A single performer who sings and dances in the same routine, judged on technique, stage presence, execution, choreography and overall appearance, and placed in a skill-level band by score.
A song and dance solo is one performer, one routine and one piece of music in which singing and dancing happen together. It sits between a dance solo and a vocal solo: the performer is expected to sing the song, move to it with purpose, and keep the voice steady while the body works. Because there is no partner or ensemble to share the load, the panel sees how breath control, movement and character hold together from the first bar to the last.
On the Time to Shine Dance Competitions template, which this page is written from, Song and Dance Solo is one of about twenty solo styles. Entrants do not compete against everyone in a section; they enter a division defined by years of dance training and by age. There are three experience levels: less than two years, two to five years, and five years or more. Each has its own run of ages, from 4 and under up to 16 for the newest dancers, from 6 and under up to 18 plus Adult and Mature Age for the middle level, and from 10 and under up to 18 plus Adult and Mature Age for the most experienced. A separate Masters division is open to dance teachers. Age is counted as at 1 January of the competition year.
A round is one performance on stage. The performer is announced, the music starts and the adjudicator watches the whole routine, writing a critique as it unfolds. 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 score then decides a skill-level band rather than a first, second or third place: Platinum Plus from 97, Platinum 93-96, Double Diamond 87-92, Diamond 80-86, Emerald 70-79 and Ruby 60-69. Several performers in one division can therefore earn the same band.
Routines for performers with two years or less of experience run to two minutes; every other division runs to three. Boys and girls compete together and no language requirement is printed. For a coordinator using eTalenter the item is entered like any other: register the performer in the right experience level and age division, record the adjudicator's mark out of 100, and the band follows from the score. The template does not print rules on live versus recorded vocals, so none are stated here; coordinators should publish their own.
Where Song and Dance Solo is run
In eTalenter data Song and Dance Solo appears on 7 dance templates, all of them Australian dance competitions, challenges or eisteddfods, including Time to Shine Dance Competitions, where it carries 40 age and experience divisions. It is a recognised section in studio-based competition programmes in Australia, and combined sing-and-dance sections of this kind are also common in musical theatre festivals in the United Kingdom and North America.
- Australia
- United Kingdom
- United States
Key facts
- Individual entry; boys and girls compete together; no language requirement.
- Divisions on this 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: 2 minutes for performers with under 2 years of experience, 3 minutes for everyone else.
- Scored out of 100: Technique 40, Stage Presence 25, Execution of Performance 20, Choreography 10, Overall Appearance 5.
- Result is a skill-level band by score (Ruby 60-69 up to Platinum Plus 97 and above) with a written critique.
- Idea starters, not rules: a swing-era number with a tap-style rhythm, a pop song with simple repeatable choreography, a storytelling piece from a children's show, a call-and-response routine with the audience.
On eTalenter, Song and Dance Solo is filed under Dance and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 7 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Song and Dance Solo 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 Song and Dance Solo
What a Song and Dance Solo panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Technique (40): the dance technique the routine demands, such as clean footwork, controlled turns and posture, and that it is not lost while singing.
- Stage Presence (25): character, eye focus and projection of both voice and face, with energy that holds to the final note and pose.
- Execution of Performance (20): how cleanly the planned routine is delivered, with words, breath and steps landing together and no visible recovery from slips.
- Choreography (10): movement that suits the song's meaning and tempo, with a clear shape, varied levels and difficulty matched to age and experience.
- Overall Appearance (5): costume, hair and presentation that fit the song and are safe to move and sing in.
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Song and Dance Solo under Scoring Setup, or start from the full group dance judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Song and Dance Solo
How entrants and their teachers usually get Song and Dance Solo right on the day:
- Choose the experience level by total years of dance training, not by age, because it decides who the performer is marked alongside.
- Pick a song whose range and tempo suit the performer's voice; a key that is slightly too high will fail in the second half when breathing gets harder.
- Learn the singing first, then the steps, then combine them slowly, placing the hardest movements on the sustained or spoken lines rather than the high notes.
- Plan breath points into the choreography so big jumps and turns fall where the performer can breathe, not mid-phrase.
- 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 in the costume and on a surface like the competition stage, and practise with the sound level used in a hall.
- Film a run-through and check that the words are clear and the face carries to the back of the room.
- After a lower band, read the written critique with the teacher and fix one singing point and one dance point before the next event.
Frequently asked questions
Is Song and Dance 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 a song and dance solo?
One performer sings and dances in the same routine to a single piece of music, judged as one performance on technique, stage presence, execution, choreography and appearance.
How long can a song and dance solo be?
On the Time to Shine template, two minutes for performers with under two years of experience and three minutes for everyone else. Other organisers set their own limit.
Is it judged against other performers or against a standard?
The template reports a skill-level band from the total score and a written critique, so the result is the band the marks fall into rather than a printed first, second or third place.
Do I have to sing live?
The template does not print a live-versus-recorded vocal rule, so none is stated here. Check the organiser's rules before preparing the music.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full group dance judging criteria guide, or browse every dance competition item.
Try Song and Dance Solo in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Song and Dance Solo, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
