Competition
Join us for the 2025 Essence of Belly Dance Competition!
Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 25, 2025, as dancers from around the world gather in Atlanta, GA, to compete for incredible prizes and receive invaluable feedback from some of the most renowned instructors of the year!
Our 2025 competition welcomes all styles of MENAHT (Middle Eastern, North African, Hellenic, and Turkish) and Transnational Fusion dance, offering a platform to showcase your talent, gain valuable insights, and elevate your artistry.
Why Compete?
Live feedback from esteemed judges during the competition
A chance to win incredible prizes
A unique opportunity to perform among some of the best dancers in the world
Competition Details:
Date: Thursday, September 25, 2025
Venue: DoubleTree Atlanta Perimeter Dunwoody
Time: 6:00 PM EST
Competition registration closes at 8:00 AM EDT on Friday, September 12, 2025. Each category has a limited number of spots, and once they are filled, registration will close for that category.
Don't miss this opportunity to showcase your passion and skills on the Essence of Belly Dance stage!
COMPETITION CATEGORIES
The Essence of Belly Dance Competition offers exciting opportunities for dancers of all levels to showcase their talent, refine their skills, and gain valuable performance experience. Competitors can choose between two tracks in each category:
🔹 Raqs Sharqi – Classical Egyptian Belly Dance (“Eastern Dance”)
🔹 Fusion – A modern, Western-inspired style of Belly Dance
Essence Soaring (Professional/Advanced)
Designed for seasoned belly dancers with high proficiency in Middle Eastern dance, this category highlights performers' artistry, technique, and mastery across all belly dance stylizations.
Essence Rising (Advanced Beginner/Intermediate)
This competition offers a supportive and encouraging experience tailored for advanced beginner and intermediate-level dancers. This category provides the perfect opportunity to gain confidence, receive valuable feedback, and take your performance to the next level!
Whichever category you choose, you'll be part of an inspiring and empowering competition celebrating the beauty and diversity of belly dance!
Just Dance! Drum Solo Challenge (New Drum solo challenge for 2025!!!)
In this electrifying category, competitors will showcase their skills by performing a self-selected recorded drum solo for approximately two minutes. The top three dancers will advance to the final round (on the same night of the competition), where they will perform a live drum solo alongside our master percussionist. The champion of this category will take home a $1,000 cash prize!
Want to compete in multiple categories? You may enter either Essence Soaring (Professional Dancer) or Essence Rising (Advanced Beginner/Intermediate Dancer)—but not both. However, you can also compete in Just Dance! (Drum Solo Challenge) in addition to your chosen category. A separate registration and soloist fee ($50-$100 per competition spot) applies for each entry.
Time Limit: 3 minutes for Soloists, 3.5 minutes for Troupes
TROUPE COMPETITION!!!
Exciting News for Essence of Belly Dance 2025! The troupe competition will feature a single category, encompassing both Raqs Sharqi and Fusion stylizations, and is open to belly dancers of all levels. Unlike the solo competition, there will be no separate categories. A troupe is considered 3 or more dancers.
Troupes will be judged on:
Choreographic Composition – Cohesion in troupe movement, seamless sequencing, and complexity of formations.
Execution of Belly Dance Technique – Precision, posture, and synchronization within the troupe.
Overall Stage Presence – Effective stage utilization, expressive kinesthetic communication, troupe charisma, and cohesive costuming.
Choreography Requirements:
All choreography must be original—created by a troupe member, director or someone connected to the troupe
The choreography must be at least 3 minutes and no longer than 3.5 minutes.
You cannot perform a choreography learned from a workshop, or public video
The choreography does not have to be new, but it must be specifically designed by someone within or affiliated with the troupe.
Dance Style:
The choreography must be rooted in Middle Eastern Dance. Fusion styles are welcome, but Middle Eastern dance must remain the dominant foundation (e.g., a hip-hop fusion piece should primarily feature belly dance technique/elements).
If you’re unsure whether your choreography meets the criteria, please reach out to us at info@atlantafusionbellydance.com
Scoring & Performance Guidelines:
Showcase your entire range of dance skills! Judges will assess technique, musicality, costuming, stage presence, and more. All props are welcome—except veil poi (ceiling height) and fire props for safety reasons.
SCORING
Competitors will showcase their unique choreography (maximum 3 minutes for soloists, 3.5 minutes for Troupes) on Thursday, September 25, 2025. Judges will score performances on a 100-point scale and average their overall assessments to determine final scores. The competitor with the highest average score will be crowned the category winner.
🔹 Maximum Score: 100 points
🔹 Judging Criteria: Technique, musicality, costuming, stage presence, and overall performance
🔹 Requirement: All competitors must register for a minimum of 6 hours of Essence 13 workshops
If you have additional questions, feel free to contact us at info@atlantafusionbellydance.com. We can't wait to see you on stage!
PRIZES:
ESSENCE SOARING (PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY):
First Place Essence Soaring Soloist Prizes:
$1,000 CASH PRIZE
Essence Crown
Essence of Belly Dance Sash
Full Weekend Pass to Essence 14
Essence of Belly Dance Swag Bag
Second Place Essence Soaring Soloist Prizes:
Essence of Belly Dance Sash
1 Day Pass to Essence of Belly Dance14
Essence of Belly Dance Swag Bag
Third Place Essence Soaring Soloist Prizes:
Essence of Belly Dance Sash
Essence of Belly Dance Swag Bag
ESSENCE RISING (NOVICE BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE) CATEGORY:
First Place Essence Rising
$100 CASH PRIZE
Essence Crown
Essence of Belly Dance Sash
Full Weekend Pass Essence 14
Essence of Belly Dance Swag Bag
Second Place Essence Rising
1-Day Pass to Essence 14
Essence of Belly Dance Sash
Essence of Belly Dance Swag Bag
Third Place Essence Rising
Essence of Belly Dance Sash
Essence of Belly Dance Swag Bag
JUST DANCE! DRUM SOLO CHALLENGE CATEGORY:
First Place Improv Queen/King
$1000 CASH PRIZE
Just Dance Crown
Essence of Belly Dance Sash
Full Weekend Pass to Essence 14
Essence of Belly Dance Swag Bag
Second Place Improv Queen/King
$100 CASH PRIZE
1-Day Pass to Essence 14
Essence of Belly Dance Sash
Essence of Belly Dance Swag Bag
Third Place Improv Queen/King
Essence of Belly Dance Sash
Essence of Belly Dance Swag Bag
TROUPES!!
First Place:
$500 CASH PRIZE
Essence of Belly Dance Award
Essence of Belly Dance Swag Bag
1 Day Pass per troupe member to Essence of Belly Dance 14 (September 2026)
Second Place Troupe:
$200 CASH PRIZE
Essence of Belly Dance Award
Essence of Belly Dance Swag Bag
Third Place Troupe:
Essence of Belly Dance Award
Essence of Belly Dance Swag Bag
PEOPLES CHOICE:
The audience can vote for their favorite solo performer. The solo competitor with the most votes will receive a $100 cash prize, a sash, and a swag bag!
COMPETITION REGISTRATION FINAL DEADLINE – 8:00 AM EST SEPTEMBER 12th, 2025 - (Or until the maximum # of registrations received per category). Time Limit: 3 minutes for Soloists, 3.5 minutes for Troupes
Competition questions? Email us at eobdcompetition@gmail.com
General questions? Email us at info@atlantafusionbellydance.com
REGISTER FOR THE COMPETITION USING THE BUTTONS ABOVE