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

A stage-show dance section in which the performer brings a big, bright, theatrical routine to life in the style of a Broadway musical number.

Broadway is the entertainment section of a dance programme. Instead of showing one pure technique, the dancer performs a routine in the spirit of a stage musical: a strong opening pose, a clear character or mood, sharp jazz-based movement, and a finish that earns applause. Steps are borrowed freely from jazz, tap, ballet and musical-theatre style, but they are put at the service of showmanship, so the audience should feel they have watched a number from a show rather than an exercise.

A round is a single performance on the stage floor, up to the time limit in the syllabus. The music is usually a song or arrangement from the musical-theatre repertoire, and the dancer is expected to play to the audience as well as to the adjudicator: eye line out to the room, big shapes, expressive faces and a story that can be followed without words. Strong entries keep the energy high from the first beat, have a recognisable character, and place their best technical moments (a kick sequence, a turn combination, a held balance) where the music lifts.

On the Shine Bright Dance Challenge template, which this page is written from, Broadway is a solo section. Each age from 7 to 15, then 16-17 and 18 and over, is offered at four levels, Specially Restricted, Restricted, Open and Advance, giving 44 groups for the style. Solos run up to three minutes, boys and girls compete together, no language is needed, and every entry is marked out of 100 under the label Marks. The syllabus prints no criteria for the section, so none are installed and the adjudicator’s own sheet decides.

Organisers keep a Broadway section because it gives dancers who love performing a place to be rewarded for personality and stagecraft, not only for technique, and it is popular with audiences. For a coordinator using eTalenter it is entered like any other item: register the dancer in the right age and level group, record the adjudicator’s mark out of 100, and the placing follows within that group. Broadway is a different section from Musical Theatre and Song and Dance on the same template, so check which one a dancer has entered.

Where Broadway is run

In eTalenter’s data Broadway appears on three Australian dance templates: a studio-run dance challenge, a performing-arts challenge and a school-holiday eisteddfod. Where printed, solos run up to three minutes and are marked out of 100, and two of the three also run duo and trio entries. Broadway and musical-theatre sections are a common part of dance festivals in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries with a studio dance and stage-school tradition.

• Australia
• United Kingdom
• United States

Key facts

• Individual (solo) entry on the Shine Bright Dance Challenge template; boys and girls compete together.
• Ages 7 to 15, then 16-17 and 18 and over, each at four levels (Specially Restricted, Restricted, Open, Advance): 44 groups in all.
• Time limit in the template: 3 minutes for solos; the same limit is used for the duo and trio entries on the other two templates that carry the style.
• Marks out of 100 under the label Marks; no criteria are printed, so the adjudicator’s sheet decides.
• Placings as printed: medal for 1st, medals for 2nd and 3rd, certificates for highly commended.
• Idea starters, not rules: a number built around a big-city dreamer arriving with a suitcase, a backstage-to-spotlight story, or a classic show-style routine with a hat and cane.

On eTalenter, Broadway is filed under Dance and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 3 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 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

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

• Showmanship and performance quality: confident projection to the audience, a character that stays consistent, and energy that does not drop mid-routine.
• Technique within the style: clean jazz-based lines, secure turns and kicks, and controlled landings even at show-tempo speed.
• Choreography: a shaped number with a strong opening, a build and a finish, using the stage well rather than staying in one spot.
• Musicality and timing: movement hits the accents of the arrangement and the dancer is on the beat, not chasing it.
• Costume and presentation: a stage-ready outfit and tidy hair that suit the character and let the movement be seen, with a polished entrance and exit.
• Story and expression: a clear mood or tale told through face and body, so the number reads as a scene from a show.

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

How to prepare for Broadway

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

• Choose music that suits the dancer’s age and personality, and learn what the song is about so the face and body tell the same story.
• Plan the opening and closing poses first; judges form an impression within seconds and remember the last image.
• Rehearse at performance energy, not marking, and build stamina so the final thirty seconds are as sharp as the first.
• Practise looking out to the audience: have a teacher or parent sit at the back of the room and say when the dancer is performing to the floor.
• Keep the routine inside the three-minute limit with the music cut already timed, leaving a few seconds for the entrance.
• Work on one or two standout technical moments and place them on the big musical lifts rather than spreading tricks evenly.
• Check the level honestly against the printed definitions of Specially Restricted, Restricted, Open and Advance before entering.
• Rehearse in the full costume and shoes at least once, including any prop, so nothing is a surprise on the day.

Frequently asked questions

Is Broadway 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 Broadway and Musical Theatre?

Both are entertainment sections, but the Broadway section is about a big, show-style dance number built on jazz-based movement and stagecraft, while Musical Theatre usually leans on character and storytelling from a particular show. On the Shine Bright Dance Challenge template they are separate solo sections, so check the syllabus wording and the dancer’s entry.

How long is a Broadway solo?

The Shine Bright Dance Challenge syllabus gives solos up to three minutes. Other organisers set their own limits, so check the syllabus for the event you are entering.

Does a Broadway dancer have to sing?

The template says nothing about live singing and lists the section as a dance style, marked out of 100 as dance. Song and Dance is a separate section for that, so check the syllabus before adding vocals.

How is Broadway judged?

It is marked out of 100 by the adjudicator. The syllabus prints no criteria or mark bands for it, so the adjudicator’s own sheet applies; panels in show-style sections generally weigh showmanship, technique, choreography, timing and presentation.

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