A dance section built on acrobatic skills such as rolls, cartwheels, walkovers and balances, joined by choreography and judged on safe, controlled technique as well as performance.
Acrobatics, often called acro, combines dance with tumbling and balance. A routine is made of acrobatic skills such as forward and backward rolls, cartwheels, round-offs, walkovers, bridges, handstands and balances held on the hands or in a partner position, connected by dance steps, leaps and turns so that the piece reads as choreography and not as a string of tricks. The skills are chosen to suit the age and training of the dancer, and a calm, well-controlled routine at the right level is normally preferred to an ambitious one that wobbles.
A round is a single performance on the stage floor, with a recorded track. The dancer, duo, trio or troupe is announced, the music starts, and the adjudicator watches the whole routine, scoring technique, performance and musicality as it unfolds. Because the skills involve inversions and landings, panels also watch for control on entry and exit of each skill, straight lines in the legs and arms, and a clear, steady finish to every balance.
In the eTalenter catalogue Acrobatics appears on three Australian dance-competition templates, and each one offers it to boys and girls together with no language requirement and a mark out of 100. The templates vary in how entries are grouped: one offers solos in seven age bands from 3 to 99 (Mini to Elite), duo/trio entries in the same seven bands and troupe entries, with solos, duos and trios at three minutes and troupes at four; another adds experience sections (novice, rising, open and elite) to eight age divisions and has small and large groups at four and five minutes; the third offers solos in seven age bands plus Open, duo/trio and troupe entries, with troupes at five minutes. One template prints that a routine over the limit loses 5 points, so time discipline is worth practising.
Organisers list Acrobatics as its own section rather than folding it into Jazz or Contemporary because the demands are different: floor space, a clean landing surface and safety matter as much as the choreography. For a coordinator the practical steps are to place each dancer or team in the correct age band, record the adjudicator's mark out of 100, and let ranking and placings follow within each band. Check the organiser's notice for any skills restricted for younger entrants, because the templates do not print such lists.
Where Acrobatics is run
In eTalenter's data Acrobatics appears on three Australian dance-competition templates: a multi-venue series with Mini to Elite age sections, a one-day pop-up challenge with experience levels, and a Victorian series with solo, duo/trio and troupe days. Acro or acrobatic dance is also a regular section of studio competitions and school dance showcases in Australia, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, usually listed beside Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary and Hip Hop.
- Australia
- United States
- Canada
- United Kingdom
Key facts
- Solo (individual) and duo/trio or troupe (team) entries across age bands; boys and girls compete together and there is no language requirement.
- Solos, duos and trios run to three minutes on all three catalogue templates; troupes run to four or five minutes depending on the template.
- Marked out of 100 under the label Marks; one template with a printed scoring split weighs technique 30, performance 25, musicality 20, choreography 15 and overall impression 10.
- One template prints that a routine over its time limit loses 5 points.
- Used on three dance templates in the catalogue, so one set of results can be compared across festivals that use the same section name.
- Idea starters, not rules: a circus-themed routine, a toy-shop clockwork story, a waves-and-shore piece built on rolls and bridges, a pair of mirror-image partners, a troupe that builds one tall formation and unwinds it.
On eTalenter, Acrobatics is filed under Dance and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 3 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Acrobatics is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to 3–5 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Acrobatics
What a Acrobatics panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Technique and safety: straight legs and pointed feet on walkovers and cartwheels, locked arms in handstands and balances, and controlled landings. Visible wobbles, bent knees and rushed landings cost the most marks.
- Difficulty matched to level: skills should be clearly within what the dancer can do cleanly. An easier skill executed perfectly beats a harder one that is attempted and missed.
- Choreography that links the skills: dance steps, transitions and changes of level between tumbling passes should look planned, not like waiting time between tricks.
- Musicality: big skills should land on strong counts and the energy of the routine should follow the music, with calm moments and builds placed where the track asks for them.
- Performance and presentation: confident faces throughout, a clear entrance and finish, and a costume that is secure for inversions and suits the theme.
- For duos, trios and troupes, unison and spacing: partners and teams should start skills together, stay clear of one another and hold shared balances for the same count.
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Acrobatics under Scoring Setup, or start from our group dance judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Acrobatics
How entrants and their teachers usually get Acrobatics right on the day:
- Build the routine from skills the dancer can already do cleanly three times in a row. Add a harder skill only when it is reliable in the studio and with the music.
- Warm up thoroughly before every rehearsal and before the performance, with extra time for wrists, shoulders, back and hamstrings, and use a teacher or spotter whenever a new skill is being learned.
- Connect the skills with simple dance steps and travelling moves so that the routine flows, then rehearse the links until the transitions feel as secure as the skills.
- Time the routine against the music and the limit. Practise the last thirty seconds on its own so the finish is a clear, held pose, and keep a few seconds of margin because going over can cost points.
- Practise on a surface like the competition stage. A sprung or hard floor feels different from a studio mat, so rehearse the most important skills on a similar floor before the day.
- For duos, trios and troupes, rehearse spacing and counts separately from the skills, marking floor positions so nobody lands where another dancer is travelling.
- Pack for the day: a spare leotard or fitted costume, hair secured so it stays out of the face when inverted, and a plan for warming up in a small backstage space.
Frequently asked questions
Is Acrobatics judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter's templates it's most often run as an Team entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
What is acrobatics in a dance competition?
It is a section in which the routine is built around acrobatic skills such as rolls, cartwheels, walkovers and balances, joined by dance steps. It is judged like other dance sections, on technique, performance and musicality, with extra attention to control and safety.
Is acrobatics the same as gymnastics?
No. Gymnastics is a sport judged on a fixed code of skills, while acrobatics in a dance competition is a performance set to music and judged as choreography. The skills overlap, but the music, costume and storytelling are part of the mark.
How long is an acrobatics routine?
On the three templates in the catalogue solos, duos and trios run to three minutes, and troupes run to four or five minutes depending on the template. One template also takes 5 points off a routine that goes over its limit.
Is acrobatics judged individually or as a team?
Solos are judged individually. Duo, trio and troupe entries are judged as one performance and ranked within their own age band, so unison and spacing count for the whole team.
Is this the same page as Acrobatics Troupe?
No. Acrobatics Troupe is a separate group-only section on another template, with its own limit and age bands. This page covers the general Acrobatics section, which can be entered as a solo, a duo or trio, or a troupe.
Want the full judging picture? Read our group dance judging criteria guide, or browse every dance competition item.
Try Acrobatics in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Acrobatics, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
