The past couple of weekends I have been out of town judging (and this week Haley was out of town judging as well), and I think sharing some of the critics we give, as well as those on our panel could be very beneficial in preparation to our upcoming competitions. Many are just corrections but many are deductions as well.
- Number one reason you are on a stage is to PERFORM for an audience. DO NOT look at the floor and ALWAYS look at your judges directly and at your audience directly.
- Judges are your greatest cheerleaders & want you to succeed. You should not be scared of them OR nervous about them watching you. They want to be entertained & love to watch dance ! They want to reward your hard work so give them the best performance you can!
- During modern, lyrical, and contemporary dances, although you may not be "smiling" YOU MUST HAVE A FACE. You must use your eyes and dance with intent (NO rehearsal faces)AND IT IS OK TO SMILE in a contemporary, or lyrical or modern !!!!!!
- Never wear ONE shoe during a dance (tells everyone you can only turn on one foot)
- CORRECTIONS heard repeatedly:
- Point your Feet / Straighten your knees / MORE plie /
- Poor posture (hunched shoulders or concave upper body)
- FINISH EVERY MOVEMENT before you go to your next movement (don't throw away the ends of your phrases)
- You lost your energy at the last half of your dance. Energy at beginning, middle and end!
- Eyes off the floor
- Don't look at the floor during your leaps
- PLACE your arms in positions, don't throw them
- Your face has to be part of your movement/dancing
- Don't rush your music. You have to be on the beat. Listen to your music.
- A genuine smile is always better than an open mouth or fish lips
- You need to wear some tights with that costume.
- Don't prep turns with a turned in front foot and NO HEEL turning in pirouettes.
- Why is there a hairband on your wrist?
- Please HIDE safety pins & do not use a safety pin as a choker clasp EVER
- Your costume straps need taken up
- You need to take ballet classes more seriously : (if you are falling out of turns or have poor arms or weak torso or are not fully in releve)
- ACCENT and DYNAMICS are important to make a dance captivating.
- Please make sure undergarments do not peek out under costumes.
- Hair has too many wispys & does not look performance ready. Take the time to re-do hair and makeup as the day goes on!
- **In group dances: "we see you in the back line" / " why do your have different kinds of shoes on" / " watch your traffic patterns, don't run into your neighbor" / Don't watch the friend next to you / "don't talk on stage" / "don't let the energy fade" / Great choreography but we didn't feel anything, nor did you make any connection with your fellow dancers?/ FORMATIONS are off (find your window….) FIND center stage, it's marked / Lets look at our lines and be sure we are aware of where we are standing !
- IN TAP: no fake tapping, need to make all the sounds, accent your tap sounds, toe stands get all the way on top of shoe, loosen ankles, DO NOT RUSH TEMPO, We shouldn't question what that step was?
- Have fun on stage & your audience will have fun watching you !!
- COSTUMING:
- Appearance isn't uniform (lip colors don't match, eyelashes are not on everyone, need more blush, Hair is not clean looking & has too many wispys)
- Uh Oh, your hairpiece fell out ? YOU need to make sure you have more bobby pins than you think you need. No hairpiece should fall out if you take time to put in enough pins
- Do not safety pin the back of your choker together
- NO hairbands on your wrist
- Tights are necessary if we see butt cheeks.
- Pin in undergarments & tights
- Have the right shade of tights on ALL dancers
- CUT OUT ALL TAGS (in tights too) This is a BIG ONE !
- We all need to be wearing the same shoes / Uniform is uniform from top to bottom (exact quote !)
- Seamed rhinestone tights need to go from Heel of shoe to edge of leotard!
- Don't use spray glitter
- Hemlines need to be even for group
YES – THESE ARE ACTUAL COMMENTS AND CRITICS from judges in various cities. I hope each competition dancer has time to read these & thinks about them during rehearsals & classes.