8 National Talent Competition — Adjudicated Dance Competition: 17 Styles, Six Age Divisions, Three Levels and 300-Point Scoring

Cultural & Folk Festival · North America & Caribbean

8 National Talent Competition (United States) 2025 rules: an adjudicated dance competition with 16 styles (ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary, acro, musical theater and more) plus productions, for solos, duets/trios, small and large groups and lines, across six age divisions and three levels (Count It, Dance It, Live It), scored out of 100 by each of three judges with GR8, Titanium, Platinum and Gold awards.

A ready-made national-style dance competition: 16 performance styles plus Production, five entry sizes from solo to line, six age divisions, three competitive levels and award bands scored out of 300 by three judges.

This template sets up an adjudicated studio dance competition of the kind run on a touring circuit, where dance schools bring solos, duets, groups and production numbers to be scored by a panel and awarded by score band rather than by a simple first, second and third. It was built from one competition’s 2025 printed rules. Entries are by style and by size of act: a solo is one dancer, a duet or trio is two or three, a small group is four to nine, a large group is ten to eighteen, and a line is nineteen or more. Production, a themed piece with any mix of styles, props and dancers of all ages, sits beside them as its own item. Ages are counted as at 1 January of the contest year, and for duets, trios and groups the dancers’ ages are averaged with the decimal dropped.

Every act is placed by three things at once: its size, the dancers’ age division and a competitive level. The rules print six age divisions – 5 and under, 6 to 8, 9 to 11, 12 to 14, 15 to 19 and 20 and over – and three levels, called Count It for novice, Dance It for intermediate and Live It for elite. The template therefore carries 90 groups, one for each size, age division and level pairing, plus three Production groups, one per level, that take dancers of any age and are marked common. The age bands are consecutive. The lowest band starts at 3 only as a placeholder floor, because the rules print no minimum age, and the oldest runs to 120. A coordinator should set the real lower age before registration opens.

The 17 items are the 16 printed performance styles plus Production: Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Musical Theater, Tap, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Contemporary, Modern, Acro, Song and Dance, Character, Clogging, Pom, Folkloric and Open, which covers any style not otherwise listed. The rules do not say which styles run at which size, age or level, so every style is installed in every non-Production group and the organiser removes what the event will not run. Time limits follow the act size: 2 minutes 30 for solos and duets or trios, 3 minutes for small groups, 3 minutes 30 for large groups, 4 minutes for lines and 6 minutes for productions. Every item is open to both genders, set to any language, and installed with entry fees at zero, because the rules print no fees.

Scoring is the distinctive part. Each of three judges gives up to 100 points, so the maximum is 300, and the template sets maximum score to 300 for that reason. Award bands are printed by total score: a top tier at 294 and above for the Live It level only, Titanium from 285 to 293, Double Platinum from 276 to 284, Platinum from 267 to 275 and High Gold from 255 to 266. They are installed as mark bands with no bonus points, since none are printed. A category winner needs Titanium or the top tier. The rules print no per-criterion marks, so the template ships no judging criteria and the organiser adds a score sheet for the panel. Entry and extended-time fees, the per-entry change fee, the cap of three solos per dancer in three different styles, the overtime and wrong-level deductions, the rule that the youngest dancers must be on stage for a share of a group number, prop and safety rules and the special, title and overall awards are not structure the platform can hold, so they stay registration rules for the coordinator. Rules change between seasons, so check the current edition before reusing groups or timings.

Where this event comes from

Built from the 2025 printed rules of a United States adjudicated dance competition, read against the rules document itself. Fees, dates, venues and the points behind the special awards are not printed there and are left out.

Where this event is run

Scored, tiered dance competitions with age divisions, competitive levels and award bands are the standard format for studio dance circuits in the United States, where schools enter many acts across a weekend and are rewarded by score band as well as by placing; the same layout is used for regional contests in Australia and elsewhere. This template follows one circuit’s rules and suits any dance school, festival or touring competition that wants solos, duets, groups, lines and productions in one structure, a three-judge total, and tiered awards without hand-building ninety age and level groups.

• United States

Key facts

• 17 items: 16 printed styles (Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Musical Theater, Tap, Hip Hop, Lyrical, Contemporary, Modern, Acro, Song and Dance, Character, Clogging, Pom, Folkloric, Open) plus Production
• 93 groups: five act sizes (solo, duet or trio, small group, large group, line) crossed with six age divisions and three levels (Count It, Dance It, Live It), plus three Production groups for all ages
• Solos are individual entries; every other size is a team entry, and every item is open to both genders in any language
• Time limits by act size: 2:30 for solos and duets or trios, 3:00 small groups, 3:30 large groups, 4:00 lines, 6:00 productions
• Each of three judges scores up to 100, so the maximum is 300; award bands run from High Gold at 255 up to a top tier at 294 and above for the Live It level only
• No per-criterion marks, entry fees or minimum age are printed, so none are installed; the lowest age band is a placeholder

Age groups

93

Competition items

17

Competitions

1443

Grade bands

5

Rank awards

0

Age groups

Every candidate is placed into one of these groups by age, and competitions are run per group.

Solo 5&U Count It

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Solo 5&U Dance It

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Solo 5&U Live It

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Solo 6-8 Count It

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Solo 6-8 Dance It

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Solo 6-8 Live It

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Solo 9-11 Count It

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Solo 9-11 Dance It

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Solo 9-11 Live It

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Solo 12-14 Count It

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Solo 12-14 Dance It

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Solo 12-14 Live It

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Solo 15-19 Count It

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Solo 15-19 Dance It

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Solo 15-19 Live It

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Solo 20+ Count It

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Candidates aged 20 to 120 compete in this group

Solo 20+ Dance It

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Candidates aged 20 to 120 compete in this group

Solo 20+ Live It

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Duet/Trio 5&U Count It

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Duet/Trio 5&U Dance It

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Duet/Trio 5&U Live It

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Duet/Trio 6-8 Count It

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Candidates aged 6 to 8 compete in this group

Duet/Trio 6-8 Dance It

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Duet/Trio 6-8 Live It

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Show all 93 age groups

Duet/Trio 9-11 Count It

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Candidates aged 9 to 11 compete in this group

Duet/Trio 9-11 Dance It

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Candidates aged 9 to 11 compete in this group

Duet/Trio 9-11 Live It

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Candidates aged 9 to 11 compete in this group

Duet/Trio 12-14 Count It

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Candidates aged 12 to 14 compete in this group

Duet/Trio 12-14 Dance It

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Candidates aged 12 to 14 compete in this group

Duet/Trio 12-14 Live It

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Candidates aged 12 to 14 compete in this group

Duet/Trio 15-19 Count It

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Candidates aged 15 to 19 compete in this group

Duet/Trio 15-19 Dance It

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Candidates aged 15 to 19 compete in this group

Duet/Trio 15-19 Live It

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Candidates aged 15 to 19 compete in this group

Duet/Trio 20+ Count It

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Candidates aged 20 to 120 compete in this group

Duet/Trio 20+ Dance It

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Candidates aged 20 to 120 compete in this group

Duet/Trio 20+ Live It

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Candidates aged 20 to 120 compete in this group

Small Group 5&U Count It

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Candidates aged 3 to 5 compete in this group

Small Group 5&U Dance It

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Small Group 5&U Live It

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Small Group 6-8 Count It

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Small Group 6-8 Dance It

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Small Group 6-8 Live It

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Small Group 9-11 Count It

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Candidates aged 9 to 11 compete in this group

Small Group 9-11 Dance It

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Small Group 9-11 Live It

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Small Group 12-14 Count It

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Small Group 12-14 Dance It

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Small Group 12-14 Live It

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Small Group 15-19 Count It

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Small Group 15-19 Dance It

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Small Group 15-19 Live It

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Small Group 20+ Count It

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Candidates aged 20 to 120 compete in this group

Small Group 20+ Dance It

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Small Group 20+ Live It

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Large Group 5&U Count It

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Candidates aged 3 to 5 compete in this group

Large Group 5&U Dance It

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Large Group 5&U Live It

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Large Group 6-8 Count It

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Candidates aged 6 to 8 compete in this group

Large Group 6-8 Dance It

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Candidates aged 6 to 8 compete in this group

Large Group 6-8 Live It

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Large Group 9-11 Count It

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Candidates aged 9 to 11 compete in this group

Large Group 9-11 Dance It

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Large Group 9-11 Live It

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Large Group 12-14 Count It

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Large Group 12-14 Dance It

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Large Group 12-14 Live It

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Large Group 15-19 Count It

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Large Group 15-19 Dance It

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Large Group 15-19 Live It

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Large Group 20+ Count It

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Candidates aged 20 to 120 compete in this group

Large Group 20+ Dance It

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Large Group 20+ Live It

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Candidates aged 20 to 120 compete in this group

Line 5&U Count It

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Line 5&U Dance It

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Line 5&U Live It

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Line 6-8 Count It

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Line 6-8 Dance It

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Line 6-8 Live It

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Line 9-11 Count It

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Line 9-11 Dance It

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Line 9-11 Live It

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Line 12-14 Count It

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Line 12-14 Dance It

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Line 12-14 Live It

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Line 15-19 Count It

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Candidates aged 15 to 19 compete in this group

Line 15-19 Dance It

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Candidates aged 15 to 19 compete in this group

Line 15-19 Live It

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Candidates aged 15 to 19 compete in this group

Line 20+ Count It

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Candidates aged 20 to 120 compete in this group

Line 20+ Dance It

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Candidates aged 20 to 120 compete in this group

Line 20+ Live It

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Production Count It

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Candidates aged 3 to 120 compete in this group

Production Dance It

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Candidates aged 3 to 120 compete in this group

Production Live It

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Candidates aged 3 to 120 compete in this group

Competition items

The events themselves — each with the category it belongs to and how judges score it.

Ballet

DanceMarks

Pointe

DanceMarks

Jazz

DanceMarks

Musical Theater

DanceMarks

Tap

DanceMarks

Hip Hop

DanceMarks

Lyrical

DanceMarks

Contemporary

DanceMarks

Modern

DanceMarks

Acro

DanceMarks

Song and Dance

DanceMarks

Character

DanceMarks

Clogging

DanceMarks

Pom

DanceMarks

Folkloric

DanceMarks

Open

DanceMarks

Production

DanceMarks