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

A hard-shoe Irish solo dance in which the dancer is free to choose the steps and arrangement, judged on rhythm, sound, technique and the way the choices suit the music.

An open set dance is a solo Irish dance in hard shoes. Where the traditional set dance asks every dancer to begin with the same handed-down steps, the open version gives the dancer and teacher more freedom: the steps, the order they come in and the way they fill the music are chosen to show the performer at their best. It is the item where choreography, rather than faithfulness to a tradition, is on display.

A round follows the familiar solo format. Dancers of one age group are called to the stage in small groups, step forward one at a time and dance while a panel of adjudicators watches and listens. Because the steps differ from dancer to dancer, the panel cannot simply check each performance against a shared pattern; it has to judge how well each dancer has built and delivered their own dance.

On this template the open set dance is an Individual item open to boys and girls together, with age groups from Under 6 up to Under 19 plus a Senior group, and a dancer enters the group that matches their age. Each adjudicator marks out of 100, and the template allows up to ten minutes for the item as a whole rather than fixing a length for each dancer.

Organisers include it because it rounds off the hard-shoe block with a different test. After the jigs, hornpipe and traditional set dance, it lets stronger dancers show originality and stage presence, and it gives audiences more variety to watch within the same programme.

Where Open Set Dance is run

The open set dance is run at Irish dancing competitions called feiseanna, and on this template it follows the traditional set dance in a syllabus built around age groups and competitive grades. It also appears at Irish cultural festivals, dance-school showcases and diaspora events where pupils enter as soloists.

• Ireland
• Irish dance communities worldwide

Key facts

• Individual item, boys and girls together on this template
• Age groups from Under 6 to Under 19, plus a Senior group
• Hard-shoe solo with steps and arrangement chosen by the dancer or teacher
• Marked out of 100 by each adjudicator; the template sets a ten-minute item ceiling
• Separate from the traditional set dance, which keeps a recognised opening
• Entered by age group; the same dancer may also enter the other solo items

On eTalenter, Open Set Dance is filed under On Stage 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, Open Set Dance is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 10 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Open Set Dance

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

• Rhythm and timing: strikes land on the beat of the music and the tempo stays steady from the first bar to the last, however complex the steps.
• Clarity of sound: heel and toe tips are crisp and evenly weighted, so the rhythm can be heard as well as seen.
• Rise, posture and carriage: a lifted, springing style with a tall chest and still arms, rather than flat, heavy stepping.
• Technique and cleanness: precise foot placement, turned-out feet and tidy transitions between steps.
• Choice and fit of steps: the steps should suit the music and the dancer’s ability; over-ambitious steps that are danced untidily lose more than simpler steps done well.
• Presentation and finish: confident use of the stage, a lively character and a clean finish on the final beat.

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

How to prepare for Open Set Dance

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

• Listen to the music until you can count its phrases, so every step starts and ends where the music does.
• Build the dance from steps the dancer already does cleanly, then add one challenging step at a time rather than stacking several new ones.
• Practise each step on one spot without travelling to build even weight and clear sound before adding movement.
• Plan the use of the stage so the dancer can show both sides and does not drift out of the performing area.
• Record a run-through and compare it with the music: uneven beats are easier to hear than feel, and sloppy turn-out is easier to see than sense.
• Run the whole dance back to back at least twice per session so the final steps are as sharp as the first.
• Rehearse starting and finishing on cue alongside two or three other dancers, and check shoe tips well before the day.

Frequently asked questions

Is Open Set Dance 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 an open set dance and a traditional set dance?

The traditional set dance keeps to a recognised tune and opening steps. The open set dance leaves the choice of steps and arrangement to the dancer or teacher. They are separate items on this template, each with its own entry.

Is an open set dance judged individually or as a team?

Individually. Dancers may take the stage in small groups for practical reasons, but each is marked on their own performance out of 100.

How long is an open set dance round?

This template sets a ten-minute ceiling on the item as a whole, and the organiser decides how much of the dance each dancer performs on the day.

Can a dancer choose any music?

That depends on the organiser. On the day the music is normally supplied for the item, so dancers should confirm the tune and tempo in advance.

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