Written by Jory Bowling
DDA Instructor, bio here https://www.dreamsdance.com/team-bios
This year I embarked on my 20th season of judging dance competitions! Wow time flies! I’ve gotten
to see so many of our cities and states, do a lot of sight-seeing, rack up airline miles and make many close friends. Some years traveling as much as 13 regional weekends and a few Nationals over Summer. I started my career with Starpower and judged for them for many years as well as branching out to their sister companies Nexstar and Revolution. I eventually moved on to working for Starquest, where I’m in my 12th year and the new judges trainer, as well as Bravo and Applause for many years where I’m a “head” judge. All of these companies have given me the years of experience to give parents and dancers some insight on what happens “behind the scenes."
First, it is important that everyone knows and understands; no two competitions are run exactly the same. They all have their own scoring system and rubric, special/extra awards, hoopla award ceremonies or lack of, staff duties etc. One comment I’ve come across fairly often from parents is, “at competition A she got a 270 and competition B she got a 295. That’s a huge difference. Competition A judged her really hard.” Well my answer always is no that is not the case. You can’t compare scores between competitions. As I stated above, each company has their own judging scale and how we go about coming to our final score per judge. It is not like Gymnastics where the scale is going to be the same at each meet. For instance, at Starquest we give one composite score per judge. So I’m scoring you on what I feel is your cumulative total based on your technique, performance quality, choreography, costume and appropriateness. Technique and performance quality being 90% of that. At Applause we each give you 3 separate scores based on your technique, performance quality/showmanship and choreography. Technique weighing slightly heavier than the other two. Each company I’ve worked for has an entirely different software system and we have to adapt to those and keep our mindset on how things are done at that competition.
One of if not the most important thing is for everyone to ALWAYS remember, those overall scores will never fall exactly in the same order on a different day or with another set of judges. The scores you receive that weekend are based purely on what those 3 judges think. What their preferences are, their personal likes and dislikes, often if you “woke” them up first thing out of the gate in the morning or did you make them want to fall asleep. Are you the last solo on Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. and they’ve watched 530 entries before you. Are they exhausted and ready to head out the door or did you really grab their attention enough to score you very high. Did they get enough sleep...typically no, they definitely did not. Did they have a travel nightmare getting to your city, or are they rested and prepared. Are they hungry, or has it been 3 hours since they’ve gotten up for a stretch or to go to the bathroom. There are so many factors that go into your score because judges are humans and all those things can affect how they are feeling about a dance.
Second to the human factors, dance is an art form. It is not a sport where there are certain elements that must be executed by each entry such as gymnastics. Yes, dancers are taught fairly standard rules on technique. Such as your passé’ needs to be connected to the leg, or you need to pointe your feet to finish the line of energy. There’s still always room for some personal preference. In dance there are certain “schools” of technique. So for instance I prefer to see a passé connected behind the knee in a pique’ turn, others may prefer to see it connected in front of the knee. There’s no right or wrong to this. You have to think of it as a painting. Maybe you love Picasso but I think his work is just ok. I point out some things I don’t care for. No matter what, he was still a very successful artist. So judging dance is no way cut and dry. Along with personal technique preferences, each judge has their music dislikes and likes. There are certain songs I can’t stand and when they come on stage it’s hard for me to get into the piece. On the other side of that are songs I love and I’m bouncing in my chair to. Songs that are over-used in competition are what choreographers want to try to stay away from. Remember, a lot of judges do this multiple weekends per season so they’re not just hearing the music in your city. If your city used the new hit song 20 times, chances are another city did as well. Costumes and appropriateness areanother topic that comes into play. The majority of judges want to see a nice clean look. A well fitted costume, no undergarments showing, tights and shoes that match the costume, skin tone and leg line, no personal jewelry (bracelets, anklets, rings, necklaces, earrings) that aren’t part of the costume, no nail polish, hair very gelled and hair sprayed to where it does not move! (No whispies). Whether or not your costume is custom made or catalog purchased, doesn’t factor in as much as some think. As long as everything is put together well and is appropriate for their age, you shouldn’t be docked on points. Now when it comes to maybe a costume award, judges may pick a custom costume over what they know is from a catalog. Overall, appropriateness tends to fall in the personal preference category of judges. I may judge with someone who’s from L.A. and what is acceptable to them is quite different from the other judge from the Northeast. A lot of the time age is a factor as well. I find often that a judge fresh out of college may love a dance or costume that I consider too riske’. Even those of us around the same age can disagree on trends like no tights or tights or one shoe or two. Again, there is no right or wrong so to speak. Though some of us would argue otherwise.
Always take into account what it says in the judge’s bios in the program. Of course their training and
what their expertise is, is going to have an effect on your score. Another reason to remember no judge is exactly the same as another. For instance, I’m pretty well rounded in my training. I trained in most styles accept hip hop. In my critiques I will talk to you all day long about your ballet and jazz technique, your stage presence, your formations and transitions in your group pieces etc. But my hip hop or tap critiques are not going to be as full of feedback as a judge that trained with Savion Glover and performed in Bring in Da Noise Bring in Da Funk or someone who is part of a Hip Hop Crew. Another instance is I judge with a gentleman who’s professional career is in the Ballet and Modern world and he now teaches those at the University level. He is known to be a “hard” judge. He gets very picky about technique and there’s nothing wrong with that. What he has to say is very valuable. There are judges that aren’t so picky about technique. They just want you to entertain them. They love the hip hop or jazz that’s high energy and whether really technically amazing or not, they’ll score it well just for the energy level.
No 3 judges agree completely. Your score is the average of their 3 personal scores. When we see the overalls, maybe I see my highest score ended up in 2 nd place. Judge 1’s highest score ended up in 3rd place. Why? Because all the different factors and personal likes and dislikes played into how we ranked the dances scores and then in turn how they fell overall.
Overall key tips for scoring well
1. Come on stage well put together. Costume, Hair, Make up etc.
2. Stage Presence/Great performance quality is going to get you far! First and foremost always make the judges feel something. Whether it’s having fun, a sad story, an inspirational story, whatever your storyline is…Make us feel an emotion as audience members. If you really have me pulled into your emotion, I’m going to be too busy enjoying that journey than to pay attention to a lot of technical flaws. You don’t want the judge’s comment to be “I don’t understand the storyline or emotion you want to interpret”, or “I’m not feeling anything from you, your face is blank”.
3. Technique is very important! Technique typically weighs the most on your score. Try to showcase your best technical assets and remember all the things your teachers have gone over and apply them in your performance. If you’re a boring performer, your technique is all I have to break down. If you are a fabulous performer with outstanding technique, you’re going to score well.
4. Know your choreography backwards and forwards. Your dances should be organic and from muscle memory. That way you are not “thinking” as you dance. You just perform! Don’t stand out as someone who is unsure of what they’re doing. If you happen to mess up, don’t show it on your face! If you are dancing in the back of the formation, don’t think you can mark it because we don’t see you. WE SEE YOU! I purposely look back there to make sure dancers in the back aren’t faking it. A group is only as strong as their weakest link. Don’t be that weak link.
5. Dances should be clean and well-rehearsed. The cleaner and tighter as a group the better! Everyone should be working as a team, dancing as one. Dance cohesively. You don’t want to stand out in a good or bad way in a group. Everyone’s body lines should match throughout the choreography, your levels you hit should match, staging and entrances and exits should be seamless and clear.
Lastly, just remember dance competitions are valuable in so many ways other than winning. Sure it’s fun to win but it’s the training that comes beforehand that is most valuable as well as the confidence it gives you to get up there and perform. A great quote I recently came across is “Trophies are earned in the classroom, they’re just picked up at competition.” The comradery with your teammates and the memories you make with them off the stage are what you’ll remember most later on. I have 5 very close girlfriends that I grew up competing with. None of us can remember or talk about the overall scores we got but what we do remember and laugh about is the stuff that happened in the classroom or in the dressing room. Who went on stage without their briefs on, who fell into the wings that one time.
Dance competition placement and trophies won are not going to impress College Dance Departments and are not something to be added to your professional resume. They are there as part of the learning process and helping you grow as a dancer and a performer! So moral of the story is don’t ever let your placement have a huge effect on your life. Learn, grow from it, keep training and enjoy the dance journey.
DDA Instructor, bio here https://www.dreamsdance.com/team-bios
This year I embarked on my 20th season of judging dance competitions! Wow time flies! I’ve gotten
First, it is important that everyone knows and understands; no two competitions are run exactly the same. They all have their own scoring system and rubric, special/extra awards, hoopla award ceremonies or lack of, staff duties etc. One comment I’ve come across fairly often from parents is, “at competition A she got a 270 and competition B she got a 295. That’s a huge difference. Competition A judged her really hard.” Well my answer always is no that is not the case. You can’t compare scores between competitions. As I stated above, each company has their own judging scale and how we go about coming to our final score per judge. It is not like Gymnastics where the scale is going to be the same at each meet. For instance, at Starquest we give one composite score per judge. So I’m scoring you on what I feel is your cumulative total based on your technique, performance quality, choreography, costume and appropriateness. Technique and performance quality being 90% of that. At Applause we each give you 3 separate scores based on your technique, performance quality/showmanship and choreography. Technique weighing slightly heavier than the other two. Each company I’ve worked for has an entirely different software system and we have to adapt to those and keep our mindset on how things are done at that competition.
One of if not the most important thing is for everyone to ALWAYS remember, those overall scores will never fall exactly in the same order on a different day or with another set of judges. The scores you receive that weekend are based purely on what those 3 judges think. What their preferences are, their personal likes and dislikes, often if you “woke” them up first thing out of the gate in the morning or did you make them want to fall asleep. Are you the last solo on Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. and they’ve watched 530 entries before you. Are they exhausted and ready to head out the door or did you really grab their attention enough to score you very high. Did they get enough sleep...typically no, they definitely did not. Did they have a travel nightmare getting to your city, or are they rested and prepared. Are they hungry, or has it been 3 hours since they’ve gotten up for a stretch or to go to the bathroom. There are so many factors that go into your score because judges are humans and all those things can affect how they are feeling about a dance.
Second to the human factors, dance is an art form. It is not a sport where there are certain elements that must be executed by each entry such as gymnastics. Yes, dancers are taught fairly standard rules on technique. Such as your passé’ needs to be connected to the leg, or you need to pointe your feet to finish the line of energy. There’s still always room for some personal preference. In dance there are certain “schools” of technique. So for instance I prefer to see a passé connected behind the knee in a pique’ turn, others may prefer to see it connected in front of the knee. There’s no right or wrong to this. You have to think of it as a painting. Maybe you love Picasso but I think his work is just ok. I point out some things I don’t care for. No matter what, he was still a very successful artist. So judging dance is no way cut and dry. Along with personal technique preferences, each judge has their music dislikes and likes. There are certain songs I can’t stand and when they come on stage it’s hard for me to get into the piece. On the other side of that are songs I love and I’m bouncing in my chair to. Songs that are over-used in competition are what choreographers want to try to stay away from. Remember, a lot of judges do this multiple weekends per season so they’re not just hearing the music in your city. If your city used the new hit song 20 times, chances are another city did as well. Costumes and appropriateness areanother topic that comes into play. The majority of judges want to see a nice clean look. A well fitted costume, no undergarments showing, tights and shoes that match the costume, skin tone and leg line, no personal jewelry (bracelets, anklets, rings, necklaces, earrings) that aren’t part of the costume, no nail polish, hair very gelled and hair sprayed to where it does not move! (No whispies). Whether or not your costume is custom made or catalog purchased, doesn’t factor in as much as some think. As long as everything is put together well and is appropriate for their age, you shouldn’t be docked on points. Now when it comes to maybe a costume award, judges may pick a custom costume over what they know is from a catalog. Overall, appropriateness tends to fall in the personal preference category of judges. I may judge with someone who’s from L.A. and what is acceptable to them is quite different from the other judge from the Northeast. A lot of the time age is a factor as well. I find often that a judge fresh out of college may love a dance or costume that I consider too riske’. Even those of us around the same age can disagree on trends like no tights or tights or one shoe or two. Again, there is no right or wrong so to speak. Though some of us would argue otherwise.
Always take into account what it says in the judge’s bios in the program. Of course their training and
what their expertise is, is going to have an effect on your score. Another reason to remember no judge is exactly the same as another. For instance, I’m pretty well rounded in my training. I trained in most styles accept hip hop. In my critiques I will talk to you all day long about your ballet and jazz technique, your stage presence, your formations and transitions in your group pieces etc. But my hip hop or tap critiques are not going to be as full of feedback as a judge that trained with Savion Glover and performed in Bring in Da Noise Bring in Da Funk or someone who is part of a Hip Hop Crew. Another instance is I judge with a gentleman who’s professional career is in the Ballet and Modern world and he now teaches those at the University level. He is known to be a “hard” judge. He gets very picky about technique and there’s nothing wrong with that. What he has to say is very valuable. There are judges that aren’t so picky about technique. They just want you to entertain them. They love the hip hop or jazz that’s high energy and whether really technically amazing or not, they’ll score it well just for the energy level.
No 3 judges agree completely. Your score is the average of their 3 personal scores. When we see the overalls, maybe I see my highest score ended up in 2 nd place. Judge 1’s highest score ended up in 3rd place. Why? Because all the different factors and personal likes and dislikes played into how we ranked the dances scores and then in turn how they fell overall.
Overall key tips for scoring well
1. Come on stage well put together. Costume, Hair, Make up etc.
2. Stage Presence/Great performance quality is going to get you far! First and foremost always make the judges feel something. Whether it’s having fun, a sad story, an inspirational story, whatever your storyline is…Make us feel an emotion as audience members. If you really have me pulled into your emotion, I’m going to be too busy enjoying that journey than to pay attention to a lot of technical flaws. You don’t want the judge’s comment to be “I don’t understand the storyline or emotion you want to interpret”, or “I’m not feeling anything from you, your face is blank”.
3. Technique is very important! Technique typically weighs the most on your score. Try to showcase your best technical assets and remember all the things your teachers have gone over and apply them in your performance. If you’re a boring performer, your technique is all I have to break down. If you are a fabulous performer with outstanding technique, you’re going to score well.
4. Know your choreography backwards and forwards. Your dances should be organic and from muscle memory. That way you are not “thinking” as you dance. You just perform! Don’t stand out as someone who is unsure of what they’re doing. If you happen to mess up, don’t show it on your face! If you are dancing in the back of the formation, don’t think you can mark it because we don’t see you. WE SEE YOU! I purposely look back there to make sure dancers in the back aren’t faking it. A group is only as strong as their weakest link. Don’t be that weak link.
5. Dances should be clean and well-rehearsed. The cleaner and tighter as a group the better! Everyone should be working as a team, dancing as one. Dance cohesively. You don’t want to stand out in a good or bad way in a group. Everyone’s body lines should match throughout the choreography, your levels you hit should match, staging and entrances and exits should be seamless and clear.
Lastly, just remember dance competitions are valuable in so many ways other than winning. Sure it’s fun to win but it’s the training that comes beforehand that is most valuable as well as the confidence it gives you to get up there and perform. A great quote I recently came across is “Trophies are earned in the classroom, they’re just picked up at competition.” The comradery with your teammates and the memories you make with them off the stage are what you’ll remember most later on. I have 5 very close girlfriends that I grew up competing with. None of us can remember or talk about the overall scores we got but what we do remember and laugh about is the stuff that happened in the classroom or in the dressing room. Who went on stage without their briefs on, who fell into the wings that one time.
Dance competition placement and trophies won are not going to impress College Dance Departments and are not something to be added to your professional resume. They are there as part of the learning process and helping you grow as a dancer and a performer! So moral of the story is don’t ever let your placement have a huge effect on your life. Learn, grow from it, keep training and enjoy the dance journey.
Competition is just a small part in the journey. Happy Dancing!
Written by Jory Bowling
DDA Instructor, bio here https://www.dreamsdance.com/team-bios
DDA Instructor, bio here https://www.dreamsdance.com/team-bios
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