FAQ
GENERAL INFORMATION
The SDF Weekender takes place from 6-8 February 2026 at Paradiso in Amsterdam, NL.
Summer Dance Forever takes place from 25-31 August at various locations in Amsterdam.
Every year in February, we organize Summer Dance Forever Weekender, the more intimate edition of Summer Dance Forever. The program consists of different event parts: Battles, theater, workshops, and club nights. This year's program can be found here.
The minimum age to participate in the battles is 15. For the workshops, we recommend an age of 12. All club nights are 18+. Kids up to 8 years old have free entrance to the battles and preselections.
You can buy our merch directly at the event inside the main venue at Paradiso, or visit our online shop here: webshop.paradiso.nl/co...
Absolutely. If you are interested, please send an e-mail to volunteers@summerdanceforever.com with a CV and let us know what makes you the person we are looking for. Also keep an eye on our socials, website, or newsletter for volunteer openings.
Yes, we are selling food on Saturday and Sunday in the Paradiso basement, with vegetarian and vegan options available. Next to this, there are many good food option in the Leidseplein neighborhood.
Yes, all the locations have barrier-free access. For more information please check the information provided on the websites of the venues.
At Summer Dance Forever, we come together to celebrate dance, creativity, and community. By attending or participating in the festival we ask everyone to uphold our house rules and help us create a safer festival where everyone can dance and connect.
Read our SDF House Rules here.
MYSDF ACCOUNT
1. Go to the sign-up page
2. Enter your personal information or select to continue with your Facebook or Google Account
3. If you decide to create an account with your E-mail, you will receive an E-Mail from us. Verify your account through clicking the link attached. If you use Facebook or Google you do not need to verify your account through E-Mail
4. Now you are ready to purchase your tickets!
5. You will not receive your actual ticket right away, but you can download it through your account 5 days prior to the event.
Yes, to securely process your order, you must have a MySDF account. This way we can link your tickets to your profile and help you quickly with problems or questions about your order.
You are able to purchase tickets for Summer Dance Forever without having to put in your personal information with every purchase. It also is an easy way to find all your tickets and furthermore, to forward tickets to your friends and family. Or getting refunds.
Log-In or Sign-up through the “MY SDF ACCOUNT” button in the menu on our website. Once logged in, click on “My Tickets” and you are able to see all your purchased tickets.
TICKETS & PACKAGES
You can exchange your printed or digital Package ticket for a wristband at the Paradiso box office (Weteringschans 6-8) from the moment the doors open. You can find all specific times on the event page. The wristband will grant you entrance to the whole festival besides the workshops.
Can't find your ticket? Your ticket(s) will be downloadable in your MySDF account. Login to your account on our website and click on “My Orders” to find an easy overview of all your purchased tickets.
During the SDF Weekender 2026, we will only sell tickets at the door when a program is not sold out. For sold out shows we do not sell extra tickets at the door!
If a program is sold out, you can now safely purchase any available second-hand tickets via Ticketswap. Read more here on the Paradiso website, our partner that takes care of our ticketing.
We accept the following payment methods:
Apple pay
BankContact
GooglePay
Wero (former IDeal)
Maestro
MasterCard
PayConic
PayPal
Visa
VisaDebit
Yes you can, the tickets are not personalized. You can buy up to 8 tickets per purchase, except for festival packages which are limited to 1 per person.
If you want us to email your friend(s) directly in case of any important program changes, you can assign the ticket to your friend(s) in your SDF-account. Select the ticket(s) you want to send to a friend and click on “Assign tickets”. Complete the steps after which your friend will receive an email to claim the ticket(s). They can log into their own SDF account (or create a new one) and then claim the ticket(s).
You can also send your friend(s) the tickets via email, but then you will be the only one receiving program update emails from us.
Please note that the message “Order is being processed” at the end of the order checkout is not a confirmation that your order was successful. If a deduction has taken place via the payment method used, it generally means that the payment is on its way or has succeeded. When no successful payment is visible and you haven't received an order confirmation within 30 minutes you can assume that the payment has failed.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to get another opportunity to pay for this order.
Once an order has been completed with a payment, after a few minutes you will receive an order confirmation email to the email address entered when placing the order (exceptions to this rule are bank transfers/iDeal).
If you lost the confirmation email with your ticket(s), you can use this link to request that your confirmation email be resent. Have you not received your confirmation email at all? There might be different reasons for this:
- You might have entered your email address incorrectly. If you think this is the case, please contact Paylogic.
- For payments made with debit cards (instead of credit cards), you can see the payment immediately in your bank statement. However, it is possible that there is a delay between the time the amount has left your account, and it is actually in Paylogic account. As a result, it may take a little longer before you receive your confirmation email.
- The payment process may also have stopped due to a loading error, problems with your Internet connection or an accidentally closed screen. If Paylogic does not receive payment for the created order within a certain time, the order will be automatically cancelled. In that case, you can then place a new order.
- Please note: we do not recommend making multiple payment attempts in a row without first checking whether you have succeeded in placing your order, if you are unsure, please contact your bank.
If your payment was automatically cancelled, here are some suggestions that will hopefully help you successfully place a new order:
- You can contact your bank to make sure that they allow international transactions.
- You can also try to place the order using a different payment method, a different browser (in our experience, Google Chrome works best) or you can try again from a different computer/IP address.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to change a payment method after completing the order. If the order is not completed with a payment, it will automatically be cancelled. You can then place a new order.
Try to find the answer to your question on the customer service page of Paylogic. If you can’t figure out what went wrong, please take a screenshot and send it to info@summerdanceforever.com.
If you cannot find your ticket(s) in your SDF account or if you have lost the confirmation mail including your ticket(s), you can request your confirmation mail to be sent again via this link. It might be that there is a mistake in the email address used. You can correct your email address via this link. In case you have still not received your email confirmation after correcting the email address, please reach out to Paylogic.
Tickets for Summer Dance Forever or our Summer Dance Forever Weekender are non-refundable. The workshops are non-refundable as well. If you cannot make it due to severe circumstances, like severe bodily harm (with official proof), please reach out to info@summerdanceforever.com.
You can now also safely resell and purchase second-hand tickets via Ticketswap. Read more here on the Paradiso website, our partner that takes care of our ticketing.
Yes. You will receive an E-mail from us about how you are able to get a refund for that specific program
Yes, you can now safely resell and purchase second-hand tickets via Ticketswap. Read more here on the Paradiso website, our partner that takes care of our ticketing.
Is selling/purchasing tickets on TicketSwap safe?
TicketSwap is our resale partner and, besides our own waiting list, the only way to safely buy second hand tickets. Only for tickets re-sold through our waiting list and TicketSwap, we can guarantee the validity of the tickets, because for every sold ticket we re-generate a bar code and make the seller's bar code invalid.
Read on about safely and fairly purchasing and selling resale tickets for our events on the Paradiso website here.
For the preselections and battles, children up to 8 years old can enter for free. This does not apply to the theater performances, workshops and club nights (which are 18+!).
VIRTUAL QUEUE
The virtual queue works on a first come, first served base. Everyone in the queue has a spot in the line and will be served accordingly. A spot in the queue does not give any guarantee on tickets.
You can, but you don't need to enter hours before; everyone who's queuing on the ticket page the moment the on sale starts, will be automatically assigned a random spot in the queue. For this, it does not matter whether you've been in the queue for one minute or one hour.
All visitors that enter the ticket page after the on sale started, will be assigned a spot at the back of the queue.
Opening multiple tabs in a browser does not increase your chances of getting tickets.
If you refresh the page, your place in the queue will be cancelled and you'll be assigned a new spot at the back of the line. We advise to not refresh the page. You'll be automatically forwarded to the ticket page as soon as you've reached the front of the line.
BATTLES AND PRESELECTIONS
Preselections: Everyone is welcome at the Preselections: whether you're participating or just there to enjoy the vibe. Dancers will hit the floor and have 45 seconds to show what they've got. After this, the three judges will select 48 dancers that each get one more minute to impress them and try to earn a spot in the Top 24 that will continue to the battles.
Battles: In the Battles, those Top 24 dancers will go head-to-head in 1vs1 rounds to reach the Top 12, Top 6, and ultimately the Top 3. They will face off against the three Judges, who step into the battle themselves: the so called legendary Judge Battles. This is what sets Summer Dance Forever apart: our judges don’t just sit behind a desk, they jump into the action and battle on the floor. Don't talk about it — be about it!
Duo-mode: From the Judge Battles on, we switch to Duo Mode - 2vs2 battles! Each Top 3 dancer and each Judge chooses a partner from the Top 24 to form a duo. Together, they’ll battle side by side for the title. Yes... a duo takes the win!
Audience vote: And you, our audience in Paradiso play a vital role… In the Semi-Finals and Final, it's up to the duos themselves to answer the legendary question: Did you win or lose? But if they can’t agree, you will have the final vote to crown our Forever champions who will earn prize money, eternal glory, and the chance to judge at a future event.
To participate in the battles, you must first register and take part in the preselections. These preselections may be held on the same day as the battles or the day before. The Top 24 dancers will advance to the actual battle.
In short:
- Buy a ticket (if the preselection and battle are on the same day, just one ticket is needed)
- Register at the venue on the day of the preselection
- Show your skills during the preselection (each dancer gets one minute)
- Impress the judges and secure a spot in the Top 24 (only selected dancers can battle)
- Bring your best to the battle!
More information about the preselection can be found in our program overview per battle: https://www.summerdanceforever.com/program
Please note:
- We do not offer online registrations, you have to register on site for the Preselections.
- Minimum age to participate is 15
At Summer Dance Forever, the music, vibe, and of course the dancers are always the main focus. Please help us to create the atmosphere you love so much and keep your smartphone or other devices for photography or video recording in your pocket or store them in a locker. This way you can ensure the best experience for yourself and your fellow visitors.
No, both participants and audiences need the same ticket to either compete in the preselections or just watch the preselections and battles. Please note that everyone needs a valid ticket!
THEATRE FOREVER
As part of the festival, both our SDF Weekender and Summer Dance Forever present the most thrilling and breathtaking hiphop theater performances from around the globe. This is what we call Theater Forever.
WORKSHOPS
Anyone can participate in the workshops by purchasing a ticket. The workshops are designed for dedicated dancers who want to develop their skills and techniques, so we recommend having some prior dance experience. We also offer beginner workshops, where no previous experience is required. While there is no specific age limit, we suggest that participants be at least 12 years old.
In addition to workshops for experienced dancers, we also offer beginner workshops, marked with a 'beginner' label next to their name. The teachers make an effort to accommodate different skill levels within each class.
Each class will be a little different, as the teachers also adapt the class to the dancers who are taking it. Often we see dancers taking more than one class by the same teacher, to keep learning from the same teacher and developing their skills.
TRAVEL
The closest airport is Amsterdam Schiphol which is an international airport.
Amsterdam Centraal is the name of the central station. It can be reached by train from many places within Europe. The Dutch railway system operator is called NS.
To travel with NS (the Dutch Railways) you can either buy a single-use chipcard or an OV-chipkaart at the ticket machine. We advise you to take the train to Amsterdam Central. From the central station the tram station “Leidseplein” can be reached with the following tram lines: 2 and 12
Please note that the festival area is in a low-traffic zone, and the city center of Amsterdam does not offer very cheap parking. From ecological grounds, and for your convenience, we advise our visitors to use the extensive and well-functioning public transport network. If traveling by car is a necessity for you, these are some car parking options with the closest location to the event venues:
Parking De Hoofdstad: Prinsengracht 540, 1017 KK Amsterdam
APCOA Parking Prins & Keizer: Prinsengracht 927, 1017 HL Amsterdam
Parkeergarage Keizersgracht: Keizersgracht 485E, 1017 DL Amsterdam
ParkBee Kalverstraat: Singel 451C, 1012 WP Amsterdam
Please notice that the fees vary.
OTHER QUESTIONS
Yes, we can send you an invitation letter to the festival. Please send your full name, date of birth, passport number, and nationality to info@summerdanceforever.com in order to receive an invitation letter invitation. Please note that all expenses concerning your trip-travel costs, expenses for accommodation, food, and tickets for the festival - are at your own cost.
If you have a question we couldn't answer in the FAQ, don't hesitate to send us an email at info@summerdanceforever.com
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At this point, we are not looking for any additional team members.
House Rules
At Summer Dance Forever, we come together to celebrate dance, creativity, and community. By attending or participating in the festival we ask everyone to uphold our house rules and help us create a safer festival where everyone can dance and connect.
Read our SDF House Rules here.