Percell - I couldn't have said it better myself. Although here in Britain fellow professionals will hate me for saying this, but unfortunately too many couples are winning all the competitions simply because they are well known. This applies equally to both championship events and normal sunday circuit competitions.

There is a possible solution to bias and judging on so-called form. I think I'm right in saying but correct me if I'm wrong,that in Skating competitions, the highest and lowest marks are removed and the final placing worked out on the remaining marks.

I know judges will argue that that makes their judgements irrelevant. But what's more important - absolute fairness for ALL competitors or a judges reputation?

Another possible solution is to give each couple an absolute mark out of say 10 then aggregating those marks, rather than placing the couples, as happens in Gymnastics (I think!). I know that in dancesport competitions the idea is to compare each couple. But does it have to be that way? In any event, with the Olympics on the horizon, a better marking system may have to be found. Also, by just focusing on one couple at a time during the final then the judges themselves will not be rushed into making political decisions. Over say 3 minutes of dancing for any one dance, each couple can be looked at deeply for 30 seconds.

What do you think?

Hi Megann, As an adjudicator, we look for several things: 1- the overall appearance and sense of comfortability of the dancers; 2- ease of movement (the most important part of dancing; 3- proper technique, footwork, and control (the technical spects of the dance); 4- the communication between the partners (lead and follow abilities); 5- the communication with the audience (the showmanship required for competition but not usually necessary for social dancing). My peers will hate me for this, but unfortunate-ly, most current comp adjudicators are far too political. That is that they let things like a couple's past wins, studio notariety, and personal affiliations play into their grading of that couple. I don't believe that a 5-time champion should "automatically" win or even be considered to be better than the others just because they have a title. I believe that a grand champion can be outdanced at any given time, thus making it a challenge to hold on to their title rather than being perceived as the deserved holders of it. I even heard a tv commentator say once about a beautiful dancer from England, "Oh, she danced well. But, she has to pay her dues." Well, I disagree. I believe that if she danced well...she deserved to win. Period. If the reigning champions turn right around and win the title back...great. I read from a well known judge recently where he wrote, "...Seeing a couple many times during a year and watching them win consistently plays a big part. We (judges) like to konw that a couple's win was not just a one time fluke..." I believe that this is what makes a competition competitive; that a couple can come in and dance like the stars one night and be beaten tomorrow. I have never agreed with the unfortunate industrry wide policy to give titles and then force others to "take" it rather than forcing the holder to "keep" it. But, if we did this, we wouldn't have so many dancers with the "status" that they have. And in a business where glitz is "the bomb", celebrity status is just part of the game. It's sad because as an adjudicator, it infringes on my job to really, truthfully be a judge rather than just a grade writer. Hope this helps.

You might also be interested in the article at http://www.ballroomusa.com/radham/howjudged.htm titled How a Dance Competition is Judged. I don't think there's very much about specific dances, but it has a good description of the general points judges look for in competition.

There a number of things you have to look for:

1. Timing
2. Correct technique eg footwork, leg action etc
3. Characterisation.
4. At high level dancing - artistic flair

Since many figures are used in all 3 dances you mentioned, as a judge you have to be able to make sure that the couples are dancing the figures in the style or character of the dance.

Waltz for instance should be danced as if autumn leaves are falling. You could say the Waltz action is one of floating.

Foxtrot should be danced as a soft relaxed dance ( perhaps as if you wre dancing it on ice)

Tango is fiery and passionate.

I hope this helps