Lyrical Dance Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A solo, duo or trio dance section in which the choreography follows the emotion and words of the music, blending ballet line with jazz and contemporary freedom, and judged mainly on technique.

Lyrical dance is the section where the dancer is asked to tell the music rather than just keep time with it. The vocabulary comes from ballet and jazz training, with long extended lines, turns, leaps and controlled balances, but the mood is softer and more personal than either parent style, and the song or piece of music supplies the story: longing, loss, hope, thanks or joy. A good lyrical routine lets the movement swell and ease with the phrasing of the track, so the audience can feel the shape of the piece even without hearing the words.

The edition this page is written from is a studio dance competition in New South Wales, Australia, that lists Lyrical Dance as one of sixteen genres in a programme of solos, duos and trios. A dancer may enter several solos but not the same genre twice, so lyrical is a single entry alongside styles such as jazz, contemporary, ballet, tap or hip hop. Solos run in seven age groups, from 5 and under (babies) to 15 and over, with age counted on 1 January, and every solo age group is split into four sections by competition history: My First Year (the first twelve months of solo competition), Specially Restricted (has not yet placed first with four or more competitors), Restricted (has placed first in a specially restricted section with four or more competitors) and Open (has won a restricted section with four or more competitors).

Duos and trios are entered under the oldest dancer, with every dancer’s name and date of birth, in six age groups from 6 and under to 15 and over, and the syllabus prints no sections for them. For lyrical this is where partnering becomes part of the marks: two or three dancers can mirror, answer and lift one another, but all of them must still move with the same breath and the same intention. Boys and girls compete together in every group. The syllabus prints no time limit for the item, so a coordinator should confirm the length with the entrants before the draw.

Every genre in that edition is marked out of 100 on one printed scale: Technique 50, Choreography 15, Performance Quality 15, Musicality and Interpretation 15 and Costuming and Presentation 5. For lyrical that is an unusual balance, because the style is remembered for emotion yet half the marks go to technique, so the entries that win are the ones in which feeling is carried by clean line, turns and landings rather than replacing them. First, second and third place receive a custom award and Highly Commended a medal; the syllabus prints no placing points.

Where Lyrical Dance comes from

Lyrical dance developed in the twentieth century as dancers trained in ballet and jazz began to set movement to the words and mood of popular song rather than to the formal structure of classical music. The name is a competition and studio label for that blended, expressive style, not a historical period or a single named technique.

Where Lyrical Dance is run

In eTalenter’s data the exact title Lyrical Dance is carried by one Australian solos, duos and trios dance competition. The same genre appears under the shorter title Lyrical on many other dance templates, mostly Australian eisteddfods and dance challenges, with their own age groups and time limits, and has its own page. This page describes Lyrical Dance only as the New South Wales edition runs it and does not claim use outside Australia.

• Australia

Key facts

• Individual (solo) and Team (duo or trio): a solo is one dancer, and a duo or trio is entered under the oldest dancer’s name with every dancer’s name and date of birth, boys and girls together.
• Solo age groups: 5 and under, 6, 7–8, 9–10, 11–12, 13–14 and 15 and over, counted on 1 January, each split into My First Year, Specially Restricted, Restricted and Open sections; duos and trios have six age-only groups from 6 and under to 15 and over.
• Judged out of 100: Technique 50, Choreography 15, Performance Quality 15, Musicality and Interpretation 15, Costuming and Presentation 5.
• No time limit is printed for the item, and no placing points: first, second and third receive a custom award and Highly Commended a medal.
• A dancer may enter several solos but not the same genre twice, so Lyrical Dance is one entry among a set of genres rather than the whole programme.
• Idea starters, not rules: a song about growing up, a piece about letting go, a rain-and-sunshine story, a tribute to a grandparent, a quiet piece that builds to a joyful finish.

On eTalenter, Lyrical Dance 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, Lyrical Dance is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100.

What judges look at in Lyrical Dance

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

• Technique, worth half the marks: extended lines with straight legs and pointed feet, turns that finish balanced, leaps with a clear shape, and floor work that is controlled rather than collapsing. A dancer who conveys feeling convincingly but wobbles out of every pirouette loses more here than any amount of emotion can win back.
• Choreography, 15 marks: steps set to the meaning and phrasing of the track, with a clear beginning, build and ending; changes of level, direction and tempo; and a difficulty pitched to the dancer’s age and section. A routine that repeats one pose for the sad bars and one for the happy bars scores below one that develops.
• Performance quality, 15 marks: sincerity and focus from the first count to the last held pose. The face, the eyes and the hands carry the story, and an expression that is fixed or looks rehearsed in the mirror reads as empty to a panel seated close to the floor.
• Musicality and interpretation, 15 marks: using the dynamics of the music, such as a held breath before the chorus, a slow arm to a swell and stillness on a silence. Dancing across the lyrics instead of with them, or finishing a beat early, is noticed at once in a style built on phrasing.
• Costuming and presentation, 5 marks: a soft, age-suitable costume that moves with the dancer and does not catch on the arms or feet, neat hair and a calm entrance and exit. It is the smallest weighting, so a beautiful dress cannot rescue weak technique.
• Section fit: the four sections by competition history mean the same routine is judged against dancers of similar experience, so the choreography should match the level entered rather than borrow Open-section tricks for a My First Year entry.

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

How to prepare for Lyrical Dance

How entrants and their teachers usually get Lyrical Dance right on the day:

• Check the section first. Work out the dancer’s solo history against the printed definitions of My First Year, Specially Restricted, Restricted and Open and enter the one that fits; an incorrect section can undo a good performance.
• Choose the music for the dancer, not only for the adult. Pick a song whose feeling the dancer can understand, with a clear build, and cut it cleanly to the length the entrants agree with the coordinator, since the syllabus prints no limit for the item.
• Write the story in one sentence before any steps. “A child lets go of a balloon” or “saying goodbye to a friend who is moving away” gives each section of the routine a job and keeps the choreography from becoming a string of unrelated tricks.
• Plan six weeks. Weeks one and two: music, story and choreography; weeks three and four: technique clean-up, with turns, extensions and landings finished on the count; week five: performance work in the mirror and then with no mirror, plus costume; week six: three full run-throughs on a floor of stage size.
• Rehearse the stillness. Lyrical includes holds, slow transitions and a final pose, and these are where nerves show. Practise breathing out through the hold and keep the eyes on one point rather than the audience.
• Film from the front with the sound off. Mark every place where a foot is not pointed, an arm arrives late or a turn comes down off balance, and fix one such second at a time instead of repeating the whole dance.
• For duos and trios, rehearse the unison and the handovers before the emotion: every dancer should know where the partner’s weight will be, and the youngest dancer sets the difficulty of the group. After a placing that falls short, ask for the adjudicator’s comments if the event gives them and use the technique feedback to choose the next season’s steps.

Frequently asked questions

Is Lyrical Dance 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 the difference between Lyrical Dance and Contemporary?

Lyrical is the song-led style: the movement follows the emotion and sometimes the words of the music, with a ballet and jazz line. Contemporary uses a wider range of floor work, weight and release and often tells a more abstract idea. In the competition on this page they are separate genres, Commercial Contemporary and Traditional Contemporary on one side and Lyrical Dance on the other.

How is a Lyrical Dance solo marked?

Out of 100 on the one scale printed for every genre in this edition: Technique 50, Choreography 15, Performance Quality 15, Musicality and Interpretation 15 and Costuming and Presentation 5. Emotion is judged under performance quality and musicality, not as a separate score.

How long can a Lyrical Dance routine be?

The syllabus on which this page is based prints no time limit for the item, so the length is a matter for the organiser. Other dance competitions that list a section called Lyrical set their own limits, so always check the syllabus of the event you enter.

Can a dancer enter Lyrical Dance more than once?

Not as a solo in the same genre. A dancer may enter several solos, but not the same genre twice, so a dancer can enter Lyrical Dance once alongside other genres such as Hip Hop or Classical Ballet. A duo or trio is a separate entry.

Is Lyrical Dance the same as the Lyrical section on other competitions?

It is the same style under a slightly different title. The Lyrical page covers the shorter title across many other dance templates, each with its own age groups, sections and time limits; this page covers the solo, duo and trio edition with competition-history sections and one 100-mark scale.

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