A contemporary dance solo class that rewards a dancer with a scholarship, carried on one Australian dance series template with a two-minute limit and a mark out of 100 for each individual dancer.
The Contemporary Scholarship is a higher solo class for contemporary dancers, where the reward is support towards further training rather than only a place on the results sheet. Contemporary dance draws on floor work, release, weight transfer and fluid, grounded movement, and the dancer is judged on how well those qualities are controlled and shaped into a short piece. An adjudicator picking a scholarship winner is looking beyond one good run, for a dancer who shows range, discipline and room to grow.
In eTalenter data the item appears on a single template, a multi-location Australian dance competition series. It offers two divisions, Juniors 12 and under and Seniors 13 and over, each with a two-minute limit. It is an individual item, boys and girls together, with no language requirement and a maximum score of 100. It sits beside the ordinary Contemporary Solo and the Contemporary Troupe on the same template, so a scholarship entry is a separate class, not a replacement for those.
The series prints a full mark sheet for the class: Technique 40, Stage Presence 25, Execution of Performance 20, Choreography 10 and Overall Appearance 5, which adds up to 100. Technique carries the most weight, so a dancer who is secure in control and line starts with an advantage over one who relies on tricks. Choreography and appearance together are only worth 15 marks, so they matter but rarely decide the result alone.
For organisers, the class runs like any individual item. Register each dancer in the right division, record every adjudicator’s mark and let the ranking produce the placings. Any entry conditions or qualification the series applies to scholarship classes are the series’ own rules and are not enforced by the software, so confirm them with the organiser and check eligibility at entry rather than relying on the system.
Where Contemporary Scholarship is run
In eTalenter data Contemporary Scholarship appears on one Australian dance series template. Scholarship classes are common in dance competitions and eisteddfods more widely, but this page describes only what that template carries.
- Australia
Key facts
- Individual entry; boys and girls compete together; no language requirement is printed.
- Two divisions: Juniors 12 and under and Seniors 13 and over.
- Time limit: two minutes in both divisions.
- Maximum score is 100: Technique 40, Stage Presence 25, Execution of Performance 20, Choreography 10, Overall Appearance 5.
- Carried by one template only, alongside Contemporary Solo and Contemporary Troupe.
- Practice idea, not a rule: build the two minutes around one clear movement idea, with a quiet opening, a build and a settled ending, rather than packing in every skill.
On eTalenter, Contemporary Scholarship 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 Scholarship is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 2 minutes where a limit is set.
The scoring method the templates attach to this item, and what that scale means. The category this competition is filed under when a template is installed. Others in this category: Classical Dance, Folk Dance, Western Dance, Group Dance, Solo Dance, Cinematic Dance, Fusion Dance eTalenter matches an item to its criteria on the words in its name, and creates exactly these when the template is installed. No criteria match this name, so none are created automatically — judges score it on the event’s own criteria instead. Each organiser scores this competition on its own criteria. These are the ones the ready-made templates carry.How it is scored
Where it sits
Judging criteria installed for it
How organisers judge it
Time to Shine Dance Competitions
What judges look at in Contemporary Scholarship
What a Contemporary Scholarship panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Technique (40): control of weight, balance, turns and floor transitions, with movement finished rather than dropped between steps.
- Stage presence (25): focus and commitment from the first step to the last held shape, with the dancer sharing the idea with the audience.
- Execution (20): clean delivery under pressure; a lift of the leg or a fall to the floor that is controlled scores above a bigger one that is messy.
- Choreography (10): a clear shape and use of the stage, with the music and the movement supporting each other.
- Overall appearance (5): costume and grooming that suit the piece and let the lines of the body be seen.
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Contemporary Scholarship under Scoring Setup, or start from the full group dance judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Contemporary Scholarship
How entrants and their teachers usually get Contemporary Scholarship right on the day:
- Check with the organiser how scholarship entries are made before the closing date, since conditions are the series’ own.
- Pick a piece that fits the dancer now; a simple idea performed with real control beats an ambitious one that falls apart.
- Time the piece with its music, entrance and exit, and keep a few seconds under the two-minute limit.
- Practise floor work and transitions on a surface like the stage floor, and wear what you will wear on the day.
- Work on dynamics: contrast between sustained and sharp movement keeps two minutes interesting.
- Film a run-through and check that the weight and finishes look as controlled as they feel.
- Rehearse recovering from a slip so the dancer carries on in character rather than stopping.
Ready-made templates that already include this competition. Installing one sets it up for you.Events that run this (1)
Frequently asked questions
Is Contemporary Scholarship 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.
How long is the Contemporary Scholarship?
On the template that carries it the limit is two minutes in both the Juniors 12 and under and the Seniors 13 and over divisions. Check the organiser’s own rules for the event you are entering.
Is it the same as the Contemporary Solo?
No. It is a separate class on the same template. The scholarship is a higher class where the reward is support for further training, while the ordinary solo is the regular class for the style.
How is it marked?
The series prints a sheet out of 100: Technique 40, Stage Presence 25, Execution of Performance 20, Choreography 10 and Overall Appearance 5.
Is it judged individually or as a team?
It is an individual item, boys and girls together. Group dances are separate classes such as the Contemporary Troupe.
Similar competitions
Items whose names share a word with this one — usually the same discipline in another form.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full group dance judging criteria guide, or browse every dance competition item.
Try Contemporary Scholarship in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Contemporary Scholarship, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
