5678 Elite Dance 2027 – Take It To The Floor

Take It To The Floor is 5678 Elite Dance's team championship, and it is a separate competition from the qualifier circuit that feeds the All Ireland Championships. It runs over three days in Northern Ireland, Friday 9 to Sunday 11 April 2027. Academic school entries are open now.

The important difference is that this event is built around teams. There is no solo section except for academic schools, so a dance school enters duets, trios, quads and groups here rather than soloists. Ballet is one of the judged categories, and two categories run at this event and nowhere else on the 5678 calendar: Musical Theatre, which requires live singing, and Musical Theatre Dance.

Key details

• Dates: Friday 9 to Sunday 11 April 2027.

• Venue: Ards Blair Mayne Wellbeing and Leisure Complex, 1 Dairy Hall Lane, Newtownards, Co. Down, BT23 4DB. See the note on the venue below.

• Academic schools: entries opened in September 2026 for the Friday, 9 April.

• Entry formats: duet, trio or quad, standard group of 5 to 12, large group of 13 to 25, Mega Crew of 26 to 60. Solos are open to academic schools only.

• Ages: a group competes in the age band of its oldest member. The 5678 bands run from 6 and under to over 17.

• Registration: Dance Comp Genie, which needs a Studio Center account first. Academic schools bring their music on the day rather than uploading it in advance.

• Organiser: AC Creative Events Limited, trading as 5678 Elite Dance Competitions.

A note on the venue

5678's own competitions page lists this event only as "Team Dance Championships, Northern Ireland" with no venue. The Blair Mayne complex in Newtownards comes from the organiser's Instagram announcement, which names it against the Friday academic day. Confirm with the organiser that the Saturday and Sunday are at the same venue before booking travel.

Categories

• Ballet, defined in the 5678 rules as technique and classical ballet steps. Pointe work is permitted in the 15 and over category only.

• Musical Theatre, which must include live singing as well as dancing, and Musical Theatre Dance, which is a dance piece to a musical theatre song. Both run at this event only.

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

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

Time limits

Longer than the qualifiers across the board. Solos, where an academic school is entering them, duets, trios and quads all get 2 minutes 30. Standard and large groups get 3 minutes 30. Mega Crew gets 5 minutes. Five seconds of grace is allowed and extra time cannot be bought.

Questions

Can a dance school enter a soloist? No. Solos at Take It To The Floor are restricted to academic schools. A studio enters duets, trios, quads, groups or a Mega Crew.

What counts as an academic school? A primary or secondary school entering its own pupils, as opposed to a dance studio entering its students. The Friday of the weekend is given over to these entries.

Is there a ballet section? Ballet is a named category with the same definition used across 5678 events. It is judged as a group piece here rather than as a solo, unless the entry comes from an academic school.

Do we need to qualify? No. Take It To The Floor is a standalone championship, so the 245, 235 and 195 qualifying scores that gate the All Irelands do not apply.

What does it cost? 5678 has not published 2027 pricing for this event: its rules page reads "Take It To The Floor Pricing 2027 TBC". Studio registration on Dance Comp Genie is £100, deducted from the final bill. Fees for a Northern Ireland event are charged in sterling.

Dates and rules checked against 5678elitedance.com on 9 September 2026. Venue from the organiser's Instagram announcement of 8 September 2026, and the address confirmed against leisureardsandnorthdown.com.

Two different groups, on different days. Academic schools, meaning primary and secondary schools entering their own pupils, compete on the Friday, and entries for that strand are open now. Dance schools and studios enter their teams across the weekend.

Because there is no open solo section, this is an event for a school with a group rather than for an individual dancer and a parent. Entries go through a school's Dance Comp Genie studio account.

• Trophies and prizes in line with 5678's stated position 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 including 5678 Superstar junior and senior, overall costume junior and senior, Outstanding Producer, Spirit of 5678, Judges Choice and Top 10 Overall Groups. The organiser notes awards vary by venue.

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

• Not included: entry fees, which are unpublished for 2027, and the £100 Dance Comp Genie studio registration, which is deducted from the final bill.

Three days, Friday 9 to Sunday 11 April 2027. The Friday is the academic school day, per the organiser's announcement. 5678 publishes running orders through Dance Comp Genie once entries close, and states that times are subject to change across the weekend.

Time limits: solos, where an academic school enters them, duets, trios and quads 2 minutes 30. Standard group and large group 3 minutes 30. Mega Crew 5 minutes.

No closing date for entries has been published. At 5678 events each category holds 22 entries before it splits into A and B sections, and places are first come, first served.

Ballet runs here under the same definition 5678 uses across its events: technique and classical ballet steps, with pointe work permitted in the 15 and over category only. The difference at Take It To The Floor is the format. With no open solo section, a ballet entry from a dance school is a duet, trio, quad or group piece, and the group competes in the age band of its oldest member. Academic schools are the exception and may enter ballet solos.

Competition: Friday 9 to Sunday 11 April 2027.

Academic school entries: open as of September 2026, for the Friday.

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

Age reckoning: the published rules still give the soloist age dates as 1 January 2026 and 1 June 2026, which have not been rolled forward for a 2027 event. Groups take the age of the oldest member, so this affects academic school solos only.

Entry closing date: none published. 2027 pricing is listed as TBC.