Partnerless Entries
- This feature is experimental and in the "Coming Attractions" phase.
- While tested, it may have unforeseen interactions with billing, reporting, or other features.
- Please report any issues you encounter.
Overview
The Partnerless Entries feature allows students to compete without a partner. This is useful for:
- Line Dance competitions where all students perform together on the floor
- Master Class sessions where individuals sign up for group instruction with a master coach
- Jack & Jill competitions or similar events with multiple simultaneous participants
- Solo student competitions where dancers perform alone
- Events where a student’s partner is unavailable
How It Works
When enabled, students can select “Nobody” as their partner when creating entries. The student dances alone on the floor, but still requires an instructor (unless they are dancing with a professional).
Behind the Scenes
The system uses a special “Nobody” person (ID 0) to represent the missing partner. This allows all existing heat scheduling, scoring, and reporting logic to continue working without modification.
Enabling Partnerless Entries
- Navigate to Settings → Advanced
- Check the box: “Allow students to dance without a partner (select Nobody as partner)”
- Click Save
When you enable this feature for the first time, the system automatically creates: - A “Nobody” person with ID 0 - An “Event Staff” studio to house this special person
Creating a Partnerless Entry
Once enabled, when creating entries for a student:
- Go to Entries → New and select a student
- In the partner dropdown, “Nobody” will appear as the first option
- “Nobody” is automatically selected for your convenience
- Select an instructor (required for student entries)
- Choose your dances and categories as normal
Heat Scheduling
When you run Redo (re-schedule heats), the system automatically consolidates partnerless entries:
- Multiple partnerless entries for the same dance and category are scheduled together
- All participants dance at the same heat number (everyone on the floor simultaneously)
- Each entry remains separate (not converted to formations)
- The system ignores the “Nobody” placeholder when checking for participant conflicts
- This allows all students with different levels and ages to be scheduled together
Categories That Benefit From This Feature
- Line Dance Competition - All dancers perform the same choreography together
- Master Class - Group instruction session with a master coach
- Jack & Jill - Partners randomly assigned, but multiple couples on floor
- Any event where multiple individuals participate simultaneously
Example
If you have 20 students entered for “Line Dance Competition” with Nobody as partner: - Before Redo: 20 separate heats (213-232), each dancing alone - After Redo: All 20 entries assigned to the same heat number (e.g., Heat 213), dancing together
Each student maintains their own Entry record with their instructor, level, and age, but they all perform at the same time.
Display
Throughout the application, partnerless entries are displayed with a (Solo) suffix:
- Heat lists: “Jane Doe (Solo)” instead of “Jane Doe & Nobody”
- Agendas: Same clean display format
- Scoring sheets: Clearly indicates solo performance
Important Notes
Only for Students
The “Nobody” partner option only appears for Students. Professionals cannot create partnerless entries.
Instructor Required
Partnerless entries must have an instructor, following the standard rule that entries require exactly one professional.
Distinct from Solos
This feature is different from Solo performances (Routines):
- Partnerless Entry: A competitive dance without a partner, each judged separately
- Solo/Routine: A choreographed performance, possibly with formations
Billing and Invoicing
The standard billing logic applies: - Charges go to the student’s studio - Heat costs are calculated normally - Invoice generation includes partnerless entries
⚠️ Note: While the billing logic has been tested, we recommend monitoring invoices when first using this feature to ensure correct calculations for your event’s pricing structure.
Feedback Welcome
This feature is in experimental status to gather real-world usage data. If you use it, please share:
- Any issues with billing, invoicing, or reporting
- Display problems in any views
- Suggestions for improvements
- Success stories!
Your feedback helps us move features from experimental to production-ready.