Hip Hop Improvisation Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A solo dance section in which the dancer is given a hip hop track they have not rehearsed to and must create freestyle movement on the spot, marked out of 100 by the adjudicator.

Hip Hop Improvisation is a solo section where the dancing is made in the moment. Hip hop is built on groove, rhythm and attitude, and freestyle is its natural form: the dancer hears a track, usually for the first time, and answers it with movement rather than a learned routine. Nothing is choreographed beforehand, so what the adjudicator sees is the dancer’s foundations and instinct.

A round is short and runs one dancer at a time. The dancer is announced, the music starts and the adjudicator watches how quickly the dancer finds the beat, how the movement reacts to the accents and breaks in the track, and whether the performance keeps its energy to the final bar. Strong entries mix grounded bounces and rocks with sharper hits and changes of level, and stay in time throughout.

On the Rise Up Dance Creative template the section is a solo, entered by age division only: Improv 6 and under, 8 and under, 10 and under, 12 and under, 14 and under, 16 and under and 17 plus. Boys and girls compete together, no language is required and each entry is marked out of 100 under the label Marks. The template prints no time limit and no marking criteria for this item, so none are installed and the adjudicator’s own sheet applies.

Organisers include a hip hop improvisation class because it rewards musicality and confidence in a way a rehearsed routine cannot, and because it suits dancers who train in street styles alongside, or instead of, studio technique. In eTalenter it is entered like any other item: register each dancer in the right age division, record the adjudicator’s mark out of 100, and placings follow within each division.

Where Hip Hop Improvisation is run

In eTalenter’s data Hip Hop Improvisation appears on four dance templates, all of them Australian dance eisteddfods and challenges, and the Rise Up Dance Creative programme is one of them. Improvisation classes are a less common part of a dance programme than the standard styles, and some syllabuses call the section Hip Hop Freestyle or simply Improvisation, so check the wording of the syllabus you are entering.

• Australia

Key facts

• Solo only on the Rise Up Dance Creative template; no group or duo version is listed.
• Seven age divisions, from Improv 6 and under to Improv 17 plus.
• Boys and girls compete together; no language requirement.
• The template prints no time limit and no criteria; the adjudicator’s sheet decides, with a single mark out of 100.
• Sister sections on the same template: Lyrical, Contemporary and Jazz Improvisation, each with the same seven age divisions.
• Idea starters, not rules: practise freestyle to tracks you have never heard, learn three or four basic grooves you can switch between, and plan a strong first and last move.

On eTalenter, Hip Hop Improvisation is filed under Dance and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 4 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Hip Hop Improvisation is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100.

What judges look at in Hip Hop Improvisation

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

• Musicality: staying on the beat and reacting to accents, breaks and changes in the track.
• Groove and rhythm: a grounded, natural feel in the body rather than stiff counting.
• Spontaneity and creativity: fresh choices made in the moment, not a prepared routine dropped onto the music.
• Technique and control: clean execution of the moves the dancer chooses, with solid foundations and balance.
• Attitude and performance: confident, committed presence and eye contact held for the whole piece.
• Variety and use of space: changes of level, direction and dynamic so the freestyle does not repeat one idea.

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

How to prepare for Hip Hop Improvisation

How entrants and their teachers usually get Hip Hop Improvisation right on the day:

• Practise freestyle to unfamiliar tracks: have a friend play a song once, then dance straight away.
• Build a small bank of grooves, such as a bounce, a rock and a step-touch, that you can link in any order.
• Find the beat in the first few seconds and settle into it before adding anything complicated.
• Keep moving through nervous moments; a simple move done on time beats stopping to think.
• Practise changing level and direction so you use the whole floor.
• Learn a few ways to finish: a freeze, a drop or a clean stop on the last beat.
• Rehearse in the clothing and shoes you will wear so nothing restricts the movement.
• Film practice sessions and note where you lost the beat or repeated yourself, then train those moments.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hip Hop Improvisation 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 Hip Hop Improvisation in a dance competition?

It is a solo section where the dancer creates freestyle hip hop movement on the spot to a track they have not rehearsed to, and the adjudicator marks how well they respond.

Is Hip Hop Improvisation judged individually or as a team?

Individually. On the Rise Up Dance Creative template it is a solo section with its own age divisions.

Can I prepare a routine in advance for Hip Hop Improvisation?

No. The point of the section is that the movement is made in the moment, so you prepare by building foundations and a flexible set of grooves rather than a fixed routine.

Does the template print judging criteria for this item?

No. It prints none, so the adjudicator’s own sheet is used and eTalenter records a single mark out of 100.

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