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.
Soloists:
Solo competitors will showcase their unique choreography (maximum 3 minutes for music and the performance) on Thursday, September 25, 2025. Judges will score performances on a 100-point scale and average their overall assessments to determine final scores. The soloist 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 soloists must register for a minimum of 6 hours of Essence 13 workshops
Troupes:
Are you interested in competing as a troupe? We’d love to see your group perform! We require a minimum of six registered troupes to proceed with this category.
For troupe registration inquiries, email us at: info@atlantafusionbellydance.com
SCORING:
Showcase your entire range of dance skills! Judges will assess technique, musicality, costuming, stage presence, and more. All props are welcome—except fire props for safety reasons.
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
PEOPLES CHOICE:
The audience can vote for their favorite performer. The 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).
Competition questions? Email us at eobdcompetition@gmail.com
General questions? Email us at info@atlantafusionbellydance.com
REGISTER FOR THE COMPETITION USING THE BUTTONS ABOVE
