Traditional Folk Forms – Ring Games Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A staged Jamaican dance built on traditional ring games, where every dancer sings a medley of three or four songs while moving through circles, lines and chants.

Traditional Folk Forms – Ring Games is the eighty-first entry on the Jamaican national performing arts festival template and the fourteenth of the seventeen items in its Traditional Folk Forms discipline. Ring games are the singing games children and young people have long played in a circle: a song sets the action, the players move to the words, and the verse tells them when to turn, clap, choose a partner or change places. The festival turns that playground tradition into a staged dance presentation.

The 2026 handbook describes the entry as a medley of three or four songs in which the dancers must sing as the games are carried out, moving through varying patterns and exploring all the uses of the circle. The traditional tune has to be established, at least in the first verse, before a team creates on it, and the steps must relate to the game being sung. Chanting, line games and circle games may all appear, with the circle the most dominant. Accompaniment, where there is any, must not overpower the singing.

A finished entry therefore looks and sounds different from most dance items. The team of twelve to sixteen dancers is also the choir: everyone sings and everyone dances, and the judges listen as closely as they watch. The handbook adds that where a team is mixed, boys and girls must be equal in number, so a group of twelve is six girls and six boys, and that the adult version should be more authentic and traditional in form.

Organisers run it because it is the most accessible of the traditional folk forms. It needs no special drums, masks or ritual knowledge, only well-chosen songs, clear structure and a team that can hold a tune while moving. That makes it a common first folk entry for younger classes and a good way to keep songs and games from older generations in use.

Where Traditional Folk Forms – Ring Games is run

On eTalenter this item is used in one template, the Jamaican national performing arts festival template, where it is a Traditional Folk Forms entry assigned as a team of boys and girls to all seven classes, Class 1 (ages 3 to 6) up to Class 6 (adults) plus the combined Class 7. The festival runs in three stages, parish auditions, parish finals and national finals, and only the top gold-medal group per class and category in a parish moves on. The format on this page is the festival’s staged version of the ring game.

• Jamaica (the national performing arts festival the template is built from)

Key facts

• Team entry of boys and girls in English; mixed teams must have equal numbers of each, and the template assigns it to Classes 1 to 6 and the combined Class 7
• The 2026 handbook asks for 12 to 16 dancers, with a smaller 8 to 12 shown in its summary table for Classes 5 to 7; all dancers must sing and dance
• A medley of three or four traditional songs, with chants, line games and circle games, the circle being dominant
• Time is stated two ways: the handbook gives three minutes for Classes 1 to 3 and four minutes for later classes, while the template records one four-minute window with the bell at three minutes; confirm which your organiser uses
• Live accompaniment is allowed with no more than six singers or players, and drumming must not overshadow the singing; female dancers wear bloomers, not tights, under costume
• Ideas, not rules: group three songs from the same village or season so the medley tells one story, open with a plain circle so the tune is clear, and change formation on each new song

On eTalenter, Traditional Folk Forms – Ring Games 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, Traditional Folk Forms – Ring Games is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 4 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Traditional Folk Forms – Ring Games

What a Traditional Folk Forms – Ring Games panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• The handbook gives ring games their own marking table with six headings, worth 100 at parish auditions, 100 at parish finals and 50 at the national finals. The points below follow that table and are a summary, not a quotation of the rule
• Form and structure (30, 30 and 10) is the largest heading: a clear opening, a medley that flows from one game to the next, patterns that use the whole circle and an ending the team plans rather than stumbles into
• Musicality, singing and percussion (20, 20 and 10): tuneful, in-time singing by all dancers, with any accompaniment kept beneath the voices. Marks are lost when breath runs out mid-movement or the drum covers the words
• Vocabulary (25, 20 and 10): the movements and steps must belong to the games being sung. Steps that ignore the words, or pop moves added for effect, cost marks, since the handbook says popular forms must not overshadow Jamaican content
• Costuming (5, 10 and 7), originality (10, 10 and 6) and stage presence (10, 10 and 7): simple, tidy dress that suits the games, fresh arrangement of familiar songs, and a team that keeps its energy and spacing from entrance to exit

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Traditional Folk Forms – Ring Games under Scoring Setup, or start from the full folk dance judging criteria guide.

How to prepare for Traditional Folk Forms – Ring Games

How entrants and their teachers usually get Traditional Folk Forms – Ring Games right on the day:

• Choose the songs first. Pick three or four that the team really knows, ideally with different tempos, and confirm each is a traditional ring game rather than a pop song
• Learn the original game before arranging it. Ask older relatives or teachers how each one is played, so every step has a reason from the words
• Establish the traditional tune in the first verse, plainly and in time, and only then vary it, as the handbook requires
• Rehearse singing and dancing together from the start. Practise seated, then walking, then in full movement, and check the last line of each song is as strong as the first
• Plan the stage picture on paper: circle, double circle, lines, a partner pass, and make sure the circle is the main shape. Spread the dancers evenly so nobody hides at the back
• Keep any band small and balanced, no more than six, and rehearse with it early so the drum supports the voices instead of covering them
• Check the numbers and dress before registration: twelve to sixteen dancers, equal boys and girls where mixed, bloomers under costume for girls, and a time under the limit with a margin
• After the result, read the adjudicator comments against the six headings. Low musicality means more singing drills; low form means a stronger opening and ending

Frequently asked questions

Is Traditional Folk Forms – Ring Games 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 a ring game in the festival?

It is a staged dance based on traditional singing games. The team performs a medley of three or four songs, singing as it plays each game, and moves in circles, lines and chants. The handbook says the circle should be the main shape.

Do all dancers have to sing?

Yes. The 2026 handbook says all dancers must sing and dance. Live accompaniment is allowed with up to six singers or players, but the drumming must not overshadow the singing.

How long can a Ring Games entry be?

The handbook gives three minutes for Classes 1 to 3 and four minutes for later classes, while the template records a four-minute window with a warning at three minutes. Confirm the limit with your organiser.

How many boys and girls are needed?

Teams are 12 to 16 dancers. If the team is mixed, the handbook requires equal numbers, so a group of 12 has six girls and six boys. Its summary table shows a smaller 8 to 12 for Classes 5 to 7.

Can we use pop songs or modern dance steps?

Creative touches are welcome, but the handbook says popular forms must not overshadow the Jamaican content, steps must relate to the game being sung, and the traditional tune must be clear before it is varied.

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