layout image layout image
 
ballroom dancing header image

The Judging Criteria In Ballroom Dancing

Judging ballroom dancing is difficult business and you need experience to be able to do it well. True, there are a few set parameters on which the couples are rated but in any competition, the relativity factor is very important. Every couple has to also be judged in comparison to the others and this is the tough part.

 

Let's look at the rateable factors. These are Timing, Posture, Hold, Line, Poise, Presentation, Togetherness and Power and each competition could just have a few more on the list.

Timing is so important. You blow that and you're out. This is why couples practice so much so they can be sure of getting the timing right in their sleep. You just have to be in perfect time to the music.

Posture is equally important. That grace, that elegance just will not be present without perfect posture. If you maintain perfect posture throughout you can also be sure of perfect balance and confidence, both so essential to dancing. Posture requires a lot of practice but what you have in the end is perfection. So you can see just how vital it is to ballroom dancing.

Hold is how your body parts are held, not just yours but both yours and your partner's, during any dance movement. So your arms, legs, feet and body need to be in the right position at the right time. It also has to be in perfect symmetry with your partner's. If you don't follow this, you are said to be breaking your hold and this could lose you quite a few points.

What is also important is Line which is the position of the body right from your head down to your toes. You have to make sure that your line is perfect. It does not matter if it is straight or curved, the lime should be graceful, elegant and right.

Poise of course is what sets you apart as you glide around the room. This certain something that needs to come from within is what makes for smooth dancing. It is the way the body moves upwards and outwards, the way a woman's body moves perfectly into the man's waiting arm, balancing, connecting and making it a graceful movement.

Of course, in today's world, presentation is so important. It is necessary to sell yourselves to those watching, especially the judges. You need to do more than just dance correctly and gracefully. You need to let the expressions show on your face as well. You need to smile, to involve the viewers. This is the packaging that sets today's dancing apart.

Togetherness in ballroom dancing is a given. You and your partner have to move as one. The leading and the following have to be done without any seeming effort and there has to be a total synchronizing of every move.

All judges have their own unique style of judging and different ideas on what is good and what isn't. Some may place a lot of emphasis on presentation while another on technique. These are individual preferences that one cannot really gauge. Of course, this could mean that two judges look very differently at the same couple dancing. However, when it comes to the rateable factors, one hopes that being more tangible, there will be a greater concurrence among the judges.

 

Ballroom Dancing Uk Headlines

Lifelong love affair with dance is celebrated as Hampstead legend turns 100 - Ham&High


Ham&High

Lifelong love affair with dance is celebrated as Hampstead legend turns 100
Ham&High
After working in an orphanage for Jewish children she met Derrick Ashby-Mott, “a brilliant ballroom dancer”. In 1946 they married and moved to his native England where Mrs Mann would establish the House On The Hill dance school in Netherhall Gardens, ...

and more »

Read more...


You're still my favourite after 60 years - Worcester News


You're still my favourite after 60 years
Worcester News
The pair from Hawkins Close, Dines Green, Worcester, who are both aged 79, celebrated their Diamond wedding anniversary on Thursday and still go sequence, Latin or ballroom dancing three times a week. “It really does help to keep you fit,” said Mr ...

Read more...


Umbrellas needed for indoor awards ceremony - Daily Echo


Umbrellas needed for indoor awards ceremony
Daily Echo
By Bethan Phillips » Reporter IT WAS supposed to be a glitzy awards ceremony where some of the UK's biggest powerboating stars celebrated their achievements. But VIPs were reduced to dining under their umbrellas when a leak sprung from the ceiling at ...

and more »

Read more...


Foreign Exchange - The Orion


Foreign Exchange
The Orion
In addition, I would like to change the extracurricular classes such as ballroom dancing and scuba diving. I like that they are there for students to undertake, but I don't like that they are graded courses. If I told my friends back in England that I ...

and more »

Read more...


One Show star Alex Jones reveals how she's missing the Strictly ballroom - Scottish Daily Record


Mirror.co.uk

One Show star Alex Jones reveals how she's missing the Strictly ballroom
Scottish Daily Record
She's put her stamp on The One Show and after her huge success on Strictly, the Welsh presenter is getting ready to dance the foxtrot at Buckingham Palace. But not one to get carried away, Alex, 34, loves her moments of normality too.
Alex Jones: It's been a whirlwind - I don't want to get swept away!Mirror.co.uk

all 6 news articles »

Read more...


 
layout image layout image