Balance the Bay 2016 Registration
August 19-21, 2016, San Francisco, CA
Registration is open.
We are sorry that online registration is still not working.
To register, download a copy of the
paper registration and mail it in.
Registration is $125 for adults and $55 for youth (ages 12-25). Work-trade discounts are available.
Last year we decided not to gender balance admissions for the weekend.
The experiment was a success. We're not gender balancing this year, either. We are still collecting gender and preferred dance role information, but it will not be used in the lottery. We're counting on you, the dancers, to make this a success. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
You may still register as couples or a group; to do so means that either all or none of you will be admitted together.
Registration FAQ
-
What's this about a lottery?
- In some past years we admitted people in first-come, first-served
order. A few years ago we got a mad rush of registrations on the
first open day of registration. We're glad BtB is so popular,
but some people who registered less than a week later found
themselves on the waiting list. Our current system is
a lottery to make the process more equitable. With a lottery,
everyone whose registration is received by the
deadline (May 1, 2016) will have an equal chance of getting
in.
-
When will I hear about the lottery results?
- We will wait about 10 business days after the lottery deadline
in order for registrations or checks postmarked on the deadline date
to have time to arrive. You should hear by the middle of May.
We will try to E-mail everyone on the same day, but with such
a large number of applicants, it is possible that some people
will be notified later than others.
-
What if I register in time for the lottery but I don't get in?
- You will be placed on the waiting list in the order your name
was drawn in the lottery. As space becomes available through
cancellations and the like, the next person on the waiting list
will be admitted. There is always turnover in registration and
many folks who may be on the waiting list initially will get in.
-
What if you get my registration after the lottery deadline?
- You'll be added to the waiting list in the order your
registration is received.
-
What happens if I register as a couple or a group with other
people?
- If you note on your form that you are "registering with" one or
more other people, we treat you and those other people as a group
that wants to be admitted together, or not at all. If your group
is on the waiting list, when you get to the top of the list you
will be admitted only when we have room for all of you. Please
note that there is no admittance advantage to registering as part
of a couple or group.
-
Can I improve my chances of getting in by volunteering
to help?
- Sometimes. Committee members and volunteers who take on key jobs
get admitted automatically, of course. But it needs to be a
key job; just being a generic volunteer will not be enough to
get you off the waiting list. And you have to do
the job, or we will not extend the privilege to you again.
Contact the committee
if you want to talk about what key jobs are still available.
-
Why do you ask about dance roles and gender if you don't
use them in the lottery process?
- We find it to be helpful information, especially since we have
gender-balanced in the past and are interested in knowing how this
year's registration will turn out.
-
What is this "Larks" and "Ravens" thing? Will there be gender-neutral
calling this year?
- "Larks" and "Ravens" are the gender-neutral terms that have been adopted
in the Bay Area dance community to refer to dance roles.
"Larks" are on the Left (the traditional
Gents' role), and "Ravens" are on the Right
(the traditional Ladies' role). We put them on the registration form because
we like them better than "lead" and "follow" (which have misleading connotations).
We are not yet at the point where we are going to tell our callers what to do.
They may still call with the traditional terminology, or they may call using
"Larks" and "Ravens."
-
How do I cancel my registration?
- Visit our Cancellation Information Page to see our cancellation policy and/or submit a cancellation request. We really hope you don't have to do this.