Improvisation – Tap Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A short tap round in which the dancer creates the rhythms on the spot to the music, run on four Australian dance templates with different age bands and lengths from about one to two minutes, scored out of 100.

Improvisation – Tap is a tap round in which the dancer makes up the steps and rhythms in the moment instead of performing a rehearsed routine. A tap solo is built and drilled until every sound lands exactly where it was planned; an improvisation asks whether the dancer’s training has become a language they can speak freely, with shuffles, flaps, cramp rolls, time steps and breaks appearing in a sensible order and in time with the music, with nothing set to fall back on.

In eTalenter data the item appears on four templates, all Australian dance events: a multi-location dance competition series, a regional eisteddfod dance section, a country-town eisteddfod and a coastal dance festival. The format differs between them. One series offers two groups, Juniors 12 and under and Seniors 13 and over, with a limit of about one minute. The regional dance section offers five divisions (10 and under, 12 and under, 14 and under, 16 and under and Open Age) with a two-minute limit. The country-town eisteddfod offers four age bands from 10 and under to 15 and over with a limit of one minute thirty seconds. The coastal festival lists a single 11 and over division with no time limit stored. All four enter the dancer as an individual, boys and girls together, with a maximum score of 100.

A round is short. The dancer is called, the music starts and the adjudicator watches the whole time allowed. Entrants who have prepared for a tap improvisation arrive with a vocabulary of steps and a plan for how to use it, rather than a routine: a strong opening phrase, a couple of rhythm changes, a feature step and a clear finish on the last beat. The panel then marks the performance and the scores are used to rank entrants within each age division.

Organisers add an improvisation class because it is quick to run, easy to fit into a busy tap section, and it separates dancers who understand rhythm from dancers who have only memorised a dance. In eTalenter it runs like any other individual item: register the dancer in the correct age division, record the adjudicator’s mark out of 100 and let the ranking produce the placings. The criteria breakdown printed for this item differs by event, so set it from the organiser’s own rules.

Where Improvisation – Tap is run

In eTalenter data Improvisation – Tap appears on four Australian dance templates: a multi-location dance competition series, a regional eisteddfod dance section, a country-town eisteddfod and a coastal dance festival. Improvised or unseen-music classes are also found in dance festivals and eisteddfods elsewhere, but this page describes only what those templates carry.

• Australia

Key facts

• Individual entry; boys and girls compete together; no language requirement is printed.
• Age divisions vary by event: from a single 11 and over division to five divisions running from 10 and under to Open Age.
• Time limit varies by event, from about one minute to two minutes; one template stores no limit.
• Maximum score is 100 on every template that carries the item.
• Where the series prints a criteria split (Technique 40, Stage Presence 25, Execution of Performance 20, Choreography 10, Overall Appearance 5), it is shared with the rest of that series; the other events do not print a split for this item.
• Practice ideas, not rules: improvise to an unfamiliar tune at several speeds, work from a list of steps a teacher calls out one at a time, or trade eight-count phrases with a partner so you learn to answer a rhythm.

On eTalenter, Improvisation – Tap 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, Improvisation – Tap is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to 1–2 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Improvisation – Tap

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

• Rhythmic accuracy: clear, even taps with each sound heard, steps that sit exactly on the beat and no rushing as the pace rises.
• Technique: weight placement, control of the ankles and a quiet upper body, with clean landings from jumps and turns.
• Musicality: using the accents and phrases of the music, and changing the rhythm when the music changes, rather than tapping over the top of it.
• Variety and invention: a range of steps and speeds across the round, not the same step repeated, and an ending that feels planned.
• Stage presence and composure: a confident start and finish, an engaged face, and a calm recovery when a step goes wrong.

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

How to prepare for Improvisation – Tap

How entrants and their teachers usually get Improvisation – Tap right on the day:

• Practise improvising weekly to music the dancer has never heard, starting at thirty seconds and building to the full time limit for the event.
• Build a menu of steps in groups (basics, travelling steps, turns, a feature step) and aim to use something from each group in every round.
• Count the music in eights as you dance so each phrase has a start and an end, and put the biggest step on a strong beat.
• Practise at slow, medium and fast tempos; slow music exposes unclear taps and fast music exposes weak technique.
• Plan a finishing step and a pose so the round always ends tidily on the last beat, whatever happens in the middle.
• If a step slips, carry on in rhythm and move to the next one; a steady recovery costs less than stopping.
• Check the shoes and the floor before the round, since taps ring differently on stage boards, sprung floors and carpet.
• Ask the organiser how the music is chosen and the time limit for your division, since these differ between events.

Frequently asked questions

Is Improvisation – Tap 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 tap improvisation round?

It depends on the event. The four templates that carry it set about one minute, one minute thirty seconds or two minutes, and one stores no limit. Check the organiser’s own rules.

Is Improvisation – Tap the same as a Tap Solo?

No. A tap solo is a rehearsed routine, while the improvisation is created on the spot and is much shorter.

Can I plan my steps beforehand?

The templates do not print rules on this. The point of the round is to respond to the music, so entrants usually prepare a vocabulary of steps and a finish rather than a routine. Ask the organiser for the exact conditions.

Is it judged individually or as a team?

It is an individual item on every template that carries it, with boys and girls together, and it is marked out of 100.

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