive 30 minutes prior to their scheduled time to receive instruction about how the rehearsal will proceed as well as other pertinent information particular to the Host Institution. Schools that miss their technical rehearsal must contact the Conference Coordinator immediately; the Conference Coordinator will contact the Executive Committee representative. Technical Directors and their crews do not have the authority or obligation to re-schedule technical rehearsals. The Conference Coordinator and Technical Director are under no obligation to provide an alternate technical rehearsal or performance time to accommodate Institutions that miss their scheduled technical rehearsal.  Schools that miss their technical rehearsal should expect only lights up and lights down cues for their performance, or their previously loaded cues if they were sent in advance.
14. All schools should check the Conference website for stage dimensions and rehearse within those limitations so as to avoid injury to dancers and/or damage to the theater. 
15. Conference participants (faculty and students) shall not attempt to engage adjudicators in any conversation pertaining to Conference participants, choreography or attending institutions.  Questions concerning the adjudication process must be directed to the Conference Coordinator, Regional Director and/or ACDA Executive Committee representative.
16. A sound recording (when applicable) of concert quality to accompany the dance will be provided by the choreographer for the performance in the format specified by the Conference Coordinator or Conference Technical Director. Should the music or sound score be performed live, musicians may be visible to the audience whether they are students or non-students. All performers must be registered for the Conference.
17. All Conference participants must be prepared to work within the technological capabilities and all other limitations stated by the Host Institution. If acceptable to the Conference Coordinator, video or other technology or scenic elements may be used, but all works presented for adjudication must contain a live dance performance element.
18. Each participating Institution is responsible for submitting required technical information. Some Host Institutions prefer to pre-set the lighting cues. Institutions that do not submit the required technical information or contact the Host Institution’s Technical Director by the posted deadline are not guaranteed that all lighting cues will be ready for the attending institution’s designated technical rehearsal.  Attending institutions in this situation can opt to select a general warm or cool look or, provided the Technical Director has been contacted and approves, use their technical rehearsal to develop additional cues.  In this case, attending institutions may not have time to run their dances fully.
19. Each participating institution is responsible for submitting required program information in a timely manner. Institutions that do not submit program information by the posted deadline may expect their program information to read: “Information not submitted.”
20. All performers in adjudication concerts, except those from the host institution, must be officially registered at the Conference and are encouraged to participate fully in Conference events
21. The ACDA Executive Committee representative must approve cast replacements for works accepted for the Gala Concert and the adjudicators must be informed prior to the Gala performance.
22. If a dance is ineligible from consideration for the gala, it is the responsibility of the Executive Committee Representative to explain to the school in question before gala selections are posted that its work has been disqualified. The Executive Committee Representative should then work with the Regional Director and the host to post the following statement along with the list of selected dances for the Gala Concert: “Dances that do not adhere to ACDA policy are ineligible for consideration for the Gala.”
23. If a dance is ineligible for consideration for the Gala for any reason, the ACDA Executive Committee Representative at the Conference will inform the school.  All dances that are ineligible for consideration will be listed with the Gala postings in order to inform the Conference at large that these dances were not among those considered by adjudicators
24. Gala Concerts are recorded for archival purposes, documentation and programming for the American College Dance Association National Festivals. The recordings are housed in the ACDA archives at the University of Maryland, College Park.  Neither ACDA nor the Host Institution is required to duplicate the archival videos for individuals or institutions.  It is highly recommended that each choreographer document her/his dance prior to the Regional Conference.
25. Members are not restricted to participation exclusively or solely in their own geographic area and may participate in one or more Regional Conferences each year.  While members may participate in more than one Conference, only two (2) dances per school may be adjudicated in any single conference season, at least one of which must be choreographed by a student.

Updated 07/31/23