Buckeye Dance Festival

10/17/2026

CONGRATULATIONS, KANISHA DILLARD! 🎉

We are excited to announce that Kanisha is the lucky winner of TWO All-Access Passes to the Buckeye Dance Festival! 💃🕺

What makes this even better? Her excitement was absolutely contagious!

Kanisha and her husband are looking forward to turning this opportunity into an unforgettable couples weekend filled with dancing, connection, and a little adventure!

The winner was chosen completely by chance, but after seeing her enthusiasm, I can’t help but feel like the right person won! ❤️

I can’t wait to see Kanisha’s passion come to life on the dance floor, meet her husband, and welcome them both into our dance community!

A huge thank-you to NSA Ohio (National Speakers Association) for allowing us to be part of their Communication Mastery Conference. We’re proud to support organizations that believe in the power of communication, connection, and community.

Because sometimes all it takes is one opportunity to open the door to a whole new adventure!

Congratulations again, Kanisha! We’ll see you February 25–28, 2027, at the Buckeye Dance Festival in Columbus, Ohio! 🤠🎉

10/16/2026

🎉 OUR FIRST COMMUNITY TICKET GIVEAWAY! 🎉

Buckeye Dance Festival is proud to support NSA Ohio (National Speakers Association) at today’s annual Communication Mastery conference!

And we’re celebrating by giving away TWO ALL-ACCESS WEEKEND PASSES to Buckeye Dance Festival — a $310 value — absolutely FREE! 🎟️🎟️

One lucky attendee will walk away with an opportunity to experience something EPIC!

💃🕺 Why are we here?

Because Buckeye Dance Festival is about more than just dance competitions. We’re building a community that connects people across different dance styles, backgrounds, experiences, and skill levels.

And that means reaching BEYOND the dance community!

We’re intentionally partnering with and supporting organizations outside the dance world to introduce new people to the power of movement, communication, and connection.

After all, dance is communication without words!

We’re excited to support NSA Ohio, celebrate their community, and hopefully inspire a few new faces to step onto the dance floor!

Different communities. Shared connections. One EPIC experience.

📍 Buckeye Dance Festival | Columbus, Ohio

📅 February 25–28, 2027

10/16/2026

Workshop schedule

🎉 The Tentative Workshop Schedule Is Here! 🎉

One of our biggest goals with the Buckeye Dance Festival is education.

Not just a few classes.

Not just one style.

A true opportunity to explore, learn, and grow as a dancer.

While many events offer five or six workshops a day, we’ll be offering up to TEN workshops during our busiest days and more than 70 workshops throughout the weekend.

From country dance, West Coast Swing, ballroom, salsa, bachata, line dance, hip hop, movement, wellness, and more, we’re creating an experience that exposes dancers to new ideas, new instructors, and new opportunities to grow.

We believe dance is better when communities come together.

We believe learning from different styles makes all of us better dancers.

And we believe Ohio deserves an event that celebrates the full spectrum of dance education.

This year’s workshop schedule is just the beginning.

As the Buckeye Dance Festival continues to grow, we’ll continue expanding the styles, instructors, and educational opportunities available to create one of the most diverse dance experiences anywhere.

🎟️ Event passes go on sale Monday.

And we’re not done yet.

We still have some exciting entertainment announcements coming soon that we can’t wait to share.

Thank you to everyone who has supported this vision so far.

We’re excited to celebrate dance, connection, and community with you February 25–28, 2027 in Columbus, Ohio.

See you on the dance floor!

10/16/2026

Competition Schedule

Buckeye Dance Festival, Country Competition Schedule.

Thursday Welcome. Registration Opens.

Friday Daytime:
Intermediate Classic Divisions
Pro-Am
Pro-Am Showcase
Pro-Am & Pro-Pro Spotlight
Awards for this session

Advanced Classic Divisions
Pro-Am
Pro-Pro
All Stars
Awards for this session

Friday Evening: Championship Evening Session
Crown/Crown + Division
Crown Showcase
Mixed Role Masters
Classic Couples Open Division I
Superstar Line Dance
Open Showcase
Special Performances
Awards for this session

Saturday Daytime:
NEWCOMER Classic Division
Pro-Am Newcomer Divisions
Awards for this session

Novice Classic Division
Pro-Am Novice Divisions
Awards for this session

Saturday Evening: Dinner and a Show +
Classic Masters
Classic Masters+
CTST Championships
IEH Dance Circuit Championships
Special Performances
Awards Presentations

Sunday Daytime
UCWDC Line All Division
UCWDC Teams
UCWDC Couples (except Masters, Crown Dev 1 Open Showcase Open)
Awards for this session

10/02/2026

New tentative schedule posted!
https://ucwdc.org/events/world-championships/schedules/

Final early bird pricing ends 10/31!
https://ucwdc.org/events/world-championships/registration/

09/27/2026

SOCIAL DANCING vs. COMPETITIVE DANCING

Why does it have to be versus?

This is social dancing… right in the middle of a competitive dance weekend at the Smoky Mountain Invitational.

We are HUGE fans of competition. Pressure and time create diamonds. ❤️

Competition gives us a reason to train. A deadline. A structure. Something to prepare for. It pushes us to commit, improve and put ourselves into situations we might never choose without that moment on the competition floor.

But then there’s social dancing.

No choreography. No judges. No score sheets.

Just two people communicating.

And that creates an entirely different skill.

You can learn the structure, technique and timing of a dance—but on a social floor, you’re suddenly dancing with someone who may have learned it differently. Different teacher. Different background. Different style. Different way of communicating.

So how do we bridge that gap?

We dance with each other.

That is one of the things we absolutely LOVE about the Smoky Mountain Invitational.

They’ve created an environment where competition, entertainment and social dancing can coexist—and where the experience and the community matter just as much as what happens on the competition floor.

And THAT is incredibly inspiring to us as we build Buckeye Dance Festival.

We are proud to be here experiencing it, watching it, participating in it and learning from event organizers who understand how important the entire customer experience is.

At Buckeye, we want to continue blurring those lines.

Competitive dancers social dancing.
Social dancers discovering competition.
Beginners dancing alongside seasoned competitors and professionals.
Different styles sharing the same floors.
Different communities actually getting to know one another.

Because none of these worlds have to compete for the customer.

They can grow the customer together.

Thank you, Smoky Mountain Invitational, for continuing to inspire us and giving us an incredible example to learn from.

The more opportunities we create to dance WITH each other, the stronger the entire dance community becomes. ❤️

09/23/2026

YOUR EPIC EXPERIENCE IS OUR MISSION.

At Buckeye Dance Festival, the customer experience isn’t one piece of the event. It drives everything we are building.

We are creating a bridge.

A bridge between different dance styles.
A bridge between social dancers and competitors.
A bridge between beginners and experienced dancers.
And most importantly, a bridge that meets people exactly where they are and gives them somewhere to grow.

Whether you’re stepping onto a dance floor for the first time, exploring a new style, developing your skills, looking for more opportunities to practice, connecting with a new community, or challenging yourself through competition, there is a place for you at Buckeye.

That is what EPIC means to us:

🎓 Education — Learn something new.
👣 Practice — Put what you learn into action.
🤝 Interaction — Connect with people and community.
🏆 Competition — Challenge yourself and celebrate growth.

Education and practice aren’t just things we offer beginners. They are intentional parts of the entire customer journey.

Learn it. Practice it. Connect through it. Challenge yourself with it.

Our goal is bigger than one weekend.

We want to help grow dancers, strengthen communities, introduce people to new styles, and create more opportunities for people to experience the joy of dance throughout Ohio and beyond.

Different styles. Different levels. Different goals.

One community. One EPIC experience.

📍 Columbus Airport Marriott
📅 February 25–28, 2027

Buckeye Dance Festival
Come as you are. Discover where dance can take you.

09/22/2026

🎉 PLEASE WELCOME HANNAH LEWIS TO THE BUCKEYE DANCE FESTIVAL TEAM! 🎉

Buckeye Dance Festival is incredibly excited and proud to have Hannah Lewis joining our staff as our Volunteer Coordinator!

Hannah has deep roots in the Columbus community and dance community, with experience organizing and executing events where keeping people, schedules, and all the moving pieces working together is essential.

She has worked with the Byron Saunders Foundation as a stage manager, bringing her ability to organize, communicate, and keep everything moving.

But what really makes Hannah perfect for this role is HER ENERGY. ❤️

She is cheerful, positive, upbeat, supportive, and genuinely cares about the people around her.

That fits perfectly with what we want the Buckeye Dance Festival experience to be about.

Whether someone is attending their very first dance event or has been competing and dancing for years, we want them to feel welcomed, supported, encouraged, and excited to be there.

Our volunteers will play a HUGE role in creating that experience.

We’re looking for enthusiastic, supportive, encouraging people who want to help us create an amazing weekend and introduce attendees to the many dance communities and styles coming together at Buckeye Dance Festival.

🙋 INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING?

Comment below and make sure you join the Buckeye Dance Festival private Facebook group. We’ll be sharing volunteer announcements there, including information on how to connect directly with Hannah about getting involved.

Welcome to the team, Hannah! We’re excited to have you helping us build an incredible volunteer team and an even better experience for everyone walking through our doors! 💃🕺❤️

09/22/2026

COMPETITOR REGISTRATION IS LIVE!

It’s official! Competitor registration for the Country Dance Competition at the Buckeye Dance Festival is NOW OPEN! 🏆💃🕺

As we head into our inaugural year, we have been absolutely blown away by the enthusiasm, encouragement, and support coming from the country dance community. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who is helping us bring this vision to life.

Now it’s time to get registered and get ready to DANCE! 🤠🔥 (link in comments)

This is only the beginning. We’ll be releasing more details about our incredible staff, competition experience, workshops, socials, and everything else we have planned.

Be on the lookout. There is A LOT more fun coming!

Have questions, comments, or concerns? Reach out! We want to make your experience at our inaugural Buckeye Dance Festival an incredible one.

🏆 Competitor Registration is LIVE!
📅 February 25–28, 2027
📍 Columbus, Ohio

Come be part of YEAR ONE.

Let’s make some Buckeye history! 🌰🔥