India Mela 2023

IAVA (India Association of VA) is proud to present the most awaited event– India Mela. Please mark your calendars for June 17th ,  from 11 am to 8:30 pm EST where the below dance competition categories will be featured:

• Happiness is... (5-8 years) (At least 4 participants): Showcase what makes you happy through a dance presentation to win a bumper prize
  
• Retro to Metro (9-12 years) (At least 4 participants): Journey of Bollywood dance from Black & White film songs to Color film songs to win a bumper prize
• Jugalbandi (13 and above) (At least 4 participants): Jugalbandi, “entwined twins” “tied together” Dance to the combination of two or more genres of music with its own dynamics and style to win a bumper prize
• Cinematic Drama (13 and above) (At least 4 participants): Drama that relates to or resembles a movie in a dance form which can include dialogues, scenes, etc. to win a bumper prize
• Colors/ Culture Art of India: (Open category , no age limit) (At least 4 participants): Showcase versatility of our motherland India from different regions of India. to win a bumper prize.
• Journey from school to college (College Competition ONLY) (At least 4 participants): Student journey from school to college “Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today” to win a bumper prize.

General Dance Entry (first come first serve basis) (No Age limit) (At least 4 participants)

Please note that the same email id cannot be used to submit multiple entries due to a system constraint. To submit multiple entries by the same Choreographer, please use different email ids for each entry.

General Rules and Guidelines for India Mela Cultural Competitions:

Our specific rules and Guidelines for competition entries are mentioned below:

Note: Competition will be judged on the basis of originality, choreography, Props, costume, synchronization, appropriate selection of songs.

RULES:

1) Last date for submission of entries with Standard fees is May 10th and with late fees is May 31st. IAVA reserves the right to change this date at any given point. Schedules will be communicated to the choreographers / coordinators 1-2 days before the event.

2) No Repeat Performances allowed for Competition categories. Decision of the Organizing committee will be final.

3) Judges decision will be final. The panel will make pass judgement on following evaluations:

1. Choreography
2. Synchronization
3. Appropriate selection of songs.
4. Expression
5. Props
6. Overall impression
7. Costume
8. Originality (Recent Non-Repeat performance)

4) Due to time constraints and maintain similar time lines for all entries, ALL the competition  performance entries are required to be maximum of 10 minutes plus 3 mins for set up and dismantling. Additional time will be counted towards negative points. Judges will be maintaining the clock.

5) General Entries should not exceed 5 minutes. 

6) Each Choreographer can participate in ONLY ONE Performance per Competition category.

7) Please Note: Cultural Program schedules will be final. We appreciate your understanding & patience in advance.

8) Entries are to be submitted via Registration link / form. No email submissions will be accepted. Registration forms are expected to be filled with complete details (including full name of the participant, age, if performing in any other performance). Photo copy of proof of age for each of the participants will be asked in case of inquiry or dispute.

9)  No confetti’s or loose materials are allowed on the stage.  In addition no electronic gadgets like drones, hover boards, cycles etc. are allowed on the stage. Please confirm with the cultural team in case of doubts in advance. It could cause harms to the participants while performing.  All choreographers / coordinators / Performers are required to clean up their props etc. after their performance is over.

10) Group leaders / Choreographers - please indicate on the registration form if any of your participants are part of other performances (include name of performances and full names of participants), in order to leave enough time for change of costumes.

11) Last date for submitting sound track is June 7^th. Please email your MP3 to cultural@iava.us. Sound tracks only in MP3 form will be accepted. Choreographers are expected to bring back up sound track in Pen drive (in MP3 format) only ( NO CDS accepted)

12) Please make sure to submit your entry form at your earliest convenience as it will be first come first serve basis. Also, please note that cancellations wont be allowed and no fees would be refunded.

13) While emailing your requests/ sound tracks, Category (if any) please include the competition Entry name, Group name, choreographer name followed by the request title in the subject line. (Eg.: Happiness is: 5 to 10 yrs. – XYZ Group – John Smith – MP3 submission). Sound tracks should be in Mp3 only. Choreographers are required to bring back ups in pen drive only (NO CDs. Etc.  Will be accepted.).

14) Choreographers along with all participants are required to report backstage, 30 mins before their scheduled performance time.

Feel free to reach out to the cultural team at cultural@iava.us for any questions you may have.