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.

 

Types Of Ballroom Dances News

Dance the night away - Greenville Daily Reflector


Dance the night away
Greenville Daily Reflector
USA Dance is an organization made up of people who love ballroom dancing that offers lessons and opportunities for anyone to release their inner dancer. ...

Read more...


Happening Today - The Times Herald


Happening Today
The Times Herald
Peppermint Dance Club meets for ballroom dancing Saturdays and Thursdays at Church on the Mall, Plymouth Meeting Mall, Germantown Pike. ...

Read more...


19th century Austria via Elk Grove - Elk Grove Citizen


19th century Austria via Elk Grove
Elk Grove Citizen
But she also has a background in dancing from her time growing up in the Philippines, where she learned folk dancing and ballroom dancing. ...

and more »

Read more...


Community calendar - Mount Airy News


Community calendar
Mount Airy News
16 or email hillsville@embarqmail.com. n Mayberry Ballroom Dance will be having dances at Pro Health Fitness Center, 280 N. Pointe Blvd., Mount Airy, ...

and more »

Read more...


Snap Judgments: Emmitt Smith's career comes full circle, more - SI.com


Snap Judgments: Emmitt Smith's career comes full circle, more
SI.com
(Funny, but no one told me that young Emmitt had a gift for ballroom dancing). You could tell even then that Smith was the real deal, but how could anyone ...

and more »

Read more...


 
layout image layout image