Competitions

A composition competition will be organized in connection with NORDLEK 16-21 July 2024 in Arendal, Norway.

Competition rules

• ‍Maximum of one melody per participant
• Melody with chords
• Possible tempo information
• Max. two voices and max. two pages
• The melody will be used as an common tune during NORDLEK 2024
• You can also send an audio file if you want
• The song may not have previously been played publicly or been published

Themes

This year's theme is WALTZ. All entries must be in waltz pace.

Submission of competition entries

Both the score and any audio file must be sent by email to folkmusikkutskottet.nordlek@gmail.com. In the subject field, write "Nordlekmelodi 2024"

‍You must send two (2) copies of the notes in PDF format:

• Completely anonymous note with no name of song or composer
• With both song name and your contact details

The deadline for submission is December 31, 2023.

Copyright

The copyright to the melody remains with the composer.

You must state whether the composition has been registered with Koda (Denmark), Teosto (Finland), STEF (Iceland), TONO (Norway) and/or STIM (Sweden).

The Nordlek Association reserves the right to use and publish the three winning songs in the context of Nordlek by distributing copies at the voting station and posting the scores on its website.

Judges

The Folk Music Committee in Forbundet Nordlek are judges. See the contact list below.

Prizes

First, second and third place in Tevlinga get a free pass to NORDLEK 2024 and school accommodation.

The winners will be announced in April 2024.

Questions? Get in touch!

Helen Eriksson, Sverige
‍musiclovers.sh@outlook.com
‍+46 70 541 78 72

Linnea Holmberg, Finland
‍linnea1975.lh@gmail.com
‍+358 40 558 2075
‍
Arne Møller, Danmark
‍arne@miller2.dk
‍+45 20 33 27 38
‍
Nina Byttingsmyr, Noreg
‍nina.byttingsmyr@outlook.com
‍+47 47 37 29 07

NORDLEK 2024 in Arendal is organizing the Nordic championship in dance music.

The main goal of the competition is to get good dance experiences as a result of good dance music and good experiences for the musicians as a result of the good contact with a dancing audience.

Sam Eydes plass, in the middle of Arendal city center, is set aside for the competition during the festival.

Here, groups of musicians can play good dance music to a listening and dancing audience. We hope that as many people as possible will want to contribute to good Nordic music these evenings in the center of Arendal, and see the competition as a gateway to a festival filled with dance and music.

Three judges will judge each evening, and the participants are assessed according to a judging form.

There are qualifying rounds on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Three groups/bands advance to the final on Saturday evening.

Rules:

• Each group/orchestra must have a minimum of 3 musicians
• Each group plays up to 50 minutes for dancing during the qualifying round
  In the event of a large number of registrations, it may be possible to reduce the playing time slightly and select via submission of a listening example
• The groups should have a broad repertoire

Criterion for judging:

• Beat/Rhythm
• Dance appeal
• How well the musicians play together, and cleanliness in the music
• The joy of music and communication
• Tune selection and arrangement
• Structure of the dance session

Registration takes place via the registration form of NORDLEK2024.

The deadline for registration is May 1, 2024.

The winners receive a gift card from a course instructor to use for the association/group in 2024 or 2025.

Participants in the competition may choose to buy musician's pass in the registration form, which is half the price of the regular festival pass.

Framsyningskappleiken is a competition for dance groups. They compete to create the best folk dance performance. Prizes are awarded by both a panel of judges and a public jury.

Competition rules

• At least 4 participants (dancers + musicians)
• Max 12 minutes
• The program should tell something about the organisation or the local community the group comes from
• Must include at least two different dance forms (e.g. couple dance + ring dance, line dance + song dance, etc.)
• The dances and music must belong to the Nordic tradition
• Other content than just dance and music is allowed, either as a framework or as a feature

The judges emphasize

• content
• the dance skills of the performers
• natural dance joy in the performance
• whether the show has a clear goal
• how the group uses the stage

Prizes

• the top three teams are ranked
• The judges may award prizes for programs that contain presentations that are out of the ordinary, e.g. best children's entry, best song entry, most creative music entry, etc.
• the judges give a collective written judge's assessment of the competition, with a short comment for each group
• A randomly selected public jury is chosen to vote for their favorite, and the entry that receives the most votes wins the audience award.

Go'kar-tevling (go'kar is dialect for good/clever/smart guy) is an informal but prestigious competition for guys and girls of all ages. There will be several smaller competitions, including hat kicking, calfskin stretching and slinkompass. More specific information about the competition will follow shortly.