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

A tap dance section set to waltz time, where the three-beat rhythm calls for flowing, lilting footwork and soft, even sounds, performed as a solo, duo/trio or group.

Waltz tap is tap dancing to music in three-four time, counted in threes with the strong beat first. Where fast tap chases speed and straight tap holds an even, steady pulse, waltz tap asks for a swaying, rolling quality: the dancer has to make the taps sound light and connected while the accent keeps returning on every third beat. Rolling shuffles, ball changes, soft heel drops and travelling turns suit the lilt of the music far better than hard, percussive stamping.

A round is one performance on the stage floor. The dancer or team is announced, the waltz begins, and the adjudicator listens as much as watches from the first step to the last sound. Strong routines let the phrasing breathe, using the length of each three-beat bar to build and release, and they keep the volume of the taps even so the dance sounds as smooth as the music feels. A dancer who rushes the second and third beats, or who turns the waltz into a march, loses the character of the section.

On the Rise Up Dance Creative template, which this page is written from, Waltz Tap runs across the full range of entries. Solos are split into three levels (Specially Restricted, Restricted and Open) across seven age divisions, from 6 and under to 17 and over. There are duo/trio sections, a parent and child section, troupe sections for each age band, and school-group sections (Preschool, Primary, High School and Small Schools). Solos, duo/trio and parent and child entries run to three minutes and troupe and school groups to four, boys and girls compete together, no language is required, and every entry is marked out of 100 under the label Marks. The template prints no marking criteria for this item, so none are installed and the adjudicator’s own sheet applies.

Organisers run it as its own section because the skill is different from the faster tap sections: control, softness and musical phrasing in three-time. For a coordinator using eTalenter it is entered like any other item: register each dancer or team in the right level and age division, record the adjudicator’s mark out of 100, and placings follow within each division.

Where Waltz Tap is run

In eTalenter’s data Waltz Tap appears on eight Australian dance templates, covering studio-style dance challenges and regional eisteddfod programmes in New South Wales and Queensland. A waltz tap section is a recognised tap category in Australian dance programmes; similar tap sections in other time signatures are run at dance festivals in the United Kingdom and North America, but this page asserts Australian use only from the data.

• Australia

Key facts

• Solo, duo/trio, parent and child, troupe and school-group entries on the Rise Up Dance Creative template.
• Solos are split by level (Specially Restricted, Restricted, Open) and by age: 6 and under, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and under, and 17 and over.
• Boys and girls compete together; no language requirement.
• Time limit in the template: 3 minutes for solos, duo/trio and parent and child; 4 minutes for troupes and school groups.
• Marks out of 100 under the label Marks; the template prints no criteria, so the adjudicator’s sheet decides.
• Idea starters, not rules: a classic waltz standard with a soft rolling shuffle theme, a short story told in three-beat phrases, or a routine that moves from gentle floor-hugging steps to a single bright accent turn.

On eTalenter, Waltz Tap is filed under Dance and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 8 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Waltz Tap is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to 3–5 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Waltz Tap

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

• Waltz rhythm: a clear three-beat feel with the accent on the first beat, kept steady without rushing the second and third counts.
• Softness and evenness of sound: light, rounded taps at a consistent volume, with no heavy stamping that fights the music.
• Technique: relaxed ankles, tidy rolling shuffles and ball changes, good weight transfer and control through turns.
• Musicality and phrasing: steps that follow the swell and fall of the tune and fill whole bars, not just the beats.
• Flow and presentation: smooth travel across the floor, graceful carriage of the upper body, and a confident performance.
• Timing and unison: finishing inside the limit; for groups, taps and movement together as one.

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

How to prepare for Waltz Tap

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

• Count the waltz aloud, one-two-three, while marking the routine, so the dancer feels the accent before adding taps.
• Build the routine from steps that already sound soft and even; a simple routine with gentle, musical sound scores better than a showy one with uneven taps.
• Practise rolling shuffles and ball changes slowly until the volume is the same on every beat.
• Record practice with sound and listen back; uneven accents are easier to hear than to see in the mirror.
• Rehearse turns and travelling steps in the actual tap shoes on a floor like the stage, as grip and sound change on a different surface.
• For duos, trios and troupes, practise sound unison separately from visual unison: listen with eyes closed for one set of taps.
• Check that the music cut fits the time limit before the day, and rehearse the entrance and final pose so the last sound lands with the final chord.

Frequently asked questions

Is Waltz Tap 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.

What is waltz tap?

It is tap dancing performed to music in three-four time. The routine is built around the waltz rhythm, so soft, flowing, evenly sounded footwork is rewarded.

How long is a Waltz Tap routine?

On the Rise Up Dance Creative template solos, duo/trio and parent and child entries run to three minutes, and troupe and school-group entries to four.

Is Waltz Tap judged individually or as a team?

Solos are judged individually. Duo/trio, parent and child, troupe and school-group entries are judged as one performance and ranked within their own division.

Are the judging criteria printed for this item?

No. The template prints no criteria for it, so the adjudicator’s own sheet is used and eTalenter records a single mark out of 100.

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