Demi-Character Solo Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A single dancer performing a ballet-based solo in the role of a specific character, judged on technique, stage presence and execution and placed in a skill-level band on a score out of 100.

Demi character, from the French for “half character”, is a style that sits between pure classical ballet and full national character dance. The dancer keeps the vocabulary of ballet, with turned-out positions, pointed feet and controlled lines, but dances as a particular person or figure: a doll, a servant, a market seller, a toy soldier or a storybook creature. The steps stay recognisably balletic while the manner, humour and small gestures come from the part being played.

On the Time to Shine Dance Competitions template, which this page is written from, Demi Character Solo is the seventh solo style, straight after Classical Variation Solo. Entry is by experience level and age. Dancers with under two years of training enter single ages from 4 and under up to 16; dancers with two to five years enter from 6 and under up to 18 plus Adult and Mature Age; dancers with five years or more enter from 10 and under up to 18 plus Adult and Mature Age. A Masters division is open to teachers. Boys and girls compete together and no language is needed.

A round is a single performance. The dancer is announced, the music starts and the adjudicator watches the whole piece while writing a critique. On the Time to Shine template the score is out of 100 on five lines: Technique 40, Stage Presence 25, Execution of Performance 20, Choreography 10 and Overall Appearance 5. The total decides a skill-level band rather than a first, second or third place, so several dancers in one division can finish in the same band.

The time limit is two minutes for dancers with under two years of experience and three minutes for every other division. Organisers run the section so that dancers who enjoy acting and storytelling have a place of their own, separate from the pure technique of Classical Solo and the repertoire form of Classical Variation Solo. Because Stage Presence carries 25 marks, a clear and consistent character is rewarded as much as clean steps.

Where Demi-Character Solo is run

In eTalenter data this item appears on thirteen templates, all Australian: the Time to Shine Dance Competitions template and a run of regional eisteddfod and dance-festival templates from New South Wales and Queensland, most of which spell it Demi-Character Solo with a hyphen. On all of them it is an individual section for boys and girls together. Demi character is also taught in ballet schools in other countries, but this page claims only the Australian use shown in the data.

• Australia

Key facts

• Individual entry; boys and girls compete together; no language requirement.
• Divisions on the Time to Shine template: three experience levels (under 2 years, 2 to 5 years, 5 years or more) crossed with single-year ages, plus Adult, Mature Age and a Masters division for teachers.
• Time limit on that template: 2 minutes for the under-2-years level, 3 minutes for every other division.
• Scored out of 100; on Time to Shine the lines are Technique 40, Stage Presence 25, Execution of Performance 20, Choreography 10, Overall Appearance 5.
• Result is a skill-level band by score with a written critique; no points are printed for placings.
• Idea starters, not rules: a clockwork doll winding down, a baker kneading dough to a polka, a toy soldier on parade, a shy goose girl, a cheeky chimney sweep.

On eTalenter, Demi-Character Solo is filed under Dance and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 13 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

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

What judges look at in Demi-Character Solo

What a Demi-Character Solo panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Technique (40): the heaviest line, so the character must not cost the ballet. Turnout, pointed feet, balance, turn control and landings are judged to ballet standards even while the dancer is in role.
• Stage Presence (25): the audience should know who the dancer is and what they want within the first few bars. A consistent face, posture and attitude from entrance to final pose earns this line; a character that slips mid-piece loses it.
• Execution of Performance (20): clean delivery of the whole piece, with props and costume handled without fuss and any slip recovered without breaking the character.
• Choreography (10): a clear shape and a small story with a beginning and an end, and steps that suit both the music and the dancer’s level rather than a list of unrelated moves.
• Overall Appearance (5): costume, shoes and hair that suit the character and are safe to dance in; a small mark but one of the easiest to secure.
• Where marks are lost: acting without technique, which drags down the 40-mark line, and dancing a plain ballet routine with a costume on, which leaves Stage Presence with nothing to reward.

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

How to prepare for Demi-Character Solo

How entrants and their teachers usually get Demi-Character Solo right on the day:

• Choose the experience level by total years of dance training, not by age, because the division decides who the dancer is marked alongside.
• Write one sentence about who the character is and what they want, and make every step and gesture serve that sentence.
• Rehearse the ballet technique on its own first, then add the character, so neither weakens the other.
• Cut the music to the division’s limit, remembering the two-minute cap for the under-2-years level, and finish a few seconds inside it.
• Practise the facial expression in a mirror and on film; the character has to read from the back of the hall.
• Rehearse in the actual shoes, costume and any prop well before the day, including how the prop is carried on and off the stage.
• Keep mime simple and purposeful; a few well-timed gestures beat constant acting.
• After a lower band, read the written critique with the teacher and fix one technique point and one character point before the next event.

Frequently asked questions

Is Demi-Character Solo 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 the difference between a demi character solo and a classical solo?

A classical solo is danced as pure ballet. A demi character solo uses ballet technique but adds a specific character with costume, manner and small gestures, so Stage Presence matters as much as line.

Is demi character the same as national character?

No. National character is based on the folk dance of a particular country. Demi character is a ballet-based character piece not tied to a nation. Check the syllabus wording for the section you are entering.

How long can a demi character solo be?

On the Time to Shine template, two minutes for dancers with under two years of experience and three minutes for everyone else. Other organisers set their own limit.

Can I use props?

The template does not print a prop rule, so none is stated here. Props are common in this style, but check the organiser’s rules and keep them safe and part of the character.

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