My First Time Ever Onstage Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A short solo section for children aged 12 and under who are stepping onto a competition stage for the first time, scored out of 100 and placed in a skill-level band.

My First Time Ever Onstage is an entry-level section built for a child’s very first competition appearance. Instead of asking a nervous beginner to stand beside dancers with years of training, it gives them a class of their own: a single performer, a single short routine and a friendly first experience of a real stage, lights and an adjudicator.

On the Time to Shine Dance Competitions template, which this page is written from, the section is open to the Juniors 12 and under group only, to boys and girls together, and is entered as an individual. The routine runs for a maximum of two minutes, the same limit as Special Needs, Parent and Child and Student Choreography. The template prints no list of styles for the section, so the style of the routine is left to the entrant and the organiser should say whether any genre is welcome.

A round is simple. The performer is announced, the music starts and the adjudicator writes a critique while watching the whole routine. The mark is out of 100 across the five lines shared by every item on the template: Technique 40, Stage Presence 25, Execution of Performance 20, Choreography 10 and Overall Appearance 5. The total places the entry in a skill-level band: Platinum Plus from 97, Platinum 93-96, Double Diamond 87-92, Diamond 80-86, Emerald 70-79 and Ruby 60-69. Any number of children can reach the same band, so the focus is on personal progress rather than beating a classmate.

Organisers run a section like this because first-timers who have a good day come back. Keeping it short, separate from the experienced solo divisions and marked on the same transparent sheet gives families a clear idea of what competing involves. In eTalenter the item is run like any other solo: register the child in the Juniors 12 and under group, record the adjudicator’s mark out of 100 and the band follows from the score.

Where My First Time Ever Onstage is run

In eTalenter data My First Time Ever Onstage appears on one template, Time to Shine Dance Competitions, an Australian multi-location dance competition series. Beginner or novice classes are common in dance, music and speech festivals in many countries, but this page describes only what that template prints.

• Australia

Key facts

• Individual entry; boys and girls compete together; no language requirement is printed.
• One age group only on this template: Juniors 12 and under.
• Time limit: a maximum of two minutes per routine.
• Scored out of 100: Technique 40, Stage Presence 25, Execution of Performance 20, Choreography 10, Overall Appearance 5.
• Result is a skill-level band (Ruby 60-69 up to Platinum Plus 97 and above) with a written critique, not a first, second and third placing.
• Routine ideas, not rules: a short jazz or lyrical piece to a favourite song, a simple tap sequence, a character dance with a clear story, a basic ballet routine with a confident start and finish.

On eTalenter, My First Time Ever Onstage 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, My First Time Ever Onstage 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.

What judges look at in My First Time Ever Onstage

What a My First Time Ever Onstage panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Technique (40): clean basic skills for the child’s level, such as posture, balance, pointed or flexed feet and control of timing, rather than difficult tricks attempted badly.
• Stage Presence (25): walking on with confidence, eye contact, a smile and holding the pose at the end; a nervous start that settles is better than a frozen one.
• Execution of Performance (20): remembering the routine, staying with the music and finishing in time, with any slip recovered calmly.
• Choreography (10): a routine that fits the music and the child’s ability, with a clear beginning, middle and end inside two minutes.
• Overall Appearance (5): a neat, comfortable costume and tidy hair that let the child move freely and suit the style of the piece.

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

How to prepare for My First Time Ever Onstage

How entrants and their teachers usually get My First Time Ever Onstage right on the day:

• Choose a routine the child can perform comfortably at home; a first appearance is not the time to try a new skill.
• Time the routine against a stopwatch and trim it to fit two minutes with a few seconds to spare.
• Practise walking on, taking the starting position and bowing or holding the pose at the end, because these moments are part of the mark.
• Rehearse in the real costume and shoes at least once so nothing feels unfamiliar on the day.
• Visit the stage or watch another section beforehand if the organiser allows, so the lights and audience are less of a surprise.
• Keep a spare copy of the music on a second device and label the file with the child’s name and entry number.
• Talk about the result as a band and a critique to learn from, and pick one thing to improve before the next event.

Frequently asked questions

Is My First Time Ever Onstage 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.

Who can enter My First Time Ever Onstage?

On the Time to Shine template it is the Juniors 12 and under group, for children appearing in a competition for the first time. The exact definition of first-time entrant is not printed, so check the organiser’s own wording.

How long can the routine be?

A maximum of two minutes on the Time to Shine template. Other organisers set their own limit.

Do I get a placing or a band?

A band. The 100-mark total places the entry from Ruby up to Platinum Plus with a written critique, and several children can share a band.

Which dance style should a first-timer choose?

The template prints no list of styles for this section, so the choice is the entrant’s. Pick the style the child knows best and ask the organiser if any style is not accepted.

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