A single dancer performing a contemporary-style solo, judged on technique, stage presence and execution and placed in a skill-level band on a score out of 100.
Contemporary dance is a flexible, expressive style that blends ideas from ballet, modern and jazz. Dancers use weight, breath and floor work as well as controlled lines, and the movement often follows the emotion or idea of the music rather than counting steps. In a competition solo this means one dancer holding the stage alone for the whole piece, with nothing to hide behind.
On the Time to Shine Dance Competitions template, which this page is written from, Contemporary Solo is the eighth solo style, straight after Demi Character Solo. Entry is by experience level and age. Dancers with under two years of training enter single ages from 4 and under up to 16; dancers with two to five years enter from 6 and under up to 18 plus Adult and Mature Age; dancers with five years or more enter from 10 and under up to 18 plus Adult and Mature Age. A Masters division is open to teachers. Boys and girls compete together and no language is needed.
A round is one performance. The dancer is announced, the music starts and the adjudicator watches the whole piece while writing a critique. On the Time to Shine template the score is out of 100 on five lines: Technique 40, Stage Presence 25, Execution of Performance 20, Choreography 10 and Overall Appearance 5. The total decides a skill-level band rather than a first, second or third place, so several dancers in one division can finish in the same band.
The time limit is two minutes for dancers with under two years of experience and three minutes for every other division. Organisers run the section because it gives dancers who like to move with feeling and intent a place of their own, apart from the ballet-based solos and the high-energy jazz solos on the same programme.
Where Contemporary Solo is run
In eTalenter data this item appears on nineteen templates, including the Time to Shine Dance Competitions template and a run of Australian regional eisteddfod and dance-festival templates from New South Wales and Queensland. On all of them it is an individual section for boys and girls together, scored as marks. Contemporary dance is taught and competed far beyond Australia, but this page claims only the use shown in the data.
- Australia
Key facts
- Individual entry; boys and girls compete together; no language requirement.
- Divisions on the Time to Shine template: three experience levels (under 2 years, 2 to 5 years, 5 years or more) crossed with single-year ages, plus Adult, Mature Age and a Masters division for teachers.
- Time limit on that template: 2 minutes for the under-2-years level, 3 minutes for every other division.
- Scored out of 100; on Time to Shine the lines are Technique 40, Stage Presence 25, Execution of Performance 20, Choreography 10, Overall Appearance 5.
- Result is a skill-level band by score with a written critique; no points are printed for placings.
- Idea starters, not rules: a piece about a season changing, a letter never sent, learning to balance, a river finding the sea, the first day somewhere new.
On eTalenter, Contemporary Solo is filed under Dance and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 19 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Contemporary Solo is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to 2–3 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Contemporary Solo
What a Contemporary Solo panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Technique (40): the heaviest line. Control of turns, balances, extensions, floor work and transitions, with clean alignment and use of the feet, is judged whatever the mood of the piece.
- Stage Presence (25): the dancer should look as though the movement means something. Focus, breath and commitment from the first moment to the final stillness earn this line; a vacant face or rushed finish loses it.
- Execution of Performance (20): delivering the whole piece as rehearsed, with musical timing, safe handling of floor work and any slip recovered without visible fuss.
- Choreography (10): a clear shape with a beginning, development and ending, and movement that suits the music and the dancer at their own level rather than borrowed tricks.
- Overall Appearance (5): costume, hair and footwear that suit the piece and are safe to move in; a small mark but among the easiest to secure.
- Where marks are lost: emotion without control, which drains the 40-mark line, and technically tidy steps performed with no intention, which leaves Stage Presence empty.
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Contemporary Solo under Scoring Setup, or start from the full group dance judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Contemporary Solo
How entrants and their teachers usually get Contemporary Solo right on the day:
- Choose the experience level by total years of dance training, not by age, because the division decides who the dancer is marked alongside.
- Decide in one sentence what the piece is about and let every phrase of movement serve it.
- Build the strength and control first, then add the expression, so a fall or a held balance is safe and looks deliberate.
- Cut the music to the division limit, remembering the two-minute cap for the under-2-years level, and finish a few seconds inside it.
- Rehearse floor work on the kind of surface used on the day and in the costume that will be worn, so nothing catches or slips.
- Film a run-through and check that the face and focus carry to the back of the hall.
- Rehearse the entrance and the final pose as carefully as the middle; judges remember both.
- After a lower band, read the written critique with the teacher and fix one technique point and one performance point before the next event.
Frequently asked questions
Is Contemporary Solo 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 contemporary and lyrical solos?
Both are expressive, but lyrical is usually built on the words and melody of a song with flowing ballet-based movement, while contemporary draws on a wider mix of ballet, modern and jazz and can follow an idea or mood. Check the section wording the organiser prints.
How long can a contemporary solo be?
On the Time to Shine template, two minutes for dancers with under two years of experience and three minutes for everyone else. Other organisers set their own limit.
Is the solo judged against other dancers or against a standard?
The template reports a skill-level band from the total score and a written critique, so a dancer is placed by the band their marks fall into rather than a printed first, second or third place.
Can I dance barefoot or use props?
The template does not print a footwear or prop rule, so none is stated here. Check the organiser rules and keep any footwear choice and prop safe and part of the piece.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full group dance judging criteria guide, or browse every dance competition item.
Try Contemporary Solo in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Contemporary Solo, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
