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

A dance section in which the entrant or group chooses the style, music and choreography for a routine of up to three minutes (solos and duos) or five minutes (troupes), marked out of 100.

Own Choice is the open section of a dance programme. Instead of fixing a style such as jazz, lyrical or tap, the organiser lets the dancer or group decide what to perform: a fusion piece, a character dance, a cultural or folk routine, a style the programme does not list separately, or a blend of several. It exists so that a dancer whose best work does not fit a named genre still has somewhere to compete, and so that small fields are not split into sections with one or two entries.

A round is a single routine announced, danced to the entrant’s own music and judged as it happens. Because no style is prescribed, the adjudicator first works out what the dancer set out to do and then asks how well it was done: whether the movement matches the music, whether the technique holds up, whether the idea is clear from the first phrase, and whether the finish arrives inside the time limit. A strong Own Choice routine feels like a decision, not a fallback.

In eTalenter’s data the section appears on two dance competitions. On the Australian dance challenge template it runs across the whole programme: a solo for the youngest children (Babies 5 and under), duo sections from 6 and under up to 16 and over, and small and large troupe sections in every age division from 5 and under to Open Age. Solos and duos have a three minute limit and troupes five minutes, all marked out of 100. The same title also appears on a second, eisteddfod-style dance competition as a solo and duo/trio section in seven age bands. The syllabus prints no judging criteria for the item, so none are installed and the adjudicator’s own sheet applies.

Organisers keep the section because it is flexible. For a coordinator using eTalenter the item is entered like any other: register the dancer, duo or troupe in the correct age group, record the mark out of 100 and let the placings follow within that group.

Where Own Choice is run

In eTalenter’s data a section titled Own Choice appears on two dance competitions: a multi-day amateur dance challenge, where it is offered for solos, duos and troupes, and an eisteddfod-style dance competition, where it is a solo and duo/trio section. Open-style sections of this kind are common in dance eisteddfods and studio competitions; this page does not claim wider reach than the templates and well-established general practice support.

• Australia

Key facts

• An open-style section: the entrant chooses the genre, music and choreography, or blends several.
• Format on the larger template: solo (Babies 5 and under), duos in six age divisions (6 and under to 16 and over) and small and large troupes in every age division up to Open Age.
• Time limits on that template: 3 minutes for solos and duos, 5 minutes for troupes, strictly enforced. Marks out of 100 under the label Marks.
• Boys and girls compete together, and no spoken language is required.
• The template prints no judging criteria for the item, so none are installed; the adjudicator’s own sheet decides.
• Idea starters, not rules: a routine telling a short story in two contrasting styles, a duo built on a call-and-response idea, or a troupe piece that starts as a single dancer and grows to the full group.

On eTalenter, Own Choice 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, Own Choice is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to 2–5 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Own Choice

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

• Clarity of concept: a routine whose style and idea are clear from the opening phrase, not a loose collection of steps.
• Technique and control: clean lines, balance, timing and execution that suit whatever style was chosen.
• Musicality: movement that follows the phrasing and energy of the chosen track and lands on the beat.
• Choreography and use of space: changes of level, direction and pace, with the floor used evenly; for duos and troupes, spacing, unison and formations.
• Performance and confidence: expression, projection and commitment to the character or mood from entrance to final pose.
• Presentation: costume, music edit and props suited to the age group and kept within the time limit.

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

How to prepare for Own Choice

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

• Choose one clear idea or style before choreographing, and let every section of the routine serve it.
• Pick music with a steady, countable structure and edit it to end cleanly inside the time limit.
• Keep the routine age-appropriate and well rehearsed: a piece the dancer knows thoroughly beats a harder one they must think about.
• Rehearse the entrance, the starting pose and the finish as part of the routine.
• For duos and troupes, drill spacing, entry counts and transitions until the group moves together without looking at one another.
• Run the full routine in costume and on a floor like the competition one, with the music cued the way it will be on the day.
• Rehearse performance as well as steps: project, keep going through a slip and hold the final pose.

Frequently asked questions

Is Own Choice 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 Own Choice and a named style section?

A named section such as Jazz or Lyrical expects that style. Own Choice lets the entrant pick any style or blend, and the adjudicator judges how well the chosen idea is carried out.

How long can an Own Choice routine be?

On the larger template solos and duos have a three minute limit and troupes a five minute limit. Check the organiser’s own syllabus for the event you are entering.

Is Own Choice judged individually or as a team?

It depends on the section: a solo is judged on the individual, a duo as a pair and a troupe as a group, each marked out of 100.

Are there printed judging criteria?

The template prints none for this item, so the adjudicator’s own sheet applies. Typical areas are concept, technique, musicality, performance and presentation.

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