A jazz dance section in the style of the Broadway stage, where sharp, theatrical movement, character and showmanship are marked together, performed as a solo, duo/trio or group.
Broadway jazz is jazz dance as it is seen in stage musicals: strong, precise lines, sharp isolations, kicks and turns, and a performer who plays to the back of the theatre. Where a lyrical or contemporary piece asks for flowing emotion, a Broadway jazz number asks for punch, attack and a clear character, and the audience should feel a show is being performed rather than a technique exercise.
A round is one performance on the stage floor. The dancer or team is announced, the music starts, and the adjudicator watches the whole number from the first pose to the last. Strong routines open with an immediate hit, vary the pace between big, bright sections and quieter moments, and finish on a held pose that the music resolves into. Facial expression is part of the dance, so a performer who keeps a fixed smile, or none at all, loses ground to one who commits to the story.
On the Rise Up Dance Creative template, which this page is written from, Broadway Jazz runs across the full range of entries. Solos are split into three levels (Specially Restricted, Restricted and Open) across seven age divisions, from 6 and under to 17 and over. There are also duo/trio sections, a parent and child section, troupe sections and school-group sections. Solos run to three minutes and group entries to four, boys and girls compete together, no language is required, and every entry is marked out of 100 under the label Marks. The template prints no marking criteria for this item, so none are installed and the adjudicator's own sheet applies.
Organisers run it as a separate section because it asks for a different skill from plain jazz: theatrical performance and character on top of the technique. For a coordinator using eTalenter it is entered like any other item: register each dancer or team in the right level and age division, record the adjudicator's mark out of 100, and placings follow within each division.
Where Broadway Jazz is run
In eTalenter's data Broadway Jazz appears on ten dance templates, mostly Australian studio-style dance challenges and eisteddfod programmes, with one Welsh eisteddfod dance programme among them. Broadway jazz and musical theatre sections are regular parts of dance programmes in Australia, and similar sections are run at dance festivals in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.
- Australia
- Wales
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Canada
Key facts
- Solo, duo/trio, parent and child, troupe and school-group entries on the Rise Up Dance Creative template.
- Solos are split by level (Specially Restricted, Restricted, Open) and by age: 6 and under, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and under, and 17 and over.
- Boys and girls compete together; no language requirement.
- Time limit in the template: 3 minutes for solos, duo/trio and parent and child; 4 minutes for troupes and school groups.
- Marks out of 100 under the label Marks; the template prints no criteria, so the adjudicator's sheet decides.
- Idea starters, not rules: a number built around a character from a well-known stage musical, a showgirl-and-top-hat routine, a big-city street scene, or a short piece that moves from a bold opening hit to a quiet comic moment and back.
On eTalenter, Broadway Jazz is filed under Dance and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 10 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Broadway Jazz is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to 2–5 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Broadway Jazz
What a Broadway Jazz panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Jazz technique: crisp kicks, turns and leaps, controlled isolations and strong turnout and posture, kept clean even when the choreography is showy.
- Attack and dynamics: sharp, committed movement with clear contrast between big accents and softer moments, rather than every step at the same level.
- Character and expression: a face and body that tell the story of the number, with the performer staying in character from the first pose to the last.
- Musicality and timing: hitting the accents of the music exactly and staying with the beat through quick changes of pace.
- Choreography and staging: a routine with a clear opening, build and finish that uses the whole stage, with difficulty matched to the level and age.
- Costume, presentation and timing: a costume that supports the character, finishing inside the limit, and for groups, unison of timing, spacing and style.
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Broadway Jazz under Scoring Setup, or start from the full group dance judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Broadway Jazz
How entrants and their teachers usually get Broadway Jazz right on the day:
- Choose one clear character or scene for the number and make every move serve it; a clear idea reads better than a string of impressive steps.
- Rehearse the technique and the performance separately: clean the steps first, then add the expression, then run the whole number as a show.
- Practise with the face on, in a mirror and on video; many dancers only find their expression in the final week and it shows.
- Mark the accents in the music on paper, then check each hit lands on the beat; Broadway jazz is unforgiving when accents are late.
- Build stamina with full-number run-throughs, including the opening hit and the final pose, so the last sixteen counts are as sharp as the first.
- For duos, trios and troupes, rehearse spacing and entrances as carefully as unison: lines, diagonals and exits that stay tidy impress an adjudicator.
- Test the costume, hat, gloves or any props in rehearsal; anything that slips or catches the floor on the day costs more than it adds.
- Check the music cut fits the time limit before the day, and rehearse the walk-on and final pose so the last hit lands with the music.
Frequently asked questions
Is Broadway Jazz 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 Broadway jazz and jazz?
Broadway jazz brings the character and showmanship of the musical stage to jazz technique, while a plain jazz section focuses on the style and technique of the dance itself. They are marked as separate sections.
How long is a Broadway Jazz routine?
On the Rise Up Dance Creative template solos, duo/trio and parent and child entries run to three minutes, and troupe and school-group entries to four.
Is Broadway Jazz judged individually or as a team?
Solos are judged individually. Duo/trio, parent and child, troupe and school-group entries are judged as one performance and ranked within their own division.
Are the judging criteria printed for this item?
No. The template prints no criteria for it, so the adjudicator's own sheet is used and eTalenter records a single mark out of 100.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full group dance judging criteria guide, or browse every dance competition item.
Try Broadway Jazz in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Broadway Jazz, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
