How the International Dance League Works: The Complete Guide to the IDL 2026 Season

The International Dance League is the world's first global professional dance league, where the top pro teams compete across five international events for the IDL World Championship title. Here's everything you need to know about how it works.

‍

The IDL is not a showcase, a talent competition, or a televised series. It is a professional sports league built from the ground up on the culture, creativity, and competitive fire that has always existed inside the global dance community. The same six pro teams compete year after year, building rivalries, earning points, and chasing a championship title.

Below, we break down exactly how the International Dance League works, from the format and scoring to the full 2026 Season schedule.

What Is the IDL?

The International Dance League is the first professional league where elite dance teams compete in a structured, season-long format with real standings, real stakes, and a world championship on the line. Six pro teams. Five global Series. One champion.

IDL teams are professional organizations, not crews or collectives. They are built to compete, built to win, and built to represent something larger than any one dancer or performance.

The Style: Open-Style Choreography

IDL teams are rooted in open-style choreography, meaning teams can draw from any dance form and blend styles to create their most competitive work. There are no genre restrictions, just the best teams bringing their best sets to the biggest stage in the world.

The 2026 IDL Season Schedule

Each season, six professional teams compete across five global Series events, with every stop building toward the IDL Championship. The 2026 Season takes place across four continents:

• May 2 — New York City Series
• May 23 — Vancouver Series
• June 20 — Sydney Series
• August 1 — Seoul Series
• Sept 19 — Los Angeles Series
• Sept 20 — Los Angeles (IDL Championship)

Points earned at every event carry through the full season, so consistency across all five Series matters as much as winning on any single night.

How Each IDL Event Works: The Two-Round Format

Every International Dance League event follows the same two-round competitive structure.

Round One is a head-to-head format. Each of the six teams faces off against one other team in a direct matchup. The three winning teams advance to Round Two.

Round Two is where placements are decided. The three advancing teams perform brand new routines and are judged again, solely on that new set. Their Round Two scores are averaged to determine 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for the event.

How IDL Teams Are Judged

Performances in both rounds are evaluated by the same panel of six judges, plus one fan vote. The same scoresheet and competitive parameters apply across every round at every IDL event.

The fan vote carries one point and has the potential to break a tie, giving fans a direct stake in the outcome of every matchup.

How IDL Scoring and Points Work

Understanding the IDL points system is key to following the season standings.

In Round One, there are 7 available points in each matchup: 6 from the judges and 1 from the fan vote. The team that earns more points wins the matchup and advances to Round Two.

In Round Two, teams earn placement points based on where they finish: 7 points for 1st place, 5 for 2nd, and 3 for 3rd. Those placement points are added to each team's Round One total to determine their final point total for that Series.

Teams that do not advance past Round One keep only their Round One points for that event.

How the IDL Championship Works

Points from all five Series events accumulate in the season standings. At the end of the regular season, those totals determine the Round One matchups at the IDL Championship in Los Angeles:

• 1 seed vs. 6 seed
• 2 seed vs. 5 seed
• 3 seed vs. 4 seed

The three winners advance to the Final Round, where one historic set determines the IDL World Champion.

Follow the 2026 IDL Season

For season updates, exclusive merch, and tickets to upcoming events, visit idl.pro and join the IDL email list. Follow us on socials for team content, event recaps, and more explainers on how the International Dance League works.

Dance Is Our Sport.

‍