A special solo contest on United States dance-studio competitions in which a soloist who has already entered a routine also competes for an overall title, judged on technique and overall presentation.
A Title Competition sits on top of a normal studio dance programme. It is not a dance style, and it is not a section you can enter on its own. A dancer who has already taken a solo into the competition can put that solo forward for a title as well, and the same performance is then looked at a second time, this time to name one winner for the age division rather than to rank the routine against others in its style. The winner is crowned with a title, which is why organisers treat it as the showpiece of the weekend.
The two rule sets eTalenter holds for this contest agree on the shape of it, even where they differ on the details. Only soloists in the upper ability levels may enter, the contest is split into five age divisions (five and under, six to eight, nine to eleven, twelve to fourteen and fifteen to nineteen), and each division crowns its own winner. The older of the two rule sets also splits every division by gender and by level, so a female and a male title are given in each. The newer one keeps a single combined Title division per age band, open to both genders.
What the panel is looking at is printed more clearly here than in most studio sections. The newer rule set says the contest is judged on equal parts technique and overall presentation, so a dancer cannot win on tricks alone or on charm alone. The older rule set describes a single score out of ten points. Neither prints marks for smaller headings such as turnout, extension or musicality, so anything finer than the two headings is general advice from how title contests are judged, not a printed rule.
A day with a Title Competition runs like this. The soloists who have entered perform their usual solo routines in the normal programme and are scored in the ordinary way. The title scores are then collected for the entrants of each age division, and the highest total is named the winner, with the Top 3 recognised in the newer rule set. For a coordinator the practical work is to keep track of which soloists opted in, which level and age division each belongs to, and to publish the title results separately from the routine results.
Where Title Competition comes from
Crowning one overall winner from a field of soloists is an old idea in competitive dance, borrowed from pageants and talent contests. Studio circuits adopted it so that the best all-round soloist in each age band, not only the best solo in each dance style, could be named at the end of the event.
Where Title Competition is run
In the templates eTalenter holds, the Title Competition is a special event of two United States dance-studio circuits. One is a 2024 regional rule set whose Title contest is open to the two upper ability levels with separate female and male winners in each age division, and the other is the newer 2026-2027 alliance rule set, which opens it to Competitive and Elite soloists in five combined age divisions. It is an adjudicated studio event, run next to the routine sections of a weekend competition, not a stand-alone pageant or a school festival item.
- United States
Key facts
- Individual only, a solo contest; the newer rule set is open to both genders in one division, while the older one gives a separate female and male title in each age division
- Five age divisions on both rule sets: 5 and under, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14 and 15-19; age is taken on 31 December of the competition year
- Open to the upper ability levels only: Competitive and Elite on the newer rule set (an earlier edition of it also admitted the middle level), and Level 2 and Level 3 on the older one; lower levels cannot enter
- Scoring as printed: equal parts technique and overall presentation on the newer rule set, which eTalenter installs as 50 marks each for a total of 100; a single score out of 10 on the older rule set
- The entry is a solo routine already registered for the event; neither template prints a separate time limit for the Title contest, so check the organiser's solo limit
- Five title groups on the alliance template and twenty on the regional one, because the regional rule set crosses age division, level and gender
On eTalenter, Title Competition is filed under Dance, Special and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 2 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Title Competition is most often entered as an Individual competition, commonly run for Male, typically scored out of 10.
What judges look at in Title Competition
What a Title Competition panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Technique, half of the score on the alliance rule set: clean lines, control through turns and landings, and the basics of the dancer's own style done accurately rather than approximately. A dancer who attempts too much and misses loses here before anything else
- Overall presentation, the other half: performance quality, projection, expression, confidence in the first and last seconds, and how well costume, music and choreography fit the dancer. This is where a well-prepared dancer with a modest technical list can still win a division
- Equal weighting matters: because the two headings are worth the same, a technically brilliant solo that is performed flat and a charismatic solo with weak lines both finish behind a dancer who is solid at both
- On the regional rule set the panel gives a single score out of ten, so there are no separate headings to recover marks on; the whole performance is read as one impression and a single weak moment is remembered
- Age-division fairness: the panel compares each dancer with others of the same age band, so material should be right for the age, and difficult tricks beyond the dancer's age are risky rather than impressive
- Consistency with the routine score: the title is built on the same performance that is scored in the ordinary programme, so a routine that was ranked highly in its own category is the natural title entry
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Title Competition under Scoring Setup, or start from the full group dance competition judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Title Competition
How entrants and their teachers usually get Title Competition right on the day:
- Check the entry rules first: which ability level may enter, the age on the cut-off date, and whether the entry fee and the opt-in are made in advance or at the event. A solo that is ineligible for the level cannot be added later
- Choose the strongest all-round solo, not the one with the hardest trick. Because technique and presentation weigh equally, pick the routine that shows both clean fundamentals and a clear personality
- Make the first eight counts and the last eight counts exact. The panel forms an impression in the opening and the finish decides the memory, so rehearse the entrance, the pose and the exit as separate drills
- Record the solo and score it yourself on two headings, technique and presentation, each out of 50. Dancers and teachers usually find that one of the two is weaker, and that is where the next rehearsal should go
- Rehearse the full routine several times in a row without stopping, because a title contest is won by the dancer who is still sharp on the last count and not by the one who was perfect once in the studio
- Dress for the performance: a costume that moves cleanly and lets the lines show, hair and make-up that are secure, and a backup plan for a lost shoe or loose pin, because a distraction costs presentation marks
- Keep the day calm. The routine will already have been performed once in the normal programme, so use that run to settle nerves and use the title entry to repeat it with intent rather than adding new material
- After the result, ask for the judges' comments if the organiser provides them, and note whether technique or presentation held the dancer back before planning the next season
Frequently asked questions
Is Title Competition judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter's templates it's most often run as an Individual entry, commonly for Male, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
What is a Title Competition at a dance competition?
It is an extra solo contest run beside the normal programme. A soloist in the upper ability levels who has entered a routine can also compete for an overall title in their age division, judged on technique and overall presentation. The winner is named separately from the routine placings.
Can anyone enter the Title Competition?
No. On both templates only soloists in the upper ability levels may enter, and the entry must be a solo. The newer rule set names the Competitive and Elite levels, and the older one names Level 2 and Level 3. Lower-level dancers compete in the normal sections only.
How is the Title Competition scored?
On the newer rule set it is judged on equal parts technique and overall presentation, which eTalenter installs as 50 marks each for a total of 100. On the older rule set it is a single score out of ten points. Neither prints marks for finer headings.
Are there separate boys and girls titles?
It depends on the rule set. The older one gives a female and a male title in every age division and level, while the newer one has a single division per age band open to both genders. Check which version your event follows before you plan the entries.
Is the Title Competition the same as the Headshot or Costume contest?
No. On the newer rule set the Title Competition, the Headshot Competition and the Costume Competition are three separate extra events. Title is a performance contest, Headshot is judged on a photograph, and Costume is judged during the solo or group routine.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full group dance competition judging criteria guide, or browse every dance competition item.
Try Title Competition in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Title Competition, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
