Technique, Energy, Expression or Artistry - which do judges favor?

[elisedance]

Technique - accuracy at executing steps, creating lines etc
Energy - well, what it says!
Expression - emotion, musicality
Artistry - creativity

Which do judges favor?  Is it changing?

[elisedance]

wow, lots of votes and comments eh?

I get the feeling here that judges are favoring more technique and energy and less expression and artistry.  It is, of course, easier but I don't think that makes it right....

[pruthe]

I've been in lectures by well known judges/past performers where they say are looking for a balance of desired attributes. Too much emphasis in a few areas is detrimental to overall look. Personally think technique has to be there for others to work.

[elisedance]

I think that's what they say, but its not what they do. 

[pruthe]

Maybe that's true for some judges and you've noticed it. In 2010 BDF lectures from Blackpool, Andrew Sinkinson makes a point in his lecture that competitors need to perform and dance more in a competition vs focusing on the energy part, which I interpret to mean including more Artistry and Expression. His topic of discussion was on purity of ballroom dance.

[elisedance]

Maybe that's true for some judges and you've noticed it. In 2010 BDF lectures from Blackpool, Andrew Sinkinson makes a point in his lecture that competitors need to perform and dance more in a competition vs focusing on the energy part, which I interpret to mean including more Artistry and Expression. His topic of discussion was on purity of ballroom dance.

Well I agree entirely - techniqiue and energy are tools to achieve artistry and expression, not the other way round.  Seems to me though that they have become ends in themselves...

[pruthe]

Well I agree entirely - techniqiue and energy are tools to achieve artistry and expression, not the other way round.  Seems to me though that they have become ends in themselves...

I agree with your statement too. My teacher tells me she thinks some competitors are pushing the energy/athleticism part so much that other parts are affected. In my case, I'll never have that much energy, and still working on basic technique. There are slight glimpses of artistry/expression in my mind every so often. Thanks for discussing this subject. Helps to clear some things up.

[Rugby]

I have noticed here that fake frames, and lots of flash with no substance is awarded in many cases.  It has also become, as one judge told me, an athletic exercise with no resemblance to true dancing but it works and wins the day.  If you race around, do everything overboard, be disrespectful of fellow competitors and play to the crowd you will have a good chance of winning.  I guess I am old fashioned and too much a purist. 

[elisedance]

Wish I did not agree but that was definitely my impression recently...

[Some guy]

To me, the word "energy" kind of says it all.  I don't take it to mean energetic.  I take it mean that energy "is".

[elisedance]

If it works...

[dlgodud]

I've heard that some judges do not count technique very heavily. It is actually one of bottoms of the list. Guess they assume that technique is the basic and competitors technique should reach to the level to dance open level??

[elisedance]

I've heard that some judges do not count technique very heavily. It is actually one of bottoms of the list. Guess they assume that technique is the basic and competitors technique should reach to the level to dance open level??

I think that is incorrect.  You can not present correctly without having good technique.  So when people say that technique is not important they really mean that its implied - I've seen umpteen couples who have excellent presentation, choreograpy and musicallity who then come near the bottom in the rankings because these positives are made irrelevant by the lack of correct technique. 

I also have seen a lot of cases (three come to mind at OSB) where the dancing was not flashy in any respect - and yet the couples won because they had beautiful composure and ballance - based, of course, on terrific technique.

[dlgodud]

I've heard that some judges do not count technique very heavily. It is actually one of bottoms of the list. Guess they assume that technique is the basic and competitors technique should reach to the level to dance open level??

I think that is incorrect.  You can not present correctly without having good technique.  So when people say that technique is not important they really mean that its implied - I've seen umpteen couples who have excellent presentation, choreograpy and musicallity who then come near the bottom in the rankings because these positives are made irrelevant by the lack of correct technique.  

I also have seen a lot of cases (three come to mind at OSB) where the dancing was not flashy in any respect - and yet the couples won because they had beautiful composure and ballance - based, of course, on terrific technique.

Well, firstly I've heard from someone actually. If the couple you introduced in your posting does not have enough technique, I really think that couple is not quite ready for the category they dance. For example, you said you will participate Blackpool which I don't know how many, but probably 20 more couples will dance in one heat, do you really think judges have a second to count about techniques of all couples on the dance floor? What I am saying is that they probably assume that the qualities of technique of all dancers on the floor reach to the certain level already and from that point, they would probably start to sort out couples. Of course, a couple whom look like they just start to learn dance will not have a chance to advance to the next level. Judges would not even bother to look at them. So the question may or may not apply.

[elisedance]

I think you miss the point.  Without correct technique you simply cant dance right.  A good judge can detect lack of technique in a few seconds of watcing. 

Perhaps we mean a different thing?  Though I'm not really sure how we can.  Lets say a couple has not learned how to sway from the base in foxtrot and instead sway by moving the torso.  Thats a basic lack of technique and will make their dancing weird.  Technique is what makes your dancing grounded, efficient and elegant - you can not succeed (with a good judge) without it.

Note I say 'good judge'.  There are plenty of judges - in particular at small local competitions, that, frankly, do not know good technique or its outcomes on dancing.  However, you are not going to find them at Blackpool!!  If you do better in local comps than at big ones I'd say that was a good indicator of poor technical background.  We have a couple here that consistently does exceptionally well locally and then crashes on the big scene - a great indicator of poor local judging.