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Free Dance Tryout Evaluation Form & Audition Scorecard
A dance audition is judged by eye in a room full of nervous people, which is exactly why a scorecard helps: without one, the dancer at the front is remembered and the one in the back row is not. Score the technique, turns and leaps a dancer already has, how much of a combination they keep, how they perform it, and how they take a correction, in the style being auditioned and never against another style or a body.
What each dance criterion actually measures
The scorecard loads these eight columns. They are short labels, and the labels hide most of the judgment, so here is what an evaluator is looking at under each.
- Technique. Posture, alignment, placement and control in the style being auditioned: clean lines, weight transferred without a wobble, a held position that stays held. Score the control, not the most extreme shape, and score within the style, since a clean hip hop groove is not a ballet line.
- Flexibility. The range of motion the choreography asks for, shown with control. Score what is shown today and note the potential. Flexibility is trainable and varies with age and growth, and no dancer should be asked for a split or pressed into a stretch to produce a number.
- Turns. Preparation, focus, balance and a controlled finish, at the number of rotations the dancer normally does. Score the clean finish, not the count of rotations, and never ask for more than the dancer does now.
- Leaps. Preparation, shape in the air and a quiet, controlled landing, after a warm-up and with the same number of tries for every dancer. Score the form and the landing, not the distance alone.
- Musicality. Dancing to the music and not only on the counts: the phrasing, the accents, the way a movement breathes with the music. Teach the combination to music and watch who stays with the phrase, not just the beat.
- Retention. How much of the combination a dancer keeps once it has been taught: the order, the spacing and the details. Score the second pass, since the first pass shows who has seen the choreography before, and watch who is copying the dancer in front.
- Performance. Focus, facial expression, commitment and the ability to carry on through a mistake. Score the performing, not the personality: a quiet dancer can learn to project, and a bold one still has to be clean.
- Coachability. The dancer who adjusts after a correction, not the one who nods. Give one note on the second pass and watch who applies it on the third.
What to score once you split by style
A skill that decides one style is noise on everyone else's sheet, which is why these sit apart from the general set. Style names and levels vary by program, and a dancer is scored in the style they are auditioning for. Pick a style in the builder and the scorecard columns rebuild themselves.
Ballet
Score placement, line and the quality of the movement through the steps. The turnout column is controlled turnout: the rotation a dancer holds from the hips, not how far the feet turn out. Many teachers ask for the rotation a dancer can hold and caution against forcing it. Pointe work is not part of an audition unless your program has cleared it.
- Technique and placement
- Controlled turnout
- Extension and line
- Musicality
- Performance quality
- Coachability
Jazz
Score the sharpness of the isolations, the rhythm and timing, and the energy of the performance. Turns and leaps matter in jazz, and they are scored on the form and the finish. Ask for the ones the dancer does now.
- Isolations and sharpness
- Turns and leaps
- Rhythm and timing
- Performance energy
- Coachability
Contemporary
Score fluidity, control and the way weight is released and caught. Floor work is scored only on a clean floor and at the control the dancer shows, and no dancer is asked for falls or floor skills they do not already do.
- Floor work
- Fluidity and control
- Emotional expression
- Musicality
- Coachability
Hip hop
Score groove, musicality, isolations and sharpness on their own terms, not against ballet technique. Groove is not the same as speed, so score the character and the control, and the confidence of the performance.
- Groove and musicality
- Isolations and control
- Sharpness
- Performance confidence
- Coachability
Tap
Score the clarity of each sound, the rhythm and timing, and the speed and control. Clarity is not volume. Check that the floor is made for tap shoes before anyone dances, and leave out any dancer who has no tap shoes without counting it against them.
- Clarity of sound
- Rhythm and timing
- Speed and control
- Musicality
- Coachability
How to score a dance tryout
A five point scale gives evaluators a consistent way to compare dancers across the same skills and the same age group. It is printed above the grid so every evaluator reads the same words, and the last column is an average, not a total.
| Score | What it means |
|---|---|
| 5 | Well above the group |
| 4 | Above the group |
| 3 | At level for this age group |
| 2 | Developing |
| 1 | Needs significant work |
- Agree on the 3 before anyone is scored. Have every evaluator watch the same few steps and say out loud what a 3 looks like for this age group and style. A lot of the disagreement between evaluators is about where the middle is, not about the dancers.
- Score what you saw, when you saw it. Write the number before the next dancer steps in. Leave a cell blank for a skill the session never tested, such as leaps for a dancer who sat out. A blank costs a dancer nothing, because the average only counts what was scored.
- Score each column on its own. A strong turner should not lift a musicality score, and a nervous performance should not pull down technique.
- Score independently, then average. Two evaluators who confer during the session produce one opinion twice.
- Score the dancing, never the body. A comment about weight, shape or appearance is not a score and does not belong on the sheet.
Retention is a number before it is a score
The scorecard has a second table beneath the scoring grid for the one thing a dance audition can count: how much of the combination each dancer had right on each pass. It is there on purpose.
- Write the number, not a score. Twenty of thirty-two counts clean on the second pass is information. A 4 is an opinion about it. Keep the information until you have seen the whole group.
- Record two passes. The difference between the first and the second shows who learns, which is what the combination is for. The first pass alone shows who has seen the choreography before.
- Decide what a 3 means for the age group first. Then convert, once, for everyone, the same way.
- Do not let a count decide alone. An audition is one evening, and nerves change what a dancer shows. A count says less than the note on how a dancer handled a correction.
- Check the birth date before you decide. In any age group the oldest dancers are almost a year older than the youngest, and the older ones often look stronger. Score the dancing, and look at the birth date on the sheet before you judge a dancer who looks behind.
- Leave it blank if it was not measured. Not every audition teaches a combination to every group, and an empty cell is honest.
The seven stations the builder can add to the sheet, and the order they run in, are on the dance tryouts guide, along with a ninety-minute schedule, a staffing plan and a safety plan.
Other sports, and the general version
This is the dance version. The general tryout evaluation scoresheet works for any sport, and the dance forms and templates page lists the other 5 dance documents.
Playbook Logix provides customizable templates for informational and administrative use. They are not legal advice and will not meet the requirements of every organization, sport or jurisdiction. Review anything you intend to rely on with your own attorney or your insurance carrier, and check your league and state requirements.
Common questions
What should a dance tryout evaluation form include?
The things you will actually see that day: technique, flexibility, turns, leaps, musicality, retention, performance and coachability. Add a notes column and a row for each dancer. Keep anything counted, such as the number of counts a dancer had right on each pass of the combination, in a separate table as a raw number.
How do you score a dance audition?
On a five point scale that every evaluator reads the same way, scored independently and averaged afterwards. Agree out loud what a 3 looks like for the age group and style before anyone is scored, write each number before the next dancer steps in, and leave a cell blank for anything the session never tested, such as turns for a dancer who was not asked to turn.
Should we score flexibility?
As what is shown today, with a note on potential. Flexibility is trainable, and it varies with age, growth and training history, so a dancer should not be marked down for a range they have not had the chance to build. Never ask for a split or any extreme position, and never touch or press a dancer into a stretch.
What is the difference between a tryout, an audition and a placement evaluation?
A tryout or audition chooses dancers for a team or company with a limited number of places. A placement evaluation puts every dancer in the right level of class, and nobody is cut. The same sheet works for all three: average the scores, and use the Players to look at again line for the dancers you want a second look at before classes or pieces are named.
How do you score different styles fairly?
On their own terms. A clean hip hop groove is not a ballet line, and a tap rhythm is not a jazz turn. Pick a style in the builder and the columns rebuild around what that style asks for, and score a dancer in the style they are auditioning for.
Should the scorecard include anything about appearance or body type?
No. Nothing about weight, shape or appearance belongs on a dance scorecard, and a comment about a body is not a note about the dancing. Describe what the dancer did, and what you would work on.
How many evaluators do we need?
At least two scoring independently. Average the sheets afterwards and do not let evaluators confer during the session. If you can only double up on one thing, double up on the combination, where opinions differ the most.
More dance tools
The rest of the dance toolkit
Dance Registration Form
Styles studied, training and level, dancewear and shoe sizes, and injury questions, on a form for sign-up night.
Open the generatorDance Code of Conduct
Dress code, stretching, advanced-skill and injury rules for dancers, and filming, casting and backstage rules for parents, on one page with one signature.
Open the generatorDance Student Evaluation Form
A mid-year report for a parent: dance skills against the age group, a section for each style, and room for words.
Open the generatorDance Tryouts & Audition Guide
A 90-minute run of show, seven stations from warm-up to a combination, a staffing plan, how to place dancers, and a safety plan.
Read the guideDance Costume & Equipment Checkout
Costume, headpiece, props and team jacket, with costume number, size, condition and replacement cost, and a return date.
Open the generatorPlaybook Logix
What happens after the dance tryout
Playbook Logix is registration, rosters, payments, schedules and team messaging for youth and adult sports, in one place. The scorecard decides who plays where. Playbook Logix takes over once the teams exist, and it can handle the sign-ups before them.
Take sign-ups for the tryout
Open the tryout as its own program with a birth-date window and a cap on spots, collect the fee if you charge one, and have every family give you the same information before they arrive.
How it worksBuild the teams from one pool
Registered players land in a single pool and you place them on teams afterward, so the rosters you build from your scorecard are the ones families see. A roster can hold players, coaches, managers and volunteers.
How it worksTell families what happens next
Post the results and next steps on the team message board, with an Acknowledge button to see who has read them. Email and text blasts for anything that cannot wait are on the paid plans.
How it worksThe Starter plan is free, and the iPhone and Android app is free on every plan. Anything described above as Coach plan and above needs a paid plan. See the plans or the mobile app. Nothing you type into the template above is sent to us, whether or not you ever sign up.
After the tryout comes the roster
Playbook Logix takes the part that starts once the team exists: registration, medical forms parents fill in on their phone, who has paid, and a roster that is the same in everyone's pocket. There is a free plan.