Duke Ellington choreography competition
The choreography competition is back again this year, with the theme of Duke Ellington’s repertoire. The aim of the competition is threefold:
- encourage authentic jazz dancers (Lindy hop, Solo jazz) to work with choreography
- explore Duke Ellington’s repertoire and select a piece with choreographic intent
- present its work to the judges and the Montpellier public
Scheduled for the evening of Friday July 17, 2026, the conditions of participation are organized in 2 main stages: the qualifications on Friday late afternoon and the finals on Friday evening.
Participation :
=> Register as a solo, duo or team (online registration; link below)
- Solo: €20
- Duo: €30
- Group: €50
=> You will receive confirmation of your registration by e-mail (please note that the number of registrations is limited).
Competition schedule
Qualifications
Solo & Duo
friday, july 17 (floors 1 & 4)
- 6 p.m.: sound check and draw for running orders
- 6:30 pm: qualifications
Groups
Friday, July 17 (parquet central)
- 7 p.m.: sound check and draw for running orders
- 7:30 pm: qualifications
The finals
Friday, July 17 at 10pm (parquet central)
The finals are held in front of the festival audience on the central parquet floor! They pit the top 2 finishers in each category against each other.
What’s in it for us?
- feedback from one of our artists
- 200 € prize money for the winners
- Visibility: the finalists present their choreography on Friday evening, opening the teachers’ presentation.
- The “Emerging Artist” Jury Prize: the jury is free to choose whether or not to award this prize to a dancer, a couple of dancers or a collective.
- rewarded artists dance again on Saturday evening at the teachers’ show.
Competition rules
- 3 categories: Solo, Duo, Groups (from 3 people)
- Choreography between 1’40 and 2 minutes
- All styles are welcome: solo jazz, Lindy hop, contemporary, hip-hop…
- Acrobatics, lifts and accessories allowed
Please prepare a presentation pitch explaining why you have chosen this piece.