Secondary School Dance Troupe Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A group section for secondary-school troupes who dance in any style they choose, judged on the polish, control and shared performance of older dancers within a five-minute limit.

A secondary school dance troupe is a rehearsed group of at least four teenage dancers who perform a single routine in a style of their own choosing. The syllabus that carries this section lists it as ‘any style’, so a troupe can bring jazz, contemporary, hip hop, commercial, lyrical, a cultural piece or a blend, and the panel judges the finished act rather than the purity of one technique.

With older dancers the bar is higher than in a junior class. Panels look for choreography with a clear idea, controlled transitions between formations, and technique that holds up in unison and in canon. Strong acts often build a shape or story across the five minutes, use levels and contrasts of speed, and give every dancer something real to do instead of hiding weaker movers at the back.

On the entry form the act is a team placed in an age band. The Sydney template in the eTalenter catalogue lists seven bands, from 5 and under up to 15 and over, set from the troupe’s average age on a fixed cut-off date, so a secondary troupe will usually sit in the older bands. Boys and girls enter together, the limit is five minutes, and the section is marked out of 100 under the label Marks. No marking criteria are printed, so the organiser’s own adjudication sheet applies.

Organisers keep this class so that school dance groups, which often mix styles in one routine, have a home beside the named-style troupe sections. A coordinator needs to settle what counts as a secondary school entry, how mixed-age troupes are placed, and whether props, backdrops and set-up time are limited, then publish those rules before entries open.

Where Secondary School Dance Troupe is run

In the eTalenter catalogue this section appears on one Australian dance template, a two-day Sydney studio dance competition with seven troupe age bands, where it sits next to the primary school class. Any-style school group classes for older students also appear in school dance showcases and eisteddfods in several countries, usually listed alongside the named-style troupe classes.

• Australia

Key facts

• Team entry for a troupe of at least four dancers, boys and girls together
• Any style: the troupe chooses its own style, music and costume
• Placed in one of seven age bands from the troupe’s average age, from 5 and under to 15 and over
• Time limit is five minutes
• Marked out of 100 (Marks); no criteria are printed in the template
• Sister section to the Primary School Dance Troupe class on the same template

On eTalenter, Secondary School Dance Troupe 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, Secondary School Dance Troupe is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 5 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Secondary School Dance Troupe

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

• Technique and control: lines, turns, balance and footwork are secure for the age of the dancers, including at speed
• Unison and spacing: the troupe is together when the choreography asks for it, and formations stay clean through every transition
• Choreographic idea: the routine has a clear concept, builds across the five minutes and uses levels, tempo changes and contrast
• Musicality: movement is phrased with the music, not just counted to it, and the cut suits the style chosen
• Performance and commitment: every dancer projects, stays in character and recovers calmly from a slip
• Presentation: costume suits the concept, entrances and exits are tidy and the act finishes within the limit

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

How to prepare for Secondary School Dance Troupe

How entrants and their teachers usually get Secondary School Dance Troupe right on the day:

• Choose a concept first, then the style that serves it, instead of stitching together favourite steps from different genres
• Give every dancer a feature moment so the troupe reads as a team, and check from the front that no one is hidden
• Rehearse transitions as hard as the dance itself, filming them to catch untidy travel between formations
• Cut the music to under five minutes with a small margin and agree who starts the track and how the troupe enters
• Practise recovery drills: a dancer who loses the count should rejoin on the next phrase while staying in character
• Confirm each dancer’s age against the cut-off date, since the average age decides the band
• Ask the organiser how a secondary school entry is defined and which props or backdrops are allowed before building the staging
• Run the full routine in costume at least twice before the day so quick changes, headwear and footwear are settled

Frequently asked questions

Is Secondary School Dance 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 style can a secondary school dance troupe perform?

Any style. The section is printed as any style, so jazz, contemporary, hip hop, lyrical, cultural or mixed routines are all possible. The organiser’s notice for your event confirms what is accepted.

How long can a secondary school troupe routine be?

Five minutes in the template that carries it. Check the organiser’s notice for time penalties and set-up rules.

How many dancers are needed?

At least four. It is a team item open to boys and girls together.

Which age band will an older school troupe enter?

The template places a troupe by its average age on a set cut-off date, so teenage troupes normally fall in the 14 and under or 15 and over bands. Your organiser’s notice gives the exact date.

Is it judged differently from the primary school section?

Both are any-style, five-minute team sections on the same template, and no criteria are printed for either. In practice a panel expects more technical control and a stronger choreographic idea from older dancers.

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