ARUCAD High School Video Dance Competition

Application Deadline: May 5, 2026

What matters in this competition:
Not perfection, but thinking with space, being creative, and making the dance truly belong to that environment.

The ARUCAD International High School Students VideoDance Competition, organized by ARUCAD University of Creative Arts and Design, aims to encourage high school students to explore the relationship between dance, movement, and space, to express their creativity in a digital medium, and to create an international platform for artistic exchange.

Additionally, the competition aims to help students establish a connection with ARUCAD’s Contemporary Dance Department and evaluate opportunities for scholarship-based higher education within the department.

  • Music selection is free.
  • However, vocal (lyrical) music is not allowed.
  • Only instrumental, electronic, experimental, or ambient sounds may be used.
  • The participant is responsible for any copyright issues.
  • Participants may receive technical support during filming and editing (camera handling, lighting, editing, etc.).
  • However, all footage must be recorded using a mobile phone.
  • The use of professional cameras, video cameras, drones, or similar equipment is strictly prohibited.
  • The artistic concept, choreography, and performance must belong entirely to the participant.
  • The video must be filmed within a single location (site). Transitions within the same building must be continuous and should not disrupt the spatial integrity.
  • Filming in stage settings such as dance studios, rehearsal rooms, or theater stages is not allowed.

The choreography must be site-specific, meaning:

  • The dance should be designed considering the architecture, details, spaces, stairs, walls, columns, transitions, or atmosphere of the location.
  • The choreography should not be generic or transferable; it must feel unique to that specific space. Using the location merely as a background is not sufficient.

Accepted location examples:

  • Outdoor areas
  • Nature (parks, beaches, forests, etc.)
  • Public spaces
  • Architecturally significant buildings (indoor or outdoor)
  • Public environments such as hospitals, restaurants, markets, bazaars, bookstores, shopping malls

Note: Safety and legal permissions related to the location are the participant’s responsibility.

  • The performance must be solo.
  • Participants may perform in any dance style and may combine styles.
  • No additional dancers or intentionally included individuals may appear in the video.

However, due to the natural flow of the chosen location:

  • People may appear incidentally in the background (e.g., passing by, seen through windows or corridors).

These individuals must:

  • Not be part of the performance
  • Not interact with the dancer
  • Not be intentionally included in the frame
  • Not be presented as part of the choreography
  • Their presence must be entirely incidental, and the focus must remain solely on the dancer.
  • Otherwise, the video may be disqualified for violating the solo performance rule.
  • Müzik kullanımı serbesttir.
  • Ancak sözlü (vokalli) müzik kullanımı yasaktır.
  • Sadece enstrümantal, elektronik, deneysel ya da çevresel sesler kullanılabilir.
  • Kullanılan müziğin telif hakları katılımcının sorumluluğundadır.
  • The video must be edited and include at the beginning and end: participant name/pseudonym, title of the work, and year of production.
  • Duration: Minimum 3 minutes – Maximum 4 minutes
  • Format: MP4 (preferred)
  • Resolution: Minimum 1080p
  • Camera can be static or moving
  • Image and sound quality must clearly reflect the relationship between dance and space

There are three award categories:

1) Best Space–Choreography Relationship

1st Prize: $250
2nd Prize: $200
3rd Prize: $150

2) Most Original Use of Space

1st Prize: $250
2nd Prize: $200
3rd Prize: $150

3) Best Dance Performance

1st Prize: $250
2nd Prize: $200
3rd Prize: $150

A 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner will be selected in each category. In addition to the monetary prize, the winners will be granted the right to enroll in the ARUCAD Contemporary Dance Department with a 100% scholarship.

Evaluation Criteria:

  • Creativity and originality
    • The selected space should be unexpected, surprising, and unique
    • Movement vocabulary should be original and not limited to standard training exercises
  • Performance quality (focus, energy, alignment, coordination)
  • Choreographic relationship with space
  • Awareness of music–movement relationship
  • Video–dance integrity and artistic expression
  • Participants confirm that submitted videos belong to them.
  • ARUCAD has the right to use submitted videos for promotional, exhibition, and academic purposes.
  • Participants cannot claim additional compensation for such use.
  • Jury decisions are final.
  • ARUCAD reserves the right to make changes to the guidelines if necessary.
  • All participants are deemed to have accepted these terms upon submission.
  • Prof. Dr. Kerem KARABOĞA (Dean, Faculty of Music and Performing Arts)
  • Prof. Aydın TEKER
  • Asst. Prof. Dr. Handan ERGİYDİREN (Head of Contemporary Dance Department)
  • Lecturer Yıldız GÜVENTÜRK
  • Lecturer Bekir ŞİMŞEK
Apply Now