Swingtime Ball
Championship 2026

Preliminary

8 teams will compete head-to-head, with the winners advancing to the Semi-Finals. The round will be accompanied by a live band and consists of three rounds, each lasting 16 eights.

Semi-Finals

4 teams will compete head-to-head, with the winners advancing to the Final Battle. The round will be accompanied by a live band and consists of three rounds, each lasting 16 eights.

Final Battle

The remaining 2 teams will face off for the championship title. Accompanied by a live band, the Final Battle consists of four rounds, with each round lasting 16 eights.

Preliminary

The Preliminary begins with an All Skate, during which the DJ will randomly play three songs with different tempos. All participants will dance together, and 12 dancers will advance to the Semi-Finals.

Semi-Finals

The 12 dancers will be randomly divided into 6 pairs to compete in Duo Jazz Battles. Each battle consists of 2 rounds, with each side dancing 16 eights per round, accompanied by a live band. At the end of this round, 7 dancers will advance to the Finals, including the 6 battle winners and 1 "Lucky Loser" selected from the eliminated dancers.

Finals

The 7 finalists will randomly draw their music on site before performing an individual Solo Jazz showcase. Each performance will last approximately 2 minutes.

Preliminary

The DJ will randomly play three songs with different tempos, during which all participating couples will dance together. At the end of the Preliminary, 16 couples will advance to the Semi-Finals.

Semi-Finals

The 16 advancing couples will be randomly divided into four groups. The DJ will randomly select one song, and each group will perform together in an All Skate. Each performance will last approximately 1.5 minutes, after which 7 couples will advance to the Finals.

Finals

The Finals will be presented in a Spotlight format with live band accompaniment. The 7 finalist couples will perform over three rounds. In Rounds 1 and 2, each couple will perform 16 eights. Round 3 will be an All Skate, with all finalists dancing until the end of the song.

Preliminary

The DJ will randomly play three songs with different tempos, during which all participating couples will dance together. At the end of the Preliminary, 7 couples will advance to the Finals.

Finals

The Finals will be presented in a Spotlight format with live band accompaniment. The 7 finalist couples will perform over three rounds. In Rounds 1 and 2, each couple will perform 16 eights. Round 3 will be an All Skate, with all finalists dancing until the end of the song.

Preliminary

The DJ will randomly play three songs with different tempos. All participants will dance together in an All Skate, with partners rotating after each song. At the end of the Preliminary, 50 Leaders and 50 Followers will advance to the Semi-Finals. All advancing dancers will receive STB 20th Anniversary souvenirs.

Semi-Finals

There will be two rounds for Semi-Finals.

Round 1: The DJ will randomly play two songs with different tempos. Partners will rotate after each song, and all participants will dance together in an All Skate. At the end of the round, 20 Leaders and 20 Followers will advance to Round 2. All advancing dancers will receive souvenirs.

Round 2: The DJ will randomly play two songs with different tempos. Partners will again rotate after each song, with all participants dancing together in an All Skate. At the end of the round, 7 Leaders and 7 Followers will advance to the Finals. All advancing dancers will receive souvenirs.

Finals

The Finals will be presented in a Spotlight format with live band accompaniment. The 14 finalists will be randomly paired to form 7 couples, who will perform over three rounds. In Round 1, each couple will perform 16 eights. In Round 2, each couple will perform 8 eights. Round 3 will be an All Skate, with all finalists dancing until the end of the song.

Preliminary

Participants will be divided into heats according to the number of registrations. The DJ will randomly play three songs with different tempos, with partners rotating after each song. At the end of the Preliminary, 7 Leaders and 7 Followers will advance to the Finals.

Finals

The 14 finalists will randomly draw partners to form 7 couples. Each couple will perform one improvised showcase, with music randomly selected by the DJ on site. Each performance will last approximately 2 minutes.

2026 marks the 20th anniversary of Swingtime Ball. To celebrate this special milestone, we are introducing Cabaret Night — a new stage where dancers can explore beyond traditional competition formats. Cabaret is a space where dancers become creators, performers, and storytellers.

There are:

• No limit on the number of performers;
• No restrictions on performance format;
• No restrictions on music style;
• No restrictions on performance length.

Whether it is a carefully choreographed dance piece, a theatrical performance, or a unique stage concept created by you, we welcome you to bring your story to this stage.

We look forward to seeing works that may not fit into traditional competitions, but deserve to be seen. We hope to witness not only technique, but also personality, creativity, humor, emotion, and your own stage presence.

The showcase features a partner choreography performance in Lindy Hop and/or Roots Jazz styles. The choreography must be original and performed to swing music, with a maximum performance length of 2 minutes.

Participants will perform the original partner choreography from their STB Newcomer Showcase in Lindy Hop and/or Roots Jazz styles. The original choreography must be reproduced exactly as originally performed, without any modifications, and the performance must not exceed 2 minutes.