Schedule and Comp

To help you plan your trip, here’s a preliminary schedule. Last updated 30 July 2026.

Thursday

7:30pm Code 03 Swing’s regular class at The Village Presbyterian, 460 Papanui Road - free entry for all Shakedown attendees!

Friday

10am Tom's Social Club: on tour! Meet in Atawhai Cafe
4:30pm Mini private lessons with our advanced dancers
6:30pm Floor trials (ballroom closed)
7:25pm Doors open
7:45pm Open workshop - Zac and Maddy
9:30pm Routine division
11pm Pro demos
1am Finish

Saturday

10am Open workshop with Tara, Newcomer workshop with Shweta
11:15am Open workshop with Zac and Maddy, Advanced plus workshop with Bameo
12:15pm Lunch
12:45pm Open workshop with Conor, Intermediate plus workshop with Zac and Maddy
2pm J&J prelims
5pm Dinner break
6pm Waipiro and korero with Tara
7pm Finals
10pm Pro show
Awards, power hour, and social dancing until late

Sunday

11am Open workshop with Zac and Maddy, Intermediate plus workshop with Ben and Cameo
12:05pm Open workshop with Conor, Advanced plus workshop with Tara
1:05pm Lunch and IAC update
1:45pm Open workshops - solo movement with Cameo and Tara
3pm Open workshop with Ben and Cameo, Intermediate plus workshop with Tara
4pm Open workshop with Conor
5pm Finish and pack down
6pm After party


(This schedule is subject to change)

Tom’s Social Club

On Friday, our local extrovert Tom Swarbrick is running Tom’s Social Club: on tour! Around Christchurch. Keep 10am-1pm free, more details to come.

Waipiro and Korero with Tara Trafzer

Tara is hosting a Q&A session during dinner on Saturday 22 August. Bring your kai and some questions!

IAC update

Zoe Klomp, New Zealand’s representative on the International Advisory Council to the WSDC, will share an update and get feedback on changes that affect the New Zealand community

Competition

We offer a WSDC-pointed Jack and Jill competition on Saturday.

We don’t charge extra to compete in this division - it’s included in your pass.

You can see the rules here.

Teams

We invite teams to come to Shakedown as part of the show on Friday night - please let us know before Friday 7 August if your team wants to perform.

Routine division - Whetū Maiangi

We’re excited to announce a routine division on Friday night - and we’d love to see you out there!

The purpose of this category is to give you a chance to learn new skills, perform a choreographed piece for a community who's behind you every step of the way, and get a taste of what it’s like to compete in larger routine divisions like Rising Star.

Ready to sign up?

Entry is $20 per couple (not included in your Shakedown pass) and 100% of all entry fees go into a prize pool - meaning the more routine entries, the bigger the prize pool. Registrations close Sat 25 July 2026.

Sign up through DanceConvention - just add the routine competition to your entry.

Rules

While this division is mainly here to help you build new skills, we do have some rules to guide you in the right direction:

  • Whetū Maiangi is open to anyone at any level, and partnership combinations of any level.
  • You choose your own song, and may cut/edit it however you like. Please avoid songs with explicit language and heavy swearing.
  • You’re restricted to one lead and one follow in your partnership for the entirety of the song. You may switch roles throughout the performance.
  • A maximum of three lifts/aerials/’in the air’ moves are permitted.
  • Performances must be between 2 and 3 minutes, and are judged from the first movement after your song begins.
  • Performances must include at least 70% swing content - it’s not a hard and fast rule, but this is a west coast swing event!
  • You must join with your partner within 32 beats of the music starting, and breakaways must be less than a maximum of 8 beats.
  • Costumes are encouraged.
  • Props are not permitted, this includes clothing that’s used or discarded as part of the performance.
  • If there’s a technical issue or a costume malfunction, you’ll be allowed to restart at the discretion of the head judge - this restart may be immediately or after the other competitors, depending on the issue.
  • All routines will be entered and judged in one category - but if we have enough interest we may separate competitors into skill levels. We won’t have prelims regardless of numbers, so you’ll perform your routine once.
  • Floor trials will be held from 6:30pm - 7:25pm on Friday.

Questions?