The top-tier solo dance class of an eisteddfod or dance festival, where dancers who have already won or placed in earlier sections compete head to head for a title.
A Championship in dance is not a style but a status. Where most sections are named after a genre (jazz, lyrical, tap), the Championship is a separate class that gathers the strongest solo dancers of an age band to compete for a title. Entry is usually earned or elected: a dancer may need to have placed in earlier sections, or the organiser may simply let dancers who want the extra challenge put their name down.
A round is one solo performance on the stage floor, normally to a piece of the dancer's own choosing within the time limit. Because the class is about overall dance ability, the panel looks past a single trick and asks whether the dancer can hold the stage: technique, musicality, control of the choreography, and a finish that feels like a complete performance. Where an organiser lets the style be open, a strong entry plays to the dancer's best discipline rather than showing off a little of everything.
On the Australian solo-and-troupe eisteddfod template this page draws on, Championship is carried for 23 groups: single-year solo ages from 4 to 21, a Solo Open Age group and four Star groups (Junior, Intermediate, Teen and Open). Boys and girls compete together, no language is needed, the limit is three minutes and each entry is marked out of 100 under the label Marks. The template prints no criteria for the section, so none are installed and the adjudicator's own sheet decides.
For a coordinator using eTalenter it is set up like any other item: register each entry in the right age group, record the adjudicator's mark out of 100, and the placing follows within that group. Run the Championship late in the programme if the audience is to see the best dancers of the day, and publish the entry rule (open, or restricted to earlier placers) before registration opens.
Where Championship is run
In eTalenter's data Championship appears on four dance templates: one Australian eisteddfod with a full ladder of single-year solo ages, a three-group youth championship set (Junior, Intermediate and Senior), a four-group festival set that starts with a Pre-Junior class, and a competition with solo age bands from 4 and under to 16 and under plus an Open class. Championship or title classes are a familiar way for dance eisteddfods and studio competitions to crown an overall winner for an age band, particularly in Australia, and similar title classes run at dance competitions in the United Kingdom, North America and elsewhere.
- Australia
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Canada
Key facts
- Individual (solo) entry; boys and girls compete together.
- 23 groups on the Australian eisteddfod template: solo ages 4 to 21, Solo Open Age, and Star Junior, Intermediate, Teen and Open.
- Time limit on that template: 3 minutes for every group; two of the other templates set no limit in the data.
- Marks out of 100 under the label Marks; no criteria are printed, so the adjudicator's sheet decides.
- Appears on four templates with different group ladders, from three age-band groups to a full single-year ladder.
- Idea starters, not rules: choose the dancer's strongest discipline, build a clear opening and closing pose, and use the full three minutes only if the choreography earns it.
On eTalenter, Championship is filed under Dance and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 4 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Championship is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 3 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Championship
What a Championship panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Technique: control, alignment and clean execution of the steps are the base of the mark, because the class is meant to show the best all-round dancers of the age band.
- Musicality: staying with the phrasing and accents of the music, and using changes of pace on purpose, separates a champion from a competent entry.
- Performance and presence: focus, expression and command of the stage over the whole routine, not just the big moments.
- Difficulty matched to the dancer: a demanding routine done cleanly beats an over-ambitious one that wobbles, so choreography should stretch the dancer without exposing them.
- Construction and finish: a clear opening, a build and a deliberate ending make the routine read as a complete piece within the time limit.
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Championship under Scoring Setup, or start from the full group dance judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Championship
How entrants and their teachers usually get Championship right on the day:
- Check the entry rule first: some organisers restrict the Championship to dancers who have placed earlier, so confirm eligibility before building the routine.
- Pick the discipline the dancer is strongest in and choreograph to it; a Championship is won on quality, not on range.
- Run the full routine under the time limit with the music, and trim anything that rushes the finish.
- Practise the entrance, the starting position and the exit as carefully as the steps, since the panel sees them.
- Film rehearsals and watch for drifting spacing, dropped arms and uneven stamina in the last thirty seconds.
- Plan the day: warm up before the class, bring a spare copy of the music, and keep the dancer rested for the late slot Championships often have.
Frequently asked questions
Is Championship 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 a dance Championship class?
A top-tier solo class for an age band in which the strongest dancers compete for a title. It is a status rather than a style, so the dance itself can vary.
Do I have to win another section to enter?
That is the organiser's choice. The eTalenter template does not state a qualifying rule, so check the entry conditions published for your event.
How long can a Championship routine be?
On the Australian eisteddfod template the limit is three minutes for every group. Other templates in eTalenter leave the limit unset in their data.
Is it judged as a team or individually?
Individually: each dancer performs a solo and is marked out of 100 within their age group.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full group dance judging criteria guide, or browse every dance competition item.
Try Championship in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Championship, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
