Broadway Jazz/Musical Theatre Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A solo stage routine in the sharp, theatrical style of a Broadway musical number, where a single dancer is placed on how well movement, character and showmanship come together inside three minutes.

Broadway jazz, often grouped with musical theatre dance, is the style of dancing you see in a stage musical: strong jazz technique (kicks, turns, isolations, leaps) but with a story attached. The dancer is not only showing steps, they are playing a character, and the audience should be able to tell from the face, the posture and the pace of the routine what the number is about. The dancing is bigger and brighter than in a concert lyrical piece, and it is usually performed to a recognisable show tune or to music with a clear theatrical feel.

In the dance competition series behind this page, held in Victoria, Australia, Broadway Jazz/Musical Theatre is one of the printed solo styles that sit beside Jazz, Neo Classical, Classical, Demi Character, Tap, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Acrobatics, Song and Dance/Tap, Open Style and Own Choreography. It is entered in the same seven solo age divisions as the other solo styles: 4 and 5, 6 and 7, 8 and 9, 10 and 11, 12 and 13, 14 and 15, and Open Age. A separate Broadway Jazz entry is also offered for duos, trios and quads, so a studio that runs a solo class can follow it with a small-group class in the same style.

A round is simple to describe. One dancer walks on, takes a starting position, and performs one routine of up to three minutes to their own music. The routine is placed against the others in the same age division, and the pack names trophies for first to third place with a highly commended medal. Because the style is open to character and costume, two entries in the same division can look quite different: one may be a tap-flavoured showgirl number, another a moody dramatic scene.

Organisers run it because it is popular with audiences and gives studios a place for dancers who are as strong in acting and expression as in technique. It also widens the solo list: a dancer who enters Jazz, Lyrical and Broadway Jazz/Musical Theatre shows range, and the series’ Diamond Dancer title asks for two solo sections in the same age group, so this style is one of the choices a dancer can combine.

Where Broadway Jazz/Musical Theatre is run

In eTalenter’s data this item belongs to a single template, a Victorian (Australia) dance series that offers it in seven solo age divisions from 4 and 5 up to Open Age. Broadway jazz and musical theatre dance are taught and competed in dance schools, theatre schools and eisteddfod-style festivals in many countries, but the three-minute limit, the age bands and the placings described here are that series’ own rules, so this page does not claim them for any other event.

• Australia

Key facts

• Individual entry, boys and girls together, in seven solo age divisions: 4 and 5, 6 and 7, 8 and 9, 10 and 11, 12 and 13, 14 and 15, and Open Age. Ages are taken as at 1 January of the competition year.
• Time limit: 3 minutes for a solo (the 4-minute limit in the same pack applies only to Song and Dance/Tap and Tap entries, not to this style).
• Placings printed for solos: trophies for 1st to 3rd and a highly commended medal. The pack prints no marks, criteria or mark bands, so eTalenter’s template records the placings at 0 points and uses a score out of 100 only as a default for the panel.
• A duo, trio and quad version of Broadway Jazz is a separate entry in the same series. The championships run in the series are Jazz, Lyrical/Contemporary, Tap and Vocal, so there is no Broadway championship.
• For the Diamond Dancer title a dancer needs two solo sections in their age group and may repeat a solo, but not a championship routine.
• Idea starters, not rules: a number from a well-known stage musical suited to the age group, a chorus-line style routine built around one strong prop, a story told in three short scenes, a comic character piece, a vaudeville-style routine with a quick-change ending.

On eTalenter, Broadway Jazz/Musical Theatre is filed under Dance and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Broadway Jazz/Musical Theatre 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 Broadway Jazz/Musical Theatre

What a Broadway Jazz/Musical Theatre panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Jazz technique inside the character: turns, kicks, leaps and isolations still need clean execution. A strong character does not rescue a routine whose turns are not finished or whose leaps land heavily.
• Character and storytelling: the panel looks for a clear person or situation. A dancer who changes expression only for the final pose reads as nervous; one who stays in the story from the first beat to the last reads as a performer.
• Showmanship and projection: facing out, using the eyeline, sharpness of the arms and the size of the movement. In a big stage number the back row of a hall is part of the audience.
• Musical theatre style: accents on the beat, a contrast between sharp and smooth sections, and movement that matches the style of the chosen song. A routine that could be to any piece of music misses what makes the style distinct.
• Choreography and suitability: a routine that is built for the age division, with a build-up and an ending, is easier to place than a series of tricks. Content that is too grown-up for a six-year-old is a mismatch a panel will notice.
• Costume, props and presentation: they support the story but do not replace it. Anything that slows the entrance or leaves the stage messy can cost more than it gains. (The pack prints no criteria; these are the points organisers commonly weigh, not printed rules.)

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Broadway Jazz/Musical Theatre under Scoring Setup, or start from the full group dance judging criteria guide.

How to prepare for Broadway Jazz/Musical Theatre

How entrants and their teachers usually get Broadway Jazz/Musical Theatre right on the day:

• Choose a number the dancer actually understands. Younger dancers do better with a clear, cheerful character than with a complex emotional scene, and the age division is a guide to how big the idea should be.
• Time the routine on a stopwatch against the three-minute limit, counting the opening pose and the final pose. A routine that is cut off by the limit loses its finish.
• Build the routine in layers: the steps first, then the sharpness and the counts, then the character and face, then the music cues. Expression added too early on weak technique usually has to be removed again.
• Practise the face and the eyeline separately in front of a mirror or a phone. In stage jazz the expression has to be seen from the back of the hall, so it is larger than it feels in the studio.
• Rehearse the entrance and the last pose on their own. A strong first eight counts and a held final position are what a panel remembers.
• Do full run-throughs in costume and shoes, at least twice a week in the last fortnight, including any prop handling or quick change so that nothing is attempted for the first time on the day.
• Check the entry rules before choosing the music: how it is submitted, what the time limit is, and whether the routine has already been used in another section.
• After a result you did not want, ask for the written comments and fix one thing for the next event, usually technique that fell apart in the hardest passage or a character that faded in the middle.

Frequently asked questions

Is Broadway Jazz/Musical Theatre 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.

Is Broadway Jazz/Musical Theatre the same as Jazz?

No. In the series on this page Jazz and Broadway Jazz/Musical Theatre are two separate solo styles. Jazz is judged as a dance style, while Broadway Jazz/Musical Theatre expects the same technique to be wrapped in a stage character.

How long can the solo be?

Three minutes. The longer four-minute limit in the same pack is only for Song and Dance/Tap or Tap entries.

Can a dancer sing as well?

This entry is a dance solo. The pack runs a separate Song and Dance/Tap solo and a Vocal Solo, so a routine that needs singing belongs in one of those, not here.

Is this the same page as Broadway Jazz or Broadway Jazz/Musical Theatre Solo?

No. Those are separate catalogue entries used on other templates, with their own age bands and rules. This page covers only the solo entry in the Victorian series that uses the title Broadway Jazz/Musical Theatre.

Does a dancer have to enter every solo style?

The pack prints no minimum for ordinary solo entries, so a dancer chooses the styles they want. Entering several styles is useful for the Diamond Dancer title, which asks for two solo sections in the dancer’s age group.

Want the full judging picture? Read the full group dance judging criteria guide, or browse every dance competition item.