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

A youth stage category for a rehearsed dance routine, performed by one dancer or a team of up to nine, with six minutes on stage and four more for set-up and break-down.

Choreographed Routines is the dance category of a youth talent showcase: a rehearsed routine set to recorded music, planned step by step before the day and performed from start to finish without improvising. The routine can be in any dance style, from jazz, hip hop and line dance to folk, tap or a blend of several, because the category is defined by the fact that it has been choreographed, not by a genre. A routine can be a solo or a group piece, and the two are usually placed in separate age divisions.

In the showcase this page is written from, the category sits beside six others: Variety Show, Instrumental Music, Vocal, a skit category, Poetry/Prose and Solo/Band Performance. One district runs it as an entry of one to nine participants; another accepts an individual entry and a separate team entry of two to nine members, with teams drawn from the same age division (Junior, Intermediate or Senior). Each act is allowed up to six minutes of performance and four more minutes for set-up and break-down, ten minutes in all.

The rules are practical about the stage. Contestants dance in an open ballroom with a carpeted floor and are told to prepare for a space smaller than 20 by 30 feet, so a routine that depends on long diagonals, a wide formation or a run-up for a leap has to be re-planned for a small floor before the day. Music is recorded and played through a speaker provided in the room, or from the contestant’s own device; no accompanist is allowed, and any adult helper backstage may only give music cues and help with costume or prop changes.

Organisers run a category like this to give young people a place to perform a whole prepared piece in front of a judge and an audience, and to reward the planning behind it as well as the dancing. The same routine is expected to go forward from the county contest to the district and state levels: dancers may fine-tune it after each critique, but changing the material completely is not allowed.

Where Choreographed Routines is run

In eTalenter’s data the title Choreographed Routines is carried by one competition, a youth talent showcase run through district contests in the United States, where it is the first of seven stage categories. This page describes the category only as that showcase runs it and does not claim it is run anywhere else under this name. Other dance competitions use related but different items, such as own choreography or student choreography, which are judged separately.

• United States

Key facts

• Individual or team: one district accepts 1 to 9 participants in an act, another accepts an individual entry and a team of 2 to 9 members, with a team drawn from one age division.
• Age divisions are Junior, Intermediate and Senior. The rules name the divisions but do not print the ages, so the organiser sets them.
• Time: up to 6 minutes of performance plus 4 minutes for set-up and break-down, 10 minutes in all. A penalty of 5 points for each minute, or part of a minute, over the limit is taken from the total score.
• Judging areas as printed: material chosen, talent and uniformity in one district; creativity, showmanship and costuming in the other. Marks for each area are not printed, so none are asserted here; the item is marked out of 100.
• Floor: an open, carpeted room; prepare for a space smaller than 20 by 30 feet. Props must fit through a doorway 6 feet wide and 7 feet tall, and one district limits props to a space of 3 by 8 feet.
• Ideas, not rules: a routine built around one clear theme such as a sports day or a season; a medley that moves from slow to fast on one music cut; a team routine in which each dancer has a short solo moment before the group re-forms.

On eTalenter, Choreographed Routines 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, Choreographed Routines is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 6 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Choreographed Routines

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

• Material chosen: the music, the style and the steps should suit the age and ability of the dancers. A routine that is well within the dancers’ reach and performed cleanly will score better than a harder routine that falls apart.
• Talent and technique: control, balance, timing and sharp, finished movement. Judges notice a dancer who is early or late on a count, a team that is out of step, and steps that are rushed to catch up with the music.
• Uniformity in team entries: matching steps, spacing, arm lines and facing, and every dancer finishing the move on the same count. In a small space, spacing is the first thing to slip, so the team should rehearse on a floor of about the same size.
• Creativity and showmanship: a routine with a clear idea, a beginning, a build and an ending, delivered with energy and eye contact, will be remembered over one that is a string of unrelated steps. A confident entrance and a still, clear final pose count.
• Costuming: outfits that suit the music and the idea, are safe to move in and stay in place. Costume items that shed or spill, and anything on the prohibited list for the day such as glitter or confetti, will cost more than they gain.
• Time discipline: the routine must finish inside the six-minute presentation limit. Going over costs 5 points a minute or part of a minute, which can drop a strong routine down the placings. These points are general advice on what a dance panel weighs; the organiser’s own score card sets the exact weights.

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

How to prepare for Choreographed Routines

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

• Pick the music and cut it to length first. Aim for a cut of about five minutes thirty so a slow entrance or a late finish cannot push the routine over six minutes, and keep a second copy of the music on a different device.
• Choreograph for the smallest floor you may meet, not the biggest. Mark a rectangle of about 20 by 30 feet in the practice space with tape and rehearse inside it from the first week.
• Build a six-week plan: weeks one and two for music, theme and the main steps; weeks three and four to join the sections, set the formations and drill transitions; week five for costume and a full run in clothes and shoes; week six for two timed run-throughs on a carpeted floor.
• For a team, teach everyone every count rather than only their own part, so the group can cover a missed step. Assign a lead for each section and agree on a visual cue for the counts that are hard to hear.
• Film a run-through from the front and watch it once without sound. Check spacing, facing and the final pose, then fix the two weakest moments rather than the whole routine.
• Practise the set-up and break-down in the four minutes allowed: carry in the props, place them, start the music and clear the floor, with a timer. Only adult coaches and agents may help backstage, so the team must be able to do it with minimal help.
• Keep the material the same all the way to the state level. After each critique, change small things such as a transition or a lift, not the piece itself.

Frequently asked questions

Is Choreographed Routines 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.

What is a choreographed routine?

A dance planned and rehearsed in advance and performed from start to finish, usually to recorded music. The category does not require a particular style; what matters is that the routine has been choreographed and is performed as rehearsed.

Can I enter as a solo dancer?

Yes. One district accepts 1 to 9 participants in an act, so a solo is allowed. The other accepts an individual entry and, separately, a team of 2 to 9 members from the same age division.

How long can the routine be?

Up to six minutes of performance. Each act also has four minutes for set-up and break-down, ten minutes in total. Going over the time limit loses 5 points for each minute, or part of a minute, from the total score.

Can an adult dance with the team or play the music?

No accompanist is permitted in any category, so the music has to be recorded or performed by the contestant. Adult coaches may give music cues and help with costume or prop changes backstage, but may not take part in any other way.

How much space will I have?

The contest is held in an open ballroom with a carpeted floor, and dancers are told to prepare for a space smaller than 20 by 30 feet. Props must fit through a doorway 6 feet wide and 7 feet tall, and one district limits props to a 3 by 8 foot space.

What are the marking criteria?

The rules name the judging areas, namely material chosen, talent and uniformity in one district and creativity, showmanship and costuming in the other, but do not print marks for them. No marks are listed here, and the advice on this page is general guidance on what dance panels weigh.

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