THE HIGHER ED VOICE

Eyes Of A Judge

By Tom Ralabate

Judging with integrity means bringing a critical, spiritual, and moral viewpoint to artistic assessment.

It is 8:00 a.m., and entering the stage at this regional competition is a group of 7-year-old novice darlings performing a jazz dance to “Are You Ready?” This high-silver performance will be followed by 175 entries in varied age and category classifications, all (hopefully!) adhering to the rules of the competition. As a judge for the next 10 or 12 hours, I ask myself, “Am I ready?”

At most dance competitions, judges are dancers who come to competitive dance with varied backgrounds and levels of experience. Those with eclectic backgrounds, who have choreographed for competitions and perhaps themselves competed in these venues, do seem to make the best judges. I can respect a different approach or voice and variations in the critical eye of judges from the professional dance world or dance education outside of the private sector. However, regardless of their backgrounds, knowledgeable judges who possess a critical, spiritual, and moral eye will offer the best adjudication, leading to an appropriate and fair final result.

The Critical Eye

In a short amount of time, judges are asked to evaluate the technical status of the performers and offer advice on how to improve technique, evaluate performance by commenting on potential and artistry, assess the choreography by offering creative solutions to choreographic problems, consider the costuming, and give a score. Each one of these aspects—technique, performance, choreography, and costuming—encompasses a wide range of sub-concerns (see the list of terms later in this section). Balancing all the assessment criteria is a most difficult task for a judge.

When I teach, I speak in a direct voice; if I am soliciting a response for critical analysis or for personal discoveries, I then speak in an indirect voice. Generally, in my recorded adjudicated comments I speak in the indirect voice, offering options and other objective observations that allow the competitor and teacher/choreographer to think globally about the creative process. (The exception to this would be if I viewed something that was blatantly dangerous for the performer, in which case I would be very direct.) For example, using the direct voice in the classroom would sound like this: “Class, we will start two at a time from the corner.” Or “Let’s take the combination from the top.” The same sentences in the indirect voice would take a different form: “Class, would you like to start two at a time from the corner?” And “Would you like to try the combination again?”

In offering comments at a competition in a direct voice, I might say, “The choreography has no high points and no change in dynamics,” or “The pirouette is off-center.” Voiced indirectly, the same observations would sound like this: “Decide where the use of high points might enhance the choreography, and work on shading the dynamics of the dance,” or “In a pirouette, check the dancers’ line and center of gravity. It appears that the arms are displacing their center of gravity.”

Judges will have personal preferences about what they want to see, along with variations in the emphasis they place on each element. I have compiled a list of helpful terms that I employ when I critique a dance, which fall into the overlapping categories of technique, performance, and choreography.

Technique: Alignment, placement, posture, position, line of gravity, center of gravity, rotation, shape and form, turnout, parallel, inverted, range of motion, breath of movement, technical flow, technical pathways, technical difficulty, turning sense, ballon sense, focus, port de bras sense, and specialized skills.

Performance: Artistry, quality, expressiveness, committed movement, energy, group style, personal style, natural rhythm, breath and flow, movement sensibility, personality, inward projection, outward projection, musicality, theatricality, entrance and exit.

Choreography: Intention, motivation, emotion, clarity, theme, level, shape, space, empty/negative space, focus, form, transitions, sequencing, motif, development, movement sensibility, run-on movement, tempo, momentum, dynamics in action, energy, force, artistic impact, unity, variety, and contrast.

These terms can have weight only if they are used in a context that is meaningful to the dance. Without it, they become dangerous words that create vulnerability and instill creative blockage in the performer and choreographer. Judges need to back up their comments with justification.

The Spiritual Eye

Constructive criticism, combined with positive reinforcement, helps lift the spirits of everyone involved. A judge’s critical eye should be void of bias, yet connected to human understanding. This is where the critical eye merges with the spiritual eye. The spirit of the competition should transcend winning and celebrate the appreciation of a learned and shared experience among the competitors and their parents, choreographers, teachers, and judges. The dance does not get to the stage in an instant; the process is more of a creative mystical occurrence, combined with long hours of preparation. Judges who critique a seemingly never-ending lineup of dancers for 10 hours must remember that their time commitment is minimal compared to the number of hours devoted by the choreographers, students, and those who contribute to costume and set designs. And let’s not forget the parents’ time spent driving to and from classes and rehearsals and waiting for their children to finish.

The Moral Eye

Most competitions are reputable and provide a healthy environment of learning and support. Most judges do a professional, conscientious job. Unfortunately, in this saturated market there are competition organizers who weaken the art of dance and this valuable process by employing young, inexperienced judges for purely economic reasons. Still, because I see an increase in the number of competitors who have college or continuing education experience, I believe that the majority of future dance teachers and choreographers will be highly educated. This evolving group will—and should—have high expectations for competition organizers of the future. Selecting a panel of judges with experience and with critical and spiritual eyes insures that this process includes a third eye: the moral eye of justice. The power of movement and music unifies the three eyes of a judge, assuring the integrity and equity of competitions.