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

A contemporary dance section that borrows the polish, attack and audience appeal of music-video, stage-show and television choreography while keeping a contemporary movement base.

Commercial contemporary takes the floor-aware, release-and-recover vocabulary of contemporary dance and dresses it for an audience: sharper accents on the beat, strong facial performance, clean formations and a finish that lands like the end of a music video. Think of how a pop tour or a televised talent show stages a contemporary number. The movement can still use spirals, falls, extensions and floor work, but the piece is built to read instantly from the back of a hall and to hold attention for every second.

A round is one performance on a stage floor. The dancer or team is announced, the track starts and the adjudicator watches the whole piece, writing comments and a mark as it unfolds. There is no fixed list of steps, so the panel looks at how well the choreography suits the track, how cleanly it is executed and how confidently the dancer sells it.

In the eTalenter catalogue Commercial Contemporary appears on 5 dance templates. On the Rise Up Dance Creative template it follows Lyrical and is entered as a solo in three levels (Specially Restricted, Restricted and Open) across seven age divisions from 6 and under to 17 and over, as duo/trio entries by age, a parent and child section, troupe entries by age and school sections from Preschool to High School Grade 12 and Small Schools. Solos, duo/trio and parent and child run to three minutes, troupe and school sections to four. Boys and girls compete together, there is no language requirement and entries are marked out of 100 under the label Marks. The template prints no marking criteria, so none are installed here and the adjudicator’s own sheet applies.

Organisers list it apart from Traditional Contemporary and Lyrical because the emphasis differs: commercial contemporary rewards performance energy and a modern, music-driven look, while the neighbouring sections lean towards classic contemporary technique or song-led storytelling. In eTalenter it is entered like any other item: register each dancer or team in the right age division and level, record the adjudicator’s mark out of 100, and placings follow within each division.

Where Commercial Contemporary is run

In eTalenter’s data Commercial Contemporary appears on 5 dance templates, all dance competitions and challenges of the Australian-style eisteddfod and festival format, including Rise Up Dance Creative. Sections with this name are a feature of competitive dance programmes in Australia and North America, usually listed beside Lyrical, Jazz and Hip Hop.

• Australia
• United States
• Canada

Key facts

• Solo (Specially Restricted, Restricted, Open) in seven age divisions from 6 and under to 17 and over on the Rise Up template; also duo/trio, parent and child, troupe and school entries.
• Boys and girls compete together; no language requirement.
• Time limit in the Rise Up template: 3 minutes for solos, duo/trio and parent and child; 4 minutes for troupe and school sections.
• Marks out of 100 under the label Marks; the template prints no criteria, so the adjudicator’s sheet decides.
• Used on 5 dance templates in the catalogue.
• Idea starters, not rules: a piece set to a current chart-style track, a “stage entrance” number, a story of a first audition, a team piece built on one strong formation change, a high-energy opener that settles into floor work.

On eTalenter, Commercial Contemporary is filed under Dance and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 5 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Commercial Contemporary is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to 2–5 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Commercial Contemporary

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

• Performance and projection: the dancer should look as if the stage is theirs from the first count, with eye line, face and energy reaching the back row.
• Contemporary technique under the polish: controlled turns, extensions, floor transitions and clean lines still decide marks, even when the look is glossy.
• Musicality: accents, pauses and builds should be placed on the track’s beats and lifts, not drifted past.
• Choreography and staging: a clear opening, development and finish, with direction changes and levels used to keep a short piece interesting.
• Unison and spacing for teams: lines, formations and timing must stay tidy; one late dancer is visible immediately.
• Presentation: costume, styling and a confident exit that suit a commercial, show-ready look.

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

How to prepare for Commercial Contemporary

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

• Pick a track with clear dynamics, then cut it to fit the three- or four-minute limit so the ending feels deliberate, not clipped.
• Match the choreography to the dancer’s level. A clean, well-sold piece beats an overloaded one that loses control.
• Rehearse performance as seriously as steps: practise facial expression and eye line in a mirror and on video.
• For teams, count through the spacing changes on their own, then add the music so formations land together.
• Do two full run-throughs back to back close to the date to build stamina for the final section.
• Rehearse in the real costume and shoes on a floor similar to the stage surface.
• Film a run-through and review it for stray arms, late exits and a flat finish before the day.

Frequently asked questions

Is Commercial Contemporary 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 commercial contemporary dance?

It is contemporary dance presented in a polished, audience-facing style similar to music-video and stage-show choreography, with strong performance energy and clean staging.

How is commercial contemporary different from lyrical?

Lyrical is tied to the feeling of a song and keeps a soft, ballet-influenced line. Commercial contemporary is more driven by the beat and the show-ready look, though both can use contemporary movement.

How long is a Commercial Contemporary entry?

On the Rise Up Dance Creative template solos, duo/trio and parent and child entries run to three minutes, and troupe and school sections to four.

Is it judged individually or as a team?

Solos are judged individually. Duo/trio, parent and child, troupe and school entries are judged as one performance and ranked within their own division.

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