Competitions 

🏆 Mix & Match Sign up individually. During the preliminaries, you will continuously rotate partners. In the finals, you will compete with one randomly drawn partner until the end of the competition.

• Entry Fee: 20 USD per division

• Registration: Individual registration as a Lead or Follow

• Eligibility: Must hold a party pass for the respective day

• Format: * [Prelims] Partner rotation per song for 3 to 4 songs (Evaluated individually as Lead/Follow)

  • [Finals] Partners decided by random draw, followed by a spotlight and an all-skate (Evaluated as a couple)

• Prizes (1st–3rd): 1st Place (Trophy and 1 randomly assigned Full Party Pass for either PIS, Bal&Hop, or Baliday), 2nd Place (Trophy), 3rd Place (Trophy)

[Divisions & Eligibility]

• ROOKIE: Dancers with 2 years or less of Balboa experience (started after June 2024). However, one-day classes and special workshops taken before June 1, 2024, do not count as experience.

  • [Restriction] Dancers who have won 1st place in a major domestic or international Rookie (Novice) competition, or who have placed in an Amateur division or higher, cannot participate.

• AMATEUR: Dancers who do not fall under the Rookie or Open restrictions.

  • [Restriction] Dancers who have won 1st place in a major domestic or international Amateur competition, or who have placed in an Open division or higher, cannot participate.

• OPEN: Anyone can participate regardless of experience or past competition placements.

🏆 Strictly Sign up as a couple from the beginning. You will compete with your registered partner for both the preliminaries and the finals.

• Entry Fee: 40 USD per division

• Registration: One representative registers the Lead & Follow together

• Eligibility: Must hold a party pass for the respective day

• Format: * [Prelims] All-skate format where multiple couples dance on the floor simultaneously

  • [Finals] Couple spotlight (usually 1.5 to 2 choruses) followed by an all-skate to finish

• Prizes (1st–3rd): 1st Place (Trophy and 1 randomly assigned Full Party Pass for either PIS, Bal&Hop, or Baliday), 2nd Place (Trophy), 3rd Place (Trophy)

[Divisions & Eligibility]

• OPEN (Live Music): Anyone can participate. You can freely mix Pure Balboa and Bal-Swing.

• DARK HORSE: A competition for the top 5 couples who failed to advance to the finals in the OPEN preliminaries.

  • [Benefit] The 1st place couple advances to the OPEN STRICTLY Finals.

• PURE BALBOA (Live Music): Anyone can participate. However, movements are strictly limited to 'Pure Balboa'.

  • [Special Rules] A closed hold (chest-to-chest) must be maintained throughout the entire competition. Using Bal-Swing patterns that break the hold, such as Lollies, Toss-outs, or Out-and-ins, will result in deductions or disqualification.

  • [Round Structure] Round 1: Slow (Sixteen 8-counts) / Round 2: Fast (Sixteen 8-counts) / Round 3: All Skate (1 minute 30 seconds).

🏆 Routine

• Entry Fee: 40 USD per team (A team can consist of 1 couple or up to a maximum of 2 couples)

• Registration: One team representative collects all members' information to register and pay at once

• Eligibility: Must hold a party pass for the respective day

[Divisions & Eligibility]

• PIS SHOW: Anyone can participate. This division highlights the dancing couple and allows for free expression of style and individuality.

  • [Rules] A free routine of approximately 1 minute and 30 seconds with no restrictions on movements or techniques.

  • [Music] Due to copyright issues, you must select a song from the list provided by the organizers (View competition song list).

• Prizes: Trophies for 1st to 3rd place (awarded to all winning members)

🏆 Pulse in Seoul 2026 Competition Rules & Judging Criteria This competition is a place to share and celebrate the dancing and passion of the Pulse in Seoul festival attendees. To ensure a fair and enjoyable event, please make sure to read the rules and judging criteria below.

1. General Rules

• Eligibility: Participation is limited to those holding a Party Pass (or Full Weekend Pass) for the day of their respective competition.

• Check-in: Competitors must complete check-in by the previously announced time. If you are absent when your name is called, it will be considered a forfeit, and the entry fee (KRW) will not be refunded.

• Floor Safety: Acrobatic movements that could endanger nearby dancers, such as aerials, lifts, and drops, are strictly prohibited during moments when multiple couples are dancing simultaneously, such as preliminary All-Skates. (However, they are freely allowed during the Finals Spotlights and the PIS SHOW routine competition.)

• Attire: Please wear safe, appropriate clothing and dance shoes suitable for dancing.

2. Division Specific Rules

• Mix & Match (ROOKIE / AMATEUR / OPEN): You must honestly register for the division that matches your experience and past competition placements. The Rookie division is only for those with 2 years or less of Balboa experience (started after June 2024). One-day class experience does not count toward this duration. If you are restricted from a lower level, you are permitted to "dance up" to a higher level (e.g., Open).

• Strictly (PURE BALBOA): A closed hold (chest-to-chest) must be maintained throughout the entire competition. Using Bal-Swing patterns that break the hold, such as Lollies, Toss-outs, or Out-and-ins, may result in deductions or disqualification.

• Routine (PIS SHOW): This is a free routine of approximately 1 minute and 30 seconds. For copyright protection, you must select your music exclusively from the designated song list provided by the organizers.

3. Judging Criteria The invited Pulse in Seoul judging panel, including Javi and Lucia, will comprehensively evaluate the key elements below. Detailed evaluation standards may vary slightly based on each judge's professional perspective and the specific dance elements they emphasize.

• Timing: Evaluates how accurately and consistently you ride the beat and tempo of the music.

• Technique: Evaluates dance fundamentals, including Balboa's signature bounce, footwork accuracy, frame maintenance, and tension control.

• Partnership: Evaluates the connection between the Leader and Follower, considerate leading and following, and the overall teamwork and harmony created together.

• Musicality: Evaluates how creatively and naturally you express the live band's performance or the music's structural changes (breaks, melody lines, etc.) through your movements and style. (For the Routine division, this includes song interpretation and choreography originality.)

4. Results & Appeals

• Decisions: Competition results will be announced on-site, and the judges' decisions are considered final.

• Appeals: Competitors must respect the professional evaluations of the judges. As a rule, appeals regarding the scoring results are not permitted.

🏆 Competition Entry Fee Refund and Modification Policies

1. Refund Rates by Period

• 100% Refund: For cancellation requests made by midnight, Thursday, April 30.

• 50% Refund: For cancellation requests made from Friday, May 1 to midnight, Wednesday, May 20.

• No Refund: From Thursday, May 21 onwards, no refunds will be issued for any reason, as preliminary heat scheduling and system setup will begin.

2. Non-Transferability of Competition Entry Because verifying participants' experience levels (Rookie, Amateur, etc.) and maintaining the balance of Lead/Follow roles is essential, competition entries strictly cannot be transferred to another person.

• Even if a general party pass is transferred to another person due to personal reasons, the competition entry is not transferred with it and will be automatically canceled (and may be non-refundable depending on the date).

3. Strictly and Routine Partner Changes For divisions registered as a couple (Strictly, PIS SHOW), if one partner cancels their participation, the couple's competition entry will be canceled in principle.

• However, even during the non-refundable period, a partner change is exceptionally allowed if the new partner's information is submitted to and approved by the organizers by midnight, Sunday, May 31. (In this case, any financial settlement of the entry fee must be handled directly between the partners.)

4. Day-of No-Show If you do not arrive at the registration desk by the previously announced check-in time on the day of the competition, or if you are absent when your name is called on-site, it will be considered a forfeit, and the entry fee will not be refunded.