A lyrical dance in which acrobatic skills such as cartwheels, walkovers and aerials are woven into the choreography, performed as a solo, duo or trio, small group or large group and scored out of 100.
Acro Lyrical combines the flowing, emotional style of lyrical dance with acrobatic skills. The routine still follows a song or a piece of music with feeling, but cartwheels, walkovers, bridges, handsprings or similar tricks are built into the choreography as part of the story rather than shown as a separate gymnastics display. It sits beside Straight Lyrical on the same Sydney one-day dance challenge template this page is written from; the difference is that here acrobatics are expected, while Straight Lyrical keeps the movement to dance technique alone.
The template lists it in every entry type: solo, duo or trio, small group and large group, 56 groups in all. Entries are placed by age division, counted as at 1 January 2026, from 4 and under to 17 and over. Solo dancers are also placed into a section (Novice, Rising Stars, Open or Elite) from earlier placings and weekly training hours, while duo, trio and group entries use the age division only.
A round is one performance from start to finish. The entry is announced, the music plays and the adjudicator scores the routine out of 100 over five lines: Technique 30, Performance 25, Musicality 20, Choreography 15 and Overall Impression 10. The total gives a recognition level on the certificate, and medals for first to third place depend on the number of entries.
Time limits are printed by entry type: three minutes for a solo and for a duo or trio, four minutes for a small group and five minutes for a large group. Organisers run it because it lets dancers with gymnastics training compete in a lyrical setting, and it gives the audience a lively, athletic contrast to the slower sections of the programme.
Where Acro Lyrical is run
In eTalenter data Acro Lyrical appears on one template, an Australian one-day amateur dance challenge held in Sydney. Acro-based dance genres are common in studio competitions in Australia, North America and the United Kingdom; this page asserts Australian use only from the data.
- Australia
- United States
- Canada
- United Kingdom
Key facts
- Entry types: solo, duo or trio, small group and large group; boys and girls compete together with no language requirement.
- Divisions: eight cumulative age divisions (4 and under to 17 and over); solos are further split into Novice, Rising Stars, Open and Elite sections.
- Time limit: 3 minutes for solo and duo or trio, 4 minutes for a small group, 5 minutes for a large group.
- Scored out of 100: Technique 30, Performance 25, Musicality 20, Choreography 15, Overall Impression 10.
- Acrobatic skills belong in this genre; Straight Lyrical is the separate genre without them, and Acrobatics is its own genre on the same template.
- Idea starters, not rules: a piece about a bird learning to fly with a walkover as the first lift, a duo where one dancer's bridge becomes the other's path, a group piece where a rolling wave of cartwheels crosses the stage.
On eTalenter, Acro Lyrical is filed under Dance and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Acro Lyrical is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to 3–5 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Acro Lyrical
What a Acro Lyrical panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Technique (30): acrobatic skills landed cleanly with straight legs, pointed feet and control, and the dance technique around them (turns, extensions, lines) held to the same standard.
- Performance (25): expression that continues through the tricks, with no visible switch from dancer to gymnast and no tension in the face before a skill.
- Musicality (20): tricks timed to the music so that a walkover or aerial lands on a phrase or a swell instead of interrupting it.
- Choreography (15): acrobatics placed with purpose, with smooth links in and out of each skill, varied use of the floor, and difficulty that suits the age and section of the dancer.
- Overall Impression (10): a safe, rehearsed and well-presented whole, with costume and staging that allow the skills to be done confidently.
- In duos and groups, spacing and timing of skills is judged closely: a skill done late or a collision on a travelling trick is easy to see and costs marks quickly.
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Acro Lyrical under Scoring Setup, or start from the full group dance judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Acro Lyrical
How entrants and their teachers usually get Acro Lyrical right on the day:
- Choose only acrobatic skills the dancer can land reliably on a stage floor, and keep the harder trick for a section where it is a real strength rather than a risk.
- Build the lyrical story first and then place the skills inside it, asking what each trick says in the song.
- Practise the link before and after every skill, because untidy entries and exits are where an acro lyrical routine loses its flow.
- Train flexibility, shoulder strength and core control with a qualified teacher, and never rehearse new skills without supervision.
- Rehearse on a surface close to the competition floor and in the costume, so grip and movement feel familiar on the day.
- For duos and groups, mark each skill on the floor so spacing stays the same and run the whole piece at full performance level at least three times before the event.
- After a lower recognition level, read the adjudicator's comments with the teacher and choose one skill and one performance point to fix before the next event.
Frequently asked questions
Is Acro Lyrical judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter's templates it's most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
What is the difference between Acro Lyrical and Straight Lyrical?
They are separate genres on the same template. Acro Lyrical includes acrobatic skills within a lyrical routine, while Straight Lyrical relies on dance technique and emotion only.
How long can an Acro Lyrical routine be?
Three minutes for a solo or a duo or trio, four minutes for a small group and five minutes for a large group, as printed in the syllabus.
Is Acro Lyrical the same as Acrobatics?
No. Acrobatics is its own genre on the same template; Acro Lyrical is a lyrical dance with acrobatic skills built into the choreography.
Can a group enter Acro Lyrical?
Yes. It is offered as a solo, a duo or trio, a small group and a large group, each by age division.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full group dance judging criteria guide, or browse every dance competition item.
Try Acro Lyrical in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Acro Lyrical, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
