A technique-led jazz dance section built on classical jazz line, controlled isolations, precise kicks, leaps and turns, run in Australian solo, duo and trio dance competitions and judged mainly on technique.
Traditional jazz is the technique-first side of the jazz family. The vocabulary is the classic jazz dance vocabulary – isolations of the head, ribs and hips, grounded plié and parallel positions, sharp kicks, leaps with a clear line, pirouettes and fan kicks, floor work and strong arm shapes – and it is usually set to music with a defined, driving beat. The aim is control and precision as much as energy: a panel expects to see clean placement, a long line and movement that finishes exactly where it should.
Competitions that list it normally put it beside Commercial Jazz, Broadway Jazz and Musical Theatre in a long list of genres, because each of those rewards something different. Traditional Jazz is the section where the technique of the dancer is the main thing on show, whereas Commercial Jazz leans on groove and attitude and Broadway Jazz and Musical Theatre lean on character and storytelling. Being separate sections, they let a dancer with a strong classical-jazz foundation compete against others of the same style.
In the solos, duos and trios edition this page is written from, Traditional Jazz is one of sixteen genres and a dancer may enter several solos but not the same genre twice. Solos have seven age groups, from 5 and under (babies) to 15 and over, with age counted on 1 January, and every solo age group is further split into four sections by competition history: My First Year (the first twelve months of solo competition), Specially Restricted (has not yet placed first with four or more competitors), Restricted (has placed first in a specially restricted section with four or more competitors) and Open (has won a restricted section with four or more competitors). Duos and trios are entered by the oldest dancer, with names and dates of birth required, in six age groups from 6 and under to 15 and over, and no sections are printed for them. Marks are out of 100: Technique 50, Choreography 15, Performance Quality 15, Musicality and Interpretation 15, and Costuming and Presentation 5. First, second and third receive a custom award and Highly Commended a medal; no placing points are printed. That edition prints no time limit for the item.
A second Australian solos, duos and trios competition in eTalenter’s data runs the same title with its own age groups (solos at 5, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 and under and 15 and over; duos and trios at 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 and under and 15 and over) and prints time limits: 2 minutes 30 seconds for solo dancers aged 8 and under and 3 minutes for older soloists and for duos and trios. It prints no marking scale, so every routine is carried at the default 100 marks. Because the two editions are marked differently, the criteria on this page apply to the first edition only.
Where Traditional Jazz comes from
Jazz dance grew out of African American vernacular and social dance in the early twentieth century and was developed for the theatre, film and television stage in the United States, where studios later codified its technique. The word “traditional” in a competition syllabus is the organiser’s label for the technique-led, classical-jazz style as opposed to the pop-led commercial style; it is a competition category rather than a historical period.
Where Traditional Jazz is run
In eTalenter’s data the exact title Traditional Jazz is carried by two Australian dance competitions: a solos, duos and trios competition that splits every solo age group into four sections of competition history, and a second national solos, duos, trios and troupes programme with its own age groups and time limits. Studio and eisteddfod programmes elsewhere use a similar section or run it inside a general jazz class. This page describes the item only as these two editions run it and does not claim use outside Australia.
- Australia
Key facts
- Individual (solo) and Team (duo or trio): a solo is one dancer, and a duo or trio is entered under the oldest dancer’s name, with boys and girls together in every group.
- Solo age groups in the first edition: 5 and under, 6, 7–8, 9–10, 11–12, 13–14 and 15 and over, counted on 1 January, each split into My First Year, Specially Restricted, Restricted and Open sections; duos and trios have six age-only groups.
- Judged out of 100 in the first edition: Technique 50, Choreography 15, Performance Quality 15, Musicality and Interpretation 15, Costuming and Presentation 5. The second edition prints no criteria.
- Time: the first edition prints no limit; the second prints 2 minutes 30 seconds for solo dancers aged 8 and under and 3 minutes for older soloists and for duos and trios.
- A dancer may enter several solos but not the same genre twice, so Traditional Jazz is one entry among a set of genres rather than the whole programme.
- Traditional Jazz is separate from Commercial Jazz, Broadway Jazz and Musical Theatre: it is the technique-first jazz section, with half of the marks in the first edition going to technique alone.
On eTalenter, Traditional Jazz is filed under Dance 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, Traditional Jazz 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 Traditional Jazz
What a Traditional Jazz panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Technique, worth half the marks where criteria are printed: turnout and parallel positions held correctly, isolations that are clean and placed, kicks and leaps with a full line, turns that finish balanced and landings that are quiet. This is the criterion that decides the section, so a routine with a few tricks and loose basics loses far more here than it gains elsewhere.
- Choreography, 15 marks: movement that suits the dancer’s age and level, a clear shape from first count to last, contrasts of level, direction and tempo, and steps chosen because the dancer can do them well. A routine that repeats one impressive move scores below one that builds.
- Performance quality, 15 marks: focus, a confident face and projection to the back of the room. Traditional jazz is precise rather than loose, so the performance reads as controlled energy, not casual attitude; a technically tidy but blank routine leaves marks behind.
- Musicality and interpretation, 15 marks: landing accents and finishes on the beat, using the dynamics and phrasing of the track and showing the style through the music. Dancing ahead of or behind the count shows up straight away to a panel that is marking technique.
- Costuming and presentation, 5 marks: a tidy, age-suitable costume and a neat entrance and exit. It is the smallest weighting, so a good costume cannot cover weak technique, but a loose costume, untidy hair or a poor finish can cost easy marks.
- Section fit: a dancer is placed in My First Year, Specially Restricted, Restricted or Open by competition history, so a routine should be pitched at that level rather than copied from a more advanced section.
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Traditional Jazz under Scoring Setup, or start from the full group dance judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Traditional Jazz
How entrants and their teachers usually get Traditional Jazz right on the day:
- Check the section before entering. Work out the dancer’s competition history against the printed definitions of My First Year, Specially Restricted, Restricted and Open, and enter the one that fits; an incorrect section can cost a placing even after a good performance.
- Choose a track that suits the style. A clear, driving beat with defined accents lets the technique show, and a track cut to fit the time limit with a short silent lead-in is easier to start on the first count than a dense mix.
- Build the routine around the dancer’s strongest technique. Pick a leap, a turn sequence and a kick combination the dancer can land cleanly every time, and keep the difficult steps for where the music supports them, not where they cannot be recovered.
- Plan six weeks. Weeks one and two: music and choreography; weeks three and four: technique clean-up – counts, placement and finishing each step; week five: performance, focus and costume; week six: three full run-throughs on a floor of stage size with a stopwatch.
- Film from the front and watch with the sound off. Mark every place where a foot is not pointed, an arm is late or a turn comes down off balance, and fix those seconds one at a time instead of repeating the whole routine.
- Practise the entrance and exit. Know the first position, hold the final pose and walk off cleanly, because the first and last seconds are what a panel sees before and after the dance.
- After a placing that falls short, ask for the adjudicator’s comments if the event gives them, and use the technique feedback to choose the next season’s steps; with technique worth half the marks, small gains in line and landing move a dancer up faster than extra tricks.
Frequently asked questions
Is Traditional Jazz 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 Traditional Jazz and Commercial Jazz?
Traditional Jazz is the technique-led section, built on classical jazz line, placement and precision. Commercial Jazz is the pop-music and music-video style, with more groove and attitude. The competitions in eTalenter’s data list the two as separate genres.
How are Traditional Jazz solos marked?
In the edition that prints criteria, out of 100: Technique 50, Choreography 15, Performance Quality 15, Musicality and Interpretation 15 and Costuming and Presentation 5. The other edition in eTalenter’s data prints no marking scale, so no criteria can be quoted for it.
How long can a Traditional Jazz routine be?
It depends on the competition. One edition prints no limit; the other prints 2 minutes 30 seconds for solo dancers aged 8 and under and 3 minutes for older soloists and for duos and trios. Always check the syllabus of the event you are entering.
Can a dancer enter Traditional Jazz more than once?
In the first edition a dancer may enter several solos but not the same genre twice, so a dancer can enter Traditional Jazz once as a solo alongside other genres such as Lyrical or Hip Hop.
What are My First Year, Specially Restricted, Restricted and Open?
Sections of competition history within each solo age group. My First Year is the first twelve months of solo competition; Specially Restricted is a dancer who has not placed first with four or more competitors; Restricted is a dancer who has placed first in a specially restricted section with four or more competitors; Open is a dancer who has won a restricted section with four or more competitors.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full group dance judging criteria guide, or browse every dance competition item.
Try Traditional Jazz in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Traditional Jazz, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
