A top-tier modern dance solo class run on six Australian dance templates, with limits of three to three and a half minutes (two print none), scored out of 100 for individual dancers.
The Modern Championship is the headline modern dance class of a dance competition. An ordinary modern or contemporary solo is one routine open to a dancer in the right age division; the championship sits above it as the class in which an organiser gathers its strongest modern dancers and expects a more complete, more demanding performance. The dancer performs alone, usually barefoot or in soft footwear, and the adjudicator watches line, weight, floor work and the way movement is phrased to the music.
In eTalenter data the item appears on six Australian dance templates: a border-region eisteddfod, a tropical-region dance festival, a town dance competition, a rural district dancing festival, a dance challenge and a multi-location dance series. The setup differs a great deal. One festival splits the class across fourteen divisions, pairing Novice and Open entries at each age band, while others run only two or three age divisions, such as 12 and under with 13 to 18 years, or 7 to 10, 11 to 13 and 14 and over. Another uses named divisions from Preliminary upwards. Time limits differ too: three minutes at three templates, three and a half minutes at one, and no limit printed at the other two. Every template marks the item out of 100, individual entry, boys and girls together, with no language requirement.
Only one template, the dance series, prints a mark breakdown for the class: Technique 40, Stage Presence 25, Execution of Performance 20, Choreography 10 and Overall Appearance 5. The other five print only the 100-mark total, so how an adjudicator divides those marks is the event's own business and this page does not invent it.
For organisers, the championship is a way to reward range and finish rather than a single good routine. In eTalenter it runs like any individual item: register the dancer in the correct age division, record the adjudicator's mark and let the ranking decide the placings. If your event expects dancers to qualify through earlier solos first, check that at entry; the software does not enforce it. Always follow the event's own rules for the exact time limit and any style requirements.
Where Modern Championship is run
In eTalenter data Modern Championship appears on six Australian dance templates: a border-region eisteddfod, a tropical-region festival, a town dance competition, a rural district festival, a dance challenge and a multi-location series. Championship classes that sit above the ordinary solos are a common feature of eisteddfods and dance festivals, but this page describes only what those templates carry.
- Australia
Key facts
- Individual entry; boys and girls compete together; no language requirement is printed.
- Age divisions vary widely: two at the town competition, the challenge and the series, three at the district festival, named divisions at the eisteddfod and fourteen Novice/Open divisions at the tropical festival.
- Time limit varies: three minutes on three templates, three and a half on one, and none printed on two.
- Maximum score is 100 on every template.
- One series prints its marking sheet: Technique 40, Stage Presence 25, Execution of Performance 20, Choreography 10, Overall Appearance 5; the others print only the total.
- Practice ideas, not rules: build the piece around one clear idea, plan the use of the floor and levels, and run it against the clock in full costume.
On eTalenter, Modern Championship is filed under Dance and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 6 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Modern 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 Modern Championship
What a Modern Championship panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Technique: control, alignment and extension, clean transfers of weight, secure balances and turns, and movement that is deliberate rather than approximate.
- Stage presence: commitment from the first step, focus and connection with the audience, and energy that holds to the final pose rather than fading.
- Execution of performance: accuracy and consistency, clean finishes to phrases, safe and controlled floor work, and recovery from a slip without losing the line.
- Choreography: a clear idea, good use of space and levels, phrasing that follows the music, and steps that suit this dancer rather than borrowed material.
- Overall appearance and finish: costume and grooming that suit the piece, a tidy entry and exit, and a performance that feels complete rather than a string of steps.
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Modern Championship under Scoring Setup, or start from the full group dance judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Modern Championship
How entrants and their teachers usually get Modern Championship right on the day:
- Check with the organiser whether entry to the championship requires earlier modern solos, since a late entry can leave a dancer ineligible.
- Choose movement the dancer can do cleanly under pressure; a simpler piece with clear intent beats an ambitious one with wobbles.
- Time the whole piece with music, walk-on and walk-off, and keep a margin under the limit where one is printed (three or three and a half minutes at most events).
- Rehearse on a surface close to the stage floor, and check that floor work and turns are safe in the costume to be worn.
- Practise a recovery: if a turn or balance slips, keep the phrase going and rejoin the next count rather than stopping.
- Record a run-through from the front and review the shape of the piece, the use of space and the ending.
- Ask the organiser how placings and any written comments work, so the dancer knows what to expect afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
Is Modern 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.
How long is the Modern Championship?
It depends on the event. On the six templates that carry it the limit is three minutes at three, three and a half at one, and none is printed at two. Check the organiser's own rules.
Is a Modern Championship the same as a modern solo?
No. A solo is a single routine open to the division, while the championship is a higher class that organisers use to single out their strongest modern dancers and may ask for a more demanding programme.
Do I have to qualify first?
No qualifying rule is printed for this item on the templates, so ask the organiser. eTalenter does not enforce qualification; the organiser checks it at entry.
Is it judged individually or as a team?
It is an individual item on every template that carries it, boys and girls together, marked out of 100.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full group dance judging criteria guide, or browse every dance competition item.
Try Modern Championship in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Modern Championship, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
