Judging Criteria
We're excited to launch a new judging process to test this year which we hope will give you more information about what the judges are seeing. Rather than judging by the whole criteria, judges will be allocated one of the three criteria to judge by:
- Musicality
- Synergy
- Spirit
We will have nine judges for each category but we'll change the number of judges allocated to each criteria depending on the priorities for that category.
|
Musicality |
Synergy |
Spirit |
| DWAS & Freestyle |
4 |
3 |
2 |
| Battle of the Themes |
3 |
2 |
4 |
| Team Challenges |
3 |
3 |
3 |
Criteria in Detail
The idea behind separating out the judging criteria is to provide you with more visibility and understanding of how the judging process impacts your overall score.
💀 If you have paid by the entry closing date 💀 - you will get a breakdown of your scores across the different judging criteria giving you insight into your competitive strengths and opportunities for improvement.
For our judges, this allows them to hone in on a singular criteria, giving them more time when making their allocations.
Musicality
Musicality can be split into two distinct categories: Timing and Musical Interpretation.
Timing is how the dancer connects to the music
Timing is your ability to step within the beat of the music, maintaining the correct speed. At higher levels we would expect dancers to demonstrate ‘Critical Timing’, using the correct up and down beat for extension and compression.
Musical Interpretation is how the dancer interprets the music
Musical interpretation is your ability to demonstrate the different aspects of the music through your movement. This could include 'stops' or 'hits', adapting your movement to the style, tempo, mood or genre of the music. Dancers at higher levels may also introduce timing or rhythmic changes in their footwork and body movement, demonstrate changes between the verse and chorus, or use 'call and response' for certain musical motifs.
Synergy
Synergy can be split into two distinct categories: Technique and Teamwork.
Technique is how well the dancer executes each action.
Technique is how you hold your body, maintaining your own balance and posture as you dance. At the higher levels, dancers should be able to demonstrate a consistent rolling through the feet, correct execution of spins and turns, as well as advanced control of their body movement and weight placement.
Teamwork is how well the dancers work together
Teamwork is your partnering skills. It’s how well you can accurately lead or follow the movements of Modern Jive. This could include using a ‘body lead’ or matching your frame to your Lead. Any stylistic choices should work within the moves being danced, and be appropriate for the skill level of your partner. At the higher levels, dancers can include communication elements such as ‘co-creation’ to dynamically improvise movement together.
Spirit
Spirit can be split into two distinct categories: Sportsmanship and Engagement.
Sportsmanship is how well the dancers supports and respects their partners
Modern Jive is at its heart, a social dance. We want to see how you interact with your partner throughout the whole dance, even where things don’t go to plan. For unpartnered events, like DWAS, dancers should adapt their dance to work in with each new partner, meeting them where they are at. Sportsmanship also includes the skills of floorcraft and spacing.
Engagement is how well the dancer sells their movement
Engagement is how you catch the attention of your audience, and how ‘comfortable’ you look on the floor. At higher levels dancers should be able to orient their moves for the best viewing and consider the use of stylistic elements to accentuate the look of their movement.
