The 2027 tour
THE DIRT is the hardest surface you will ever perform on. Once you can hold up in THE DIRT, an audition floor, a stage, or a studio you have never rehearsed in stops feeling so nerve-racking.
WHY THE DIRT WORKSIdentical jumpsuits, no mirrors, and agents scouting on site. You get noticed for how you move and nothing else.
WHY THE UNIFORM WORKSGo back to your training with a new found love for dance from what you experience at OXYGEN.
CLAIM YOUR SPOT- ›Independent dancers come in at $100 under standard price.
- ›First-time and alumni pricing, no studio required.
- ›Real industry opportunities from talent agents and working choreographers.
- ›Enter one number into our competition THE FORGE for free (after the offer closes, entry is $125 per dancer).
- ›Studio-only cash scholarships.
- ›Real industry opportunities from talent agents and working choreographers.
- ›Owner benefits, group placement & travel logistics handled one-on-one.
Explore OXYGEN
The floor is the first thing that makes you better
Every OXYGEN class takes place in a custom-built sand arena with no mirrors. Sand asks more of your stabilizer muscles than a studio floor, so it builds strength that transfers directly to every other surface you dance on.
Training on sand also lowers the chance of injury compared to a hotel ballroom floor, and it forces you to perform at your best in an environment you have never rehearsed in.
Information for all groups
PARENTS
You are paying for training either way. The question is whether a dance convention weekend will change anything in your dancer. OXYGEN puts your dancer in an environment that makes all other environments easier, in front of choreographers who hire, and gives them the opportunity to win cash prices to continue their training wherever they please. Four observer bands come with every registration, so you see their transformation live.
SEE WHAT'S INCLUDED
DANCERS
No mirror to check yourself in. No outfit to hide behind. You audition for THE TANK, you battle for cash, and you find out how far you can take your artistry when the room is stripped down to talent.
READ THE STANDARD
STUDIO OWNERS
Bring one dance to THE FORGE and compete on sand instead of a stage. Studios enter free during the early-bird window. Owner benefits, group placement and travel logistics are covered on a call with one of our talent agents.
SEND AN EMAIL
Forged in THE DIRT
Our studio competition, rebuilt for OXYGEN. Studios select one top number from their season to enter into THE DIRT. Productions, small groups and large groups all go head-to-head in one open field for the same prize, tested on sand instead of a stage. The winning studio proves that they were forged in THE DIRT and take home THE ANVIL.
AN OXYGEN EXPERIENCE FOR YOUNGER DANCERS
OXYGEN prides itself on sharing the same amount of knowledge with all age groups. There is a certain age, though, where younger dancers are not able to keep up in regular OXYGEN classes. That is why we are introducing THE SANDBOX.
Three classes across the OXYGEN weekend, dedicated to younger dancers.
THE INTERVIEWS
IN THEIR WORDS
“It's just about the talent and work. Seriously the best way to spend a convention.”
Questions
WHAT IS THE TANK?
THE TANK is a head-to-head freestyle battle, and it's where OXYGEN closes the gap between the studio world and the street world. Working professionals end up in the same bracket as competition dancers. Every attendee auditions for THE TANK and sixteen make it in. From there, dancers battle head-to-head for cash prizes until one dancer is named THE CHAMPION. THE TANK exists because choreography isn't the only measure of a dancer — a dancer stronger in freestyle than in choreography finally has somewhere to be seen, and a dancer who's only ever been handed counts gets pushed somewhere uncomfortable, which is where real growth happens. A dancer can win one belt per OXYGEN season; after that they showcase before THE TANK at a later event that season instead of battling again, and the belt opens back up the following season.
IS THE FACULTY THE SAME AT EVERY OXYGEN THE CONVENTION CITY?
No. OXYGEN THE CONVENTION hires different faculty for every city. A dancer who attends two OXYGEN THE CONVENTION events never gets the same experience twice — each new city puts that dancer in the room with working choreographers they haven't trained under before, so every event adds new industry professionals to their network rather than repeating connections they already have.
WHAT STYLES OF DANCE ARE TAUGHT AT OXYGEN THE CONVENTION?
OXYGEN THE CONVENTION isn't built around one style. THE FACULTY comes from different corners of the industry, so a dancer trains across several disciplines over the weekend. A dancer who lives in hip hop will spend part of the weekend somewhere unfamiliar, and that's deliberate.
DO I NEED TO ALREADY BE A PROFESSIONAL DANCER TO ATTEND?
No. Dancers arrive at OXYGEN THE CONVENTION from competition studios and from careers already in progress. What the weekend asks for is a dancer willing to be uncomfortable in front of a full room for two days.
HOW OLD DOES A DANCER HAVE TO BE TO ATTEND?
The minimum age for OXYGEN THE CONVENTION is 12. Dancers 12 and under qualify for THE SANDBOX, the track built for younger dancers who aren't yet ready for a full room in THE DIRT.
IS TRAINING IN SAND SAFE FOR A GROWING DANCER'S BODY?
Sand absorbs impact that a hard floor sends back up through a dancer's joints — a weekend of jumping in THE DIRT lands softer than a weekend of jumping on marley. Sand also refuses to let a dancer cheat their balance, so the small stabilizing muscles around the ankle and hip do work a smooth floor lets them skip. Dancers leave THE DIRT sore in places they didn't expect, and that soreness is the training working.
