ISTD Challenge

What is the ISTD Challenge?

We’re inviting you, as a soloist, partner, trio, or quartet, to take on the challenge and enjoy finding ways to adapt or create a dance by weaving the choreography into a completely different space than you might normally choose to use.

This space should inspire you and give you the perfect location to create a performance that truly communicates your love of dance in any style or genre.

Designed to take place in your everyday settings, the Challenge provides you with the opportunity to:

• Be creative in the spaces you have
• Improve on your performance skills and confidence
• Be part of something exclusive
• Share your love of dance with others
• Support other young people to achieve their dance ambitions.

Teachers will register and pay on behalf of the entrant.

Watch Our Highlights

Congratulations to those specially selected performances which feature in our highlight reel and show some of the best entries we had for Task A - Dance Inside.

Another highlights reel will be released later in the year. Read on to find out how to take part, and perhaps you could feature in our next reel?

Task A: ‘Dance Inside’

e.g. Kitchen, bathroom, living room, home studio

Where better to dance than at home? The theme of our first task is Dance Inside. Whether your new inspirational dance space is in your kitchen, living room, or home studio, test your creativity in an indoor location of your choosing.

Task B: ‘Dance Outside’ 

e.g. The beach, a garden, your local park, urban space

Time to get creative in the great outdoors! Our second creative task, Dance Outside, invites you to adapt or create a dance inspired by and including an outdoor location of your choosing.

Task C: 'Dance with a prop or object'

e.g. an umbrella in an outside space or a hoover in an inside space

What better inspiration for a dance than a prop or object? Our final creative task Dance with an object or prop is now open for submissions! Adapt or create your own dance inspired and influenced by your chosen prop or object.

Enter all three tasks to complete the entire Challenge.

Looking for some inspiration?

We have pulled together a collection of videos into one handy YouTube Playlist to get you inspired. Check it out here.

Here are a few highlights:

Why should I enter?

Entrants will have the chance to:

• be assessed by an Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing Examiner
• receive a limited edition Inspirational Spaces to Dance Challenge badge, part of a collectable series. Each badge features one of our unique 'dancing characters'
• have their performance considered to appear in our Challenge Highlights films.

Teachers will receive:

• a congratulatory letter to share with their pupils
• a social media digital asset to advertise their participation in the Challenge
• their school name included in any pieces chosen for the Challenge highlight films.

TBC: At the end of 2021, we hope to run a digital festival including all our highlight reels and specially selected pieces.

Teachers will have the opportunity to purchase a limited edition ISTD Challenge t-shirt on behalf of their entrants.