Contemporary Pas de Deux Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A partnered duet for two young dancers in a contemporary, non-classical style, performed within three and a half minutes and marked out of 100 on technique and artistry together.

A contemporary pas de deux is a duet in which two dancers create one piece together, using the language of modern and contemporary dance instead of the set steps of a classical ballet extract. Weight sharing, floor work, lifts that grow out of the movement, and shapes that only make sense because there are two bodies are all part of the vocabulary. It sits beside the classical pas de deux in the competition, but the choice of movement, music and story is the pair’s own.

In the edition behind this page, a United States youth ballet and contemporary competition for dancers aged 9 to 20, the item is a team entry of two. Like every pas de deux there it is not placed in one of the three solo age divisions. The pair enter the ensemble division, where the average age of the two dancers must fall between 9 and 20, so partners of different ages can dance together. Both boys and girls may enter, and the partner may not be a professional dancer: anyone engaged as an apprentice, trainee or full-time or part-time member of a professional company.

A round is one performance against the clock. The pair deliver a single music file named as the rules require for a pas de deux, and have up to three and a half minutes on stage. The rules describe contemporary entries as having no music restrictions, which leaves the choice of style, track and costume to the choreographer. Each judge in a panel of usually three to five gives a technical mark and an artistic mark, averages them, and the panel’s scores are averaged into a total out of 100. No weights for the two elements are printed.

Organisers include the contemporary pas de deux because it rewards a different strength from the classical duet. A studio can enter a pair whose best work is expressive, inventive partnering rather than a repertoire extract, and the shorter time limit makes it a fair test of a tightly edited idea. With only 3:30 on the clock, a clear beginning, a developing middle and a clean ending matter more than the number of tricks.

Where Contemporary Pas de Deux is run

In eTalenter’s data Contemporary Pas de Deux is carried by one template, a United States youth ballet and contemporary competition that runs solos, pairs and groups in separate classes. The 3:30 limit, the average-age rule and the 100-point marking described here belong to that competition. Other dance events handle duets differently, under their own age bands, time limits and scoring sheets, and they are not covered on this page.

• United States

Key facts

• Team entry of two dancers, boys and girls, in an ensemble division where the average age of the pair must be between 9 and 20, instead of in the solo age divisions.
• Time limit: 3:30, which is just over half of the six minutes given to a classical pas de deux. Music longer than the limit can lead to point deductions or disqualification, and dancers cannot buy extra time.
• Scored out of 100. Every judge averages a technical mark and an artistic mark, and the total is the average of all judges. The rules print no weights per element and no points for the placings.
• The partner may not be a professional dancer. Where the male dancer is 14 or younger, the rules strongly encourage par terre partnering, with no lifting above shoulder level.
• If fewer than six pas de deux, classical and contemporary together, compete, they are combined into the ensemble category for judging.
• Idea starters, not rules: build the duet around one simple image such as a conversation, a tug of war or a shared journey; let one lift come out of the story rather than the other way round; give both dancers a moment alone and a moment of equal contact.

On eTalenter, Contemporary Pas de Deux 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, Contemporary Pas de Deux is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 3 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Contemporary Pas de Deux

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

• Partnering craft: the panel watches how weight is given, taken and shared. Lifts and counterbalances that look controlled and grow out of the phrase score better than a trick that stops the flow, and a visible grab or a slow catch costs marks.
• Technique of both dancers: line, placement, balance and clean transitions for each partner, including the one who spends a section supporting. A strong dancer paired with an unsure one usually sees the technical mark follow the weaker partner.
• Artistry and intention: whether the duet says something. Eye contact, shared breathing and a clear mood or relationship make it a duet. Two dancers performing the same movement side by side tend to read as two soloists.
• Choreography and use of space: a piece that builds, uses the whole stage and has a recognisable beginning and ending. With only 3:30 available, repeated ideas and dead patches show up quickly.
• Musicality and editing: arriving on the phrase together, using silence and accents on purpose, and cutting the track so that it finishes inside the limit. Music that runs over the limit is penalised.
• Suitability and safety: material that matches the pair’s age and strength. With a male partner aged 14 or younger, the rules advise par terre work, so a lift beyond his strength shows as risk instead of skill.

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

How to prepare for Contemporary Pas de Deux

How entrants and their teachers usually get Contemporary Pas de Deux right on the day:

• Start with the pair, not the steps. List what each dancer can do securely on a bad day, then design the duet around the overlap. A modest idea danced with trust scores above an ambitious one that wobbles.
• Check eligibility at registration: the average age of the two dancers must be between 9 and 20, and the partner must not be a professional dancer. Settling this early avoids a late change when penalties apply.
• Choose one clear idea and keep it simple. Name it in a sentence, then ask of every phrase whether it supports that sentence. Cut anything that does not.
• Time the finished piece with a stopwatch against the 3:30 limit and leave a few seconds of margin for the entrance and a held final pose. Music that is too long risks point deductions or disqualification.
• Prepare the music file once. Name it as the rules require for pas de deux files, with the dance, the entry type, the school and the length, and keep a copy on a second device. Files sent late or changed during the competition weekend attract penalties.
• Rehearse in stages: first the partnering sections slowly, then the transitions between them, then the whole piece with music, then performance quality with a mirror or a phone recording. Run it fully in costume and shoes at least twice in the last fortnight.
• Keep props to a minimum. The rules warn that backstage space is limited, theatres may restrict props, and props are used at the dancers’ own risk, so check any prop with the teacher before it becomes part of the choreography.
• After a loss, watch the recording and mark where the two dancers separate, where a lift slows or where a pause drifts. Those moments, not the difficulty of the steps, are usually what to fix before the next event.

Frequently asked questions

Is Contemporary Pas de Deux 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.

How long can a contemporary pas de deux be?

In this edition the limit is 3:30. Music that runs longer can lead to point deductions or disqualification, and dancers cannot buy extra time.

Is a contemporary pas de deux the same as a duet or trio entry?

No. In the competition described here the pas de deux is its own entry for exactly two dancers with a 3:30 limit, while the duet or trio entry takes two or three dancers and has its own 2:45 limit. Both are team entries in the same ensemble division.

Do both dancers have to be the same age?

No. The rule is on the average age of the two dancers, which must fall between 9 and 20, so an older and a younger partner can enter together. The partner must not be a professional dancer.

Are the two dancers judged separately?

Not as separate entries. The pair receives one score out of 100, built from each judge’s technical and artistic marks and averaged across the panel. Partnering and shared timing count inside those marks.

Can we choose any music and style?

The rules describe contemporary entries as having no music restrictions, so style and track are the pair’s choice within the 3:30 limit. The music must be sent as one file named in the required way, and late changes can be penalised.

What if only a few pairs enter?

If fewer than six pas de deux, classical and contemporary together, compete, they are combined into the ensemble category and judged there.

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