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

A group stage-dance section, for small and large troupes, in which a routine is built in the style of the Broadway and musical theatre stage, lasts up to five minutes and is marked out of 100.

Broadway/Musical Theatre is the troupe version of the musical-theatre class in a dance programme. A group of dancers performs a routine in the manner of the stage musical: bright, projected, story-led and tightly rehearsed. It is the group counterpart of the solo class Triple Threat Own Choice, but it is a different entry, with its own divisions and its own, longer time limit.

A round is one troupe taking the floor, performing a single routine to its own music and leaving. The adjudicator is watching for the things that make musical-theatre dance distinct from a general jazz or lyrical piece: a clear idea or scene, performers who play to the audience rather than to the floor, and choreography that moves the story along instead of simply filling the music. Costume, entrances and the way a group forms and breaks its pictures all count towards the picture a judge forms.

On the template that carries it, the item runs as two troupe sizes: small troupes of 4 to 11 dancers and large troupes of 12 or more. Each size has seven age divisions, from 6 and under up to Open Age, so fourteen entry sections in all. Each routine may last up to five minutes, boys and girls compete together, no spoken language is required, and every entry is marked out of 100. There is no babies’ 5U version and no solo or duo version of this item.

Organisers run a section like this because groups are where studios show ensemble work. It rewards spacing, unison, shared character and stagecraft, which a row of solos cannot, and it gives schools and studios a reason to stage a number from a show rather than a generic dance.

Where Broadway/Musical Theatre is run

The item appears on one template in the library, a dance challenge held in New South Wales, Australia, where it sits among the troupe sections beside Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary, Classical Ballet, Tap, Hip Hop and Own Choice. Musical-theatre dance is taught and competed in many countries, and several other dance and performing-arts festivals run comparable classes under their own names, but this page describes the class as that template defines it.

• Australia

Key facts

• A troupe-only item: it has no solo or duo version on the template (the solo musical-theatre class is a separate item, Triple Threat Own Choice).
• Two sizes: small troupes of 4 to 11 dancers and large troupes of 12 or more; where a section has a single entry the two may be combined.
• Seven age divisions per size, 6U, 8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U and Open Age, fourteen sections in total; the 5U babies’ division does not run it.
• Time limit 5 minutes per routine, strictly enforced; marked out of 100 under the label Marks. Boys and girls compete together.
• Age is taken from the eldest dancer, and a troupe may have no more than two dancers older than the section age, by no more than 12 months.
• The template prints no judging criteria for this item, so none are installed; the adjudicator’s own sheet decides.
• Idea starters, not rules: a five-minute ‘overture to curtain call’ that tells a whole show in miniature, an ensemble number built around one prop used by everyone, or a scene change danced in silhouette.

On eTalenter, Broadway/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/Musical Theatre is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 5 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Broadway/Musical Theatre

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

• Style and idea: the routine is recognisably musical theatre or Broadway, with a clear scene, mood or character that holds from the opening picture to the final pose.
• Ensemble technique: unison where it is meant, clean spacing and formations, and every dancer finishing steps rather than only the strongest ones.
• Performance and projection: faces, eyes and energy reach the back of the room, and the troupe plays to the audience as a company rather than as a row of individuals.
• Staging: entrances, exits, transitions and groupings are planned, and the five minutes are used to build and release the story rather than repeat one idea.
• Music, costume and suitability: the choice of music, costume and difficulty fits the age division, and the routine ends inside the five-minute limit.

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

How to prepare for Broadway/Musical Theatre

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

• Settle the story before the steps: write the idea of the number in one sentence and make sure each section of the routine serves it.
• Cast for the group, not just the front line; give every dancer a clear job so the back row is as committed as the front.
• Rehearse entrances, exits and costume changes as carefully as the dance, because the floor is empty and the clock is running.
• Time the whole routine with the music, including the walk on, and leave a margin under the five-minute limit.
• Practise performing out: run the number in a hall with someone at the back and ask whether they can see the expression.
• Keep the choreography at a level the whole troupe can do cleanly; a simpler number with strong unison beats a difficult one that frays.
• Check the age rule before entering: the section follows the eldest dancer, and only two older dancers are allowed, within twelve months.

Frequently asked questions

Is Broadway/Musical Theatre judged individually or as a team?

Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Team entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.

Is Broadway/Musical Theatre a solo or a group section?

On the template it is a group section only, for small and large troupes. The solo musical-theatre class is the separate item Triple Threat Own Choice.

How long can a Broadway/Musical Theatre routine be?

Up to five minutes in every division on the template, strictly enforced and marked out of 100.

How many dancers make a small and a large troupe?

Small troupes are 4 to 11 dancers and large troupes are 12 or more. Where only one troupe enters a section, the two sizes may be combined.

Can younger children enter?

The item starts at the 6 and under division. The youngest babies (5U) division has its own sections and does not run this one.

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