5678 Elite Dance 2026 – Cork Qualifier

5678 Elite Dance holds its Cork qualifier at the Charleville Park Hotel, Charleville, Co. Cork on Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November 2026. It is one of two qualifiers in the Republic this autumn, the other at Dublin City University on 17 and 18 October.

Ballet is a graded category here rather than a token mention. At open level it is a named genre in its own right, and at novice and elite level it sits in the Performance and Technique group with lyrical and contemporary, separate from the Anything Goes group that carries street, tap, jazz, acro, musical theatre, song and dance and character.

Key details

• Dates: Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November 2026

• Venue: Charleville Park Hotel, Charleville, Co. Cork

• Ages: seven bands, from 6 and under up to 16 and under, plus over 17. This event falls after September, so a soloist competes as the age they were on 1 June 2026.

• Entry types: solo, duet, trio or quad, standard group of 5 to 14, large group of 15 or more up to a maximum of 26.

• Registration: Dance Comp Genie. No closing date is published, and places are capped by the performance time available.

• Qualifies for: the 5678 All Ireland Championships at the Pillo Hotel, Ashbourne.

The same hotel hosts the AD Competition Cork regional five weeks earlier, on 26 and 27 September 2026, so a Munster school weighing up one autumn competition has both at the same address.

Categories at this qualifier

• Ballet, defined in the rules as technique and classical ballet steps. Pointe work is permitted in the 15 and over category only.

• Lyrical, which must show classical and modern technique throughout, with storytelling and no more than two tricks.

• Street Dance. Commercial is not accepted as street and the judges may move it to Anything Goes.

• Tap, Jazz and Acro Dance, the last capped at two aerials per routine.

• Anything Goes, which takes commercial, contemporary, mime and creative movement.

• Tap and experimental 1 v 1 battles, two rounds of 45 seconds each.

Musical Theatre and Musical Theatre Dance are restricted to Take It To The Floor, the separate 5678 team championship, so they do not run at this qualifier.

Novice, open and elite

Open is the basic entry level, and any dancer who has competed on any stage before must enter it. Novice is solos only, for genuine first timers: it is marked out of 80 rather than 100, limited to two categories, and has no duet, trio or group sections. Elite is solos only and open to dancers who have already placed first at a 5678 competition, and entering elite rules out the open solo section at the same event. Solos are capped at three per dancer.

Entry fees, 2026

• Solo: €29 per dancer

• Duo: €36 per routine

• Trio or quad: €44 per routine

• Standard group: €13 per dancer. Large group: €12 per dancer.

• Media and DAKIKI fee: €18 per dancer

• Studio registration on Dance Comp Genie: £100, deducted from the final bill

Entries are processed only once paid in full, and anything withdrawn inside 20 days of the competition is charged at 50 per cent.

How to enter

Register through 5678.dancecompgenie.com, which needs a Dance Comp Genie Studio Center account first. Music is uploaded there ahead of the weekend. Registration queries go to admin@5678elitedance.com, general ones to info@5678elitedance.com.

Who runs it

5678 Elite Dance was founded in 2010 by Annika and Clare, who between them run Ajendance NI in Belfast and Banbridge. Clare trained in RAD ballet and more recently in ISTD classical ballet, and introduced ballet, tap and modern to the Ajendance timetable. The organiser puts the circuit at more than 55 dance schools and over 1,800 dancers.

Questions

Is ballet actually judged, or folded into an open section? Ballet is a named category with its own rules. At novice and elite level it sits in the Performance and Technique group with lyrical and contemporary, so ballet solos are not marked against street or acro.

Can my dancer compete on pointe? The rules allow pointe work in the 15 and over category only. The published age bands run to 16 and under and over 17, with no 15 and over band, so confirm the intended band with the organiser before entering.

Can a dancer who has never competed enter? Yes. The novice section is solos only and reserved for first timers. After one 5678 event a dancer moves up to open.

What score does the All Irelands need? 245 for open seniors, meaning 14 and under and older, 235 for open juniors, meaning 12 and under and younger, and 195 for novice.

When do entries close? No closing date is published. Each category holds 22 entries before it splits into A and B sections, and places are taken first come, first served.

Is this the same as the Dublin qualifier? Same rules, fees and categories, different weekend. Dublin runs on 17 and 18 October at Dublin City University, Charleville on 31 October and 1 November.

Details checked against 5678elitedance.com on 24 August 2026.

Dance schools entering their own dancers, and soloists from 6 and under to over 17. Registration runs through a studio account on Dance Comp Genie, so entries normally come from a school rather than from an individual family. This is the only 5678 qualifier in Munster.

Ballet dancers do not need a competition record to take part: the novice solo section is reserved for dancers who have never competed at 5678, and is marked on its own 80 point scale. Anyone who has competed anywhere before enters at open level.

• Trophies and prizes for every entrant. 5678's stated position is that no one goes home empty handed.

• Highly Commended awards for 4th and 5th place in any category with 12 or more entries.

• Special awards: 5678 Superstar junior and senior, overall costume junior and senior, Outstanding Producer, Spirit of 5678, Judges Choice, Top 10 Overall Solos and Top 10 Overall Groups. The organiser notes awards vary by venue.

• Photographs by the official photographers, free to download from the DAKIKI app after the event. Spectators may not photograph or film during the competition.

• Not included: the €18 media and DAKIKI fee per dancer, and spectator admission, which is sold through Ticketbud with prices published four weeks before the event.

Two days, Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November 2026. The running order is published through Dance Comp Genie once entries close, and 5678 states times are subject to change across the weekend.

Time limits: novice solos 1 minute 30, open and elite solos 2 minutes, duets, trios and quads 2 minutes, standard groups 3 minutes, large groups 3 minutes 30. Five seconds of grace is allowed and extra time cannot be bought.

Each category holds 22 entries before it splits into A and B sections. Two open format sections run alongside the graded ones: the Showcase, a five minute team piece with no limit on age, numbers or style, and Dance For Your Life, a knockout in which dancers learn a routine from a judge in 30 minutes and dance it off. Times for both are announced before each event.

Ballet has its own definition in the 5678 rules: technique and classical ballet steps. There is no classical only stream and no separate pointe category, and pointe work is permitted in the 15 and over category alone. At novice and elite level a ballet solo is marked in the Performance and Technique group, so it is scored alongside lyrical and contemporary work rather than against street, tap or acro.

Competition: Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November 2026.

Age is taken from 1 June 2026. Soloists at events after September compete as the age they were on that date.

Withdrawals: entries pulled inside 20 days of the competition are charged 50 per cent of the fee.

All Ireland Championships: qualifying scores are 245 for open seniors, 235 for open juniors and 195 for novice. 5678 lists the championships at the Pillo Hotel, Ashbourne on 27 and 28 February, but the year on its own site reads 2026, which has passed, so treat the year as unconfirmed. Champion of Champions qualification rules were due to be published in November 2026.

Entry closing date: none published.