A group dance in street and hip hop styles, where a troupe performs one routine of grooves, isolations and synchronised formations as a team class, marked out of 100 on all four Australian dance templates that carry it.
Hip hop troupe is the group form of street dance. Dancers work from a grounded bounce and groove, using isolations, footwork, freezes and sharp changes of rhythm, and the style prizes attitude and musicality as much as clean lines. In a troupe the challenge is to keep that individual swagger while moving as one body: the hits must land on the beat together, the formations must change cleanly and the energy must stay level from the first count to the last.
In eTalenter data Hip Hop Troupe appears on four Australian dance templates: a song-and-dance challenge, a tropical dance festival, a dance challenge syllabus and a multi-genre national dance competition series. All four treat it as a team item open to both genders and marked out of 100, with a five-minute limit. Age bands are set by the troupe: 6 and under up to 15 and over on the song-and-dance challenge, 5 and under to 16 and over on the tropical festival, 6 and under to 15 and over on the syllabus (where each band is split into Mini, Small and Large troupes, with a Novice section), and 6 and under to 18 and under plus open age on the national series.
Only the national series prints a mark sheet for it: Technique 40, Stage Presence 25, Execution of Performance 20, Choreography 10 and Overall Appearance 5. The other three templates install the same item as a team entry marked out of 100 without a printed sheet, so this page does not claim one for them.
For organisers it is usually one of the most popular troupe classes, so allow for large entries and tight changeovers. Register each troupe as a team, record every adjudicator's marks and let the ranking give the placings. Matters the software does not enforce, such as how many dancers a troupe must have, whether a dancer may appear in more than one troupe and what music content is acceptable for young age bands, are for the organiser to state in the entry rules.
Where Hip Hop Troupe is run
In eTalenter data Hip Hop Troupe appears on four Australian templates: a song-and-dance challenge, a tropical dance festival, a dance challenge syllabus and a national dance competition series. Hip hop group classes are common at dance festivals and school showcases elsewhere, but this page describes only what those templates carry.
- Australia
Key facts
- Team item: a troupe performing one hip hop routine together; the national series sets a minimum of four dancers, and the software enforces no dancer count.
- Time limit is five minutes on all four templates that carry it.
- Marked out of 100; the series with a printed sheet uses Technique 40, Stage Presence 25, Execution 20, Choreography 10, Appearance 5.
- Age bands are for the troupe; the dance challenge syllabus splits each band into Mini, Small and Large troupes and adds Novice sections.
- Gender is open: troupes may be mixed.
- Idea, not a rule: open with a strong freeze or hit, and plan two or three formation changes that the whole group can land together on the beat.
On eTalenter, Hip Hop Troupe 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, Hip Hop Troupe is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 5 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Hip Hop Troupe
What a Hip Hop Troupe panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Technique (40): clean isolations, controlled footwork and freezes, and a secure grounded bounce from every dancer, since the weakest dancer sets what the panel sees.
- Stage presence (25): attitude, eye focus and commitment that stay up through the whole routine, not just the opening and the final pose.
- Execution (20): hits landing together on the beat, unison in groove and timing, and formations that change without drifting or gaps.
- Choreography (10): a routine that builds, with varied levels, travelling and stationary sections, and formations that suit the music rather than fill the time.
- Overall appearance (5): costumes that match, allow full movement and suit the age band, with tidy hair and footwear that is safe on the floor.
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Hip Hop Troupe under Scoring Setup, or start from the full group dance judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Hip Hop Troupe
How entrants and their teachers usually get Hip Hop Troupe right on the day:
- Cut the music with a clear structure, such as intro, build, break and finish, so each section has a job and the final hit is planned.
- Drill the groove first: have the troupe bounce and move to a count without steps until the weight and rhythm feel shared.
- Clean unison in small pieces: rehearse eight counts at a time with a mirror, then film and compare each dancer's timing.
- Practise freezes and level changes on the real floor surface, since a studio floor and a stage floor grip differently.
- Rehearse the entrance, the exit and the first and last eight counts separately, because judges remember them.
- Time the routine with the full music and keep a margin under five minutes, then check the format against the organiser's own rules.
- Film from the judges' seat and check who is hidden for long, whether spacing holds and whether the formations read from the front.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hip Hop Troupe 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.
How long is a hip hop troupe routine?
Five minutes on all four templates that carry it. Check the organiser's own rules for the event you are entering.
Is hip hop troupe the same as a hip hop solo?
No. A hip hop solo is one dancer; a troupe is a team of several dancers performing one routine, and the troupe receives one score.
How is a hip hop troupe marked?
Out of 100. Where a sheet is printed it is Technique 40, Stage Presence 25, Execution of Performance 20, Choreography 10 and Overall Appearance 5.
Is it judged individually or as a team?
As a team: the troupe receives one score, although the panel will see how each dancer contributes to unison and technique.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full group dance judging criteria guide, or browse every dance competition item.
Try Hip Hop Troupe in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Hip Hop Troupe, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
