When registering, you will be asked to specify your dance role as either Lead or Follow (regardless of gender). The organizers maintain a careful balance between the number of leads and follows at each level for the best workshop and social dancing experience. You should register for the role you plan to dance most of the time during the congress. It’s important to note that you cannot switch roles freely after registering – passes are tied to a specific role and level. In fact, if you sell/transfer your pass to someone else, it must be to the same role and level (no changing from lead to follow).
The congress does welcome experienced dancers who are proficient in both roles (including female leaders, etc.), but for logistics each person is counted in one role to keep numbers even. In higher-level workshops, sometimes instructors might invite participants to try both roles or there may be specific workshops where dancing both roles is required, but your registration will still list a primary role. Overall, choose the role you’re most comfortable with. If you do need to change your role after signup, you would have to contact the organizers in advance for permission, but generally this is discouraged unless there’s someone to swap with. Keeping a good lead/follow balance is a high priority for the organizers to ensure everyone gets to dance without long waits.
