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

A group lyrical dance section for a small troupe of four to ten dancers, telling a song or a feeling through flowing, expressive choreography within a five-minute limit.

A lyrical small troupe is a rehearsed group number in which a modest-sized team dances to the meaning of a piece of music rather than only to its beat. Lyrical sits between ballet and jazz: the line, turns, leaps and extensions come from ballet and jazz training, but the mood is softer and more personal, and the story or emotion of the song drives the movement. With at least four dancers there is room for flowing formations, canons and lifts of arms and bodies, yet the group is small enough that every dancer stays visible.

A strong routine begins with the music. The troupe chooses a song or an instrumental piece with a clear emotional shape, such as longing, farewell, hope or celebration, and lets the choreography rise and fall with it. Typical movement includes sustained arm lines, controlled balances, pirouettes, floor work, runs and leaps that travel across the stage, and moments where the group moves as one body before opening into solos or pairs. Facial expression matters as much as footwork, because the audience should believe what the dancers are feeling.

On the entry form the act is a team entered in one age division. The template that carries this section uses seven team divisions: 5 and under, 6 and under, 8 and under, 10 and under, 12 and under, 14 and under and 15 and over, taken from the average age of the troupe at the start of the competition year. Boys and girls may dance together, each division is marked out of 100 under the label Marks, and the limit is five minutes. The source syllabus defines a small troupe as four to ten dancers and the troupe brings its own choreography and music.

Organisers run lyrical as its own section, separate from jazz and contemporary, because the three styles are judged on different qualities: lyrical rewards story and emotional connection, jazz rewards attack and sharpness, and contemporary rewards experimental movement and floor work. A separate small-troupe class also stops a ten-strong act being compared with a twenty-strong one. The syllabus says small and large sections run only if entries are sufficient, so a coordinator should confirm the final list once entries close.

Where Lyrical Small Troupe is run

In the eTalenter catalogue this section appears on two dance templates in New South Wales, Australia: an amateur two-day studio competition in Sydney, where lyrical runs in small and large troupe classes, and a September troupes-only competition in the same state, which uses a four-minute limit and its own size bands. Lyrical and contemporary troupe classes are a regular part of studio, school and eisteddfod dance programmes in many countries, usually split by age and by group size.

• Australia

Key facts

• Team entry of four to ten dancers, boys and girls together, in lyrical style
• Seven team age divisions in the Sydney template: 5/U, 6/U, 8/U, 10/U, 12/U, 14/U and 15/O, using the average age of the troupe at the start of the competition year
• Five-minute limit for every troupe in that template, with a five-point deduction in the source syllabus for an act that breaches it; the September troupes template instead uses four minutes
• Marked out of 100 (Marks); neither source syllabus prints criteria or placings, so organisers add their own
• Runs only if entries are sufficient, and is separate from the large-troupe section for eleven or more dancers
• The troupe brings its own choreography and music, and may not dance more than twice in a troupe section

On eTalenter, Lyrical Small Troupe is filed under Dance and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 2 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 Small Troupe is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to 4–5 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Lyrical Small Troupe

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

• Emotional connection: the dancers show the feeling of the music in face, breath and movement, and the story reads clearly from the audience
• Musicality: phrasing follows the lyrics or melody, with movement that swells and settles with the music rather than only counting beats
• Technique and line: turns, leaps, balances and extensions are controlled, with pointed feet, strong posture and clean landings
• Flow and continuity: transitions between steps and formations are smooth, so the number feels like one breath and not a string of tricks
• Unison and spacing: shared phrases and canons are exactly together, deliberate offsets look intentional, and nobody is crowded or hidden
• Choreography and presentation: use of the stage, costume that suits the mood and age group, and energy held to the final pose

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

How to prepare for Lyrical Small Troupe

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

• Count the troupe before entering, because four to ten dancers is a small troupe and one extra dancer moves the act to the large class
• Choose the music first and write down in one sentence what the dance is about, then test each section of the choreography against that sentence
• Cut the track to fit inside the time limit with a few seconds to spare, since a breach of the limit can cost points
• Drill turns, balances and leaps on their own until the whole troupe lands them at the same moment, because lyrical unison is judged on shared breath as well as shared steps
• Rehearse facial expression in front of a mirror and on film; many troupes dance well but look blank, which loses the emotional marks
• Mark floor spots for each formation and rehearse the transitions slowly, then at full speed, so no dancer searches for a place
• Plan one clear peak, such as a lift of arms, a canon or a sudden stillness, and keep earlier sections quieter so the peak lands
• Check every dancer age against the cut-off date before entry, because the whole troupe is placed by its average age

Frequently asked questions

Is Lyrical Small Troupe 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.

What is the difference between lyrical and contemporary?

Lyrical follows the story or emotion of the music and keeps a ballet-and-jazz line; contemporary is freer, with floor work, off-balance movement and abstract ideas. Many events judge them as separate sections, so enter the one that matches your choreography.

How many dancers make a small lyrical troupe?

In the Sydney template a small troupe is four to ten dancers and eleven or more belong in the large troupe. Always check the organiser own definition for the event you are entering.

How long can a lyrical troupe routine be?

Five minutes in the Sydney template and four in the September troupes template. A late finish can cost points, so the organiser notice is the one that counts.

Do we choose our own music?

Yes. A troupe brings its own choreography and music, unlike a solo elimination where the organiser may allocate the track.

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