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

A dance-competition class for routines that do not belong to one of the named styles, where a soloist, duo, trio or group performs to music within a set time and the panel marks the whole performance rather than the rules of a single style.

Open is the catch-all class of a multi-style dance competition. The named classes (ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, lyrical and the rest) each expect a recognisable vocabulary, and a routine that mixes several of them, borrows from a culture or genre the sheet does not list, or simply does not fit one box needs somewhere to go. Open is that place. One of the templates that carry it defines it in plain words as any style not listed, which is the safest way to read the name everywhere else too.

In eTalenter data it appears on nine dance and talent templates: seven in the United States, one run as a set of European dance festivals and one Australian national final. The shape of the class changes a lot between them. Most run it as a full set of formats, from Solo through Duet/Trio and Small Group to Large Group and Line, and the biggest add a production format for very large casts. The Australian finals offer it only to soloists and duos/trios across single-year age bands, and one US contest runs it as a team class for studios and school squads. Boys and girls compete together and no language applies.

A routine is a single choreographed piece to music, so what the audience sees depends entirely on what the entrant chose to bring: a fusion of two styles, a cultural or character piece, a story told through movement, a novelty number, a routine built on props or a style the organiser has no class for. Because there is no style to measure against, the panel judges the performance on its own terms: how well it is made, how cleanly it is danced and how convincingly it is performed.

Organisers run Open for two practical reasons. It keeps the named classes clean, because a hybrid routine does not have to be forced into the closest style and then marked down for not belonging there. It also gives creative entries a legitimate home, which tends to bring the most original work of the day. The cost is that the class is harder to judge consistently, so a clear marking sheet and a short briefing for the panel matter more here than in any named style.

Where Open is run

Open is a dance-studio and talent-circuit class. The nine templates that carry it are seven United States regional and national dance championships and talent contests, one European festival series and one Australian national final. The time limits, age bands, ability levels and total score all differ from sheet to sheet, so the figures on this page are the ranges across those templates and organisers should set their own.

• United States
• Australia
• Europe

Key facts

• Individual and team: Solo is individual, and Duet/Trio, Small Group, Large Group, Line and production or formation entries are teams. The Australian finals offer only Solo and Duet/Trio; one US contest offers Open to teams only.
• Age divisions differ by template: single years (6 to 14, then 15 and over) in the Australian finals, named bands such as Mini, Petite, Junior, Teen and Senior in the US contests, and Baby, Mini, Children, Junior and Senior in the European festivals. Several US templates also split each band into ability levels.
• Maximum times, with no minimum printed: Solo 2:00 to 3:00 (2:30 or 2:45 on most US sheets), Duet/Trio 2:00 to 3:00, Small Group about 3:00, Large Group 3:30 or 4:00, Line 4:00 to 5:00, and 7:00 or 8:00 for a production. The one team-only US contest allows 5:00.
• Marks are a plain total on every template: out of 300 on four US templates, out of 100 on the Australian finals and three other US templates, and out of 40 on the European festivals. No per-criterion split is printed for Open on any of them.
• Boys and girls compete together and no language applies, so a mixed entry list needs no special set-up.
• Idea starters, not rules: a routine that changes style at the halfway point on purpose; a piece built around one prop that the dancers hand to each other; a story told in three short scenes and one costume change; a folk or cultural dance reworked for the stage; a silent opening that adds sound bar by bar.

On eTalenter, Open is filed under Dance and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 9 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Open is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 300, commonly time-limited to 2–8 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Open

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

• Clarity of the idea: the panel needs to see what the routine is trying to be. With no named style to measure against, a clear concept (a theme, a mood, a story or a mix of two styles done on purpose) is what separates a deliberate Open routine from a leftover one.
• Technical control: whatever the vocabulary, clean execution is read the same way. Balance, extension, landing, spacing and the finish of each movement cost marks when they slip, and a routine that is ambitious but untidy usually scores below a simpler one done cleanly.
• Choreography and staging: a beginning, a development and an ending, good use of the whole stage and movement that suits the dancers actually on it. In group entries, also the formations and the way the dancers enter and leave.
• Performance and commitment: a mixed-style or character piece lives on conviction. Facial expression, focus and energy through to the last count matter more than in a style where the steps carry the picture.
• Music and timing: phrasing with the track, not just counting it, and a routine that ends with the music inside the time limit. Over-running the maximum is the quickest way to lose marks, and the sheets print different limits for each format.
• Unison and spacing in team entries: the panel reads the whole picture, so uneven timing or crowded formations show up even when each dancer is strong alone.

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

How to prepare for Open

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

• Decide in one sentence what the routine is before choreographing it. If you cannot say it, the panel will not see it either; write the sentence down and check every section of the piece against it.
• Check your rules sheet for the time limit of your format and rehearse with a stopwatch from the first bar. Aim a few seconds under the maximum so a slow entrance or an extra breath does not push the finish over.
• Avoid a style salad. Two or three styles used on purpose read as fusion; six read as a lack of focus. Choose the strongest moment of each style you borrow and cut the rest.
• Ask the organiser, before you enter, how Open is told apart from the nearest named class on their sheet. Some run a separate Wild Card, Novelty or Any Style class, so a routine that fits one of those should not be entered as Open by mistake.
• Build the piece around what the dancers can do cleanly. A young soloist pushed past their technique to look impressive scores worse than the same dancer in a simpler routine done well.
• For team entries, film the run from the front and from above. Most lost marks in group work come from uneven spacing, late exits and one dancer a beat behind the rest.
• Check props, costume changes and set-up time against the rules before you rehearse them. If a prop needs to be placed or removed, rehearse that part too, because the clock may not stop for it.
• After a result, ask for the scores by section or criterion where the organiser gives them. A low technique mark and a low performance mark call for different practice.

Frequently asked questions

Is Open 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 does Open mean in a dance competition?

It is the class for routines that do not belong to one of the named styles. One template that carries it defines it as any style not listed; the others simply list it beside ballet, jazz, tap and the rest. Check your own sheet for the exact wording.

Is Open the same as Any Style or Wild Card?

Often but not always. On some sheets Open, Any Style and Wild Card are one class under different names; on others they are separate classes with their own entries. If your organiser lists more than one of these names, ask how they differ before you enter.

How long can an Open routine be?

Across the nine templates the maximum runs from 2:00 for a short solo up to 8:00 for a large production, with 2:30 or 2:45 for most US solos and 3:00 in the Australian finals. No minimum is printed. Your own sheet sets the limit for your format.

Can an Open routine use props?

The templates do not say, so this page does not claim a rule. Props are common in novelty and character routines, but some contests charge extra time or set rules for them. Confirm with your organiser and rehearse any set-up and removal.

Is Open judged individually or as a team?

Both. A Solo is judged on the one dancer; a Duet/Trio, Small Group, Large Group, Line or production is judged as a single routine, including how well the dancers match each other. One US contest runs Open for teams only and the Australian finals for solos and duos/trios only.

Why do the total marks differ between templates?

Each organiser prints its own total: 300 on four US templates, 100 on four others and 40 on the European festivals. The data does not print the per-criterion split for Open, so confirm the sheet with the organiser rather than assuming one.

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