When we used to compete at novice and other grades it seemed judges marked you on your perfomance , when we turned professional it seemed that the culture is if you come to us for lessons we mark you, i have to say that this is all wrong when we judge i always withdraw if any of our pupils are dancing perhaps i am in the minority being honest ( i am not saying all judges are crooks)but perhaps thats why we do judge very much. what do other readers think?

Your premise is very flawed..


if all the adjudicators " stepped " down in semis and finals for major events, there would not be a highly qualif. panel available.

The majority of the top Pros ( and Amat ) have taken, and or are taking with the majority of those selected to judge at this level.

We ( Adjud. ) I hope, have risen above partiality based upon tentative connections at best .
That is not to say that there may be someone out there that has a small bias . This normally will reflect in the over all markings .

Terence. Does it happen. One judge to another. If you mark my couple favourably in this event I will mark yours in the next event.
A parallen sport. Reported Time Magazine Feb 25 2002 Olympic Games Ice Skating. The medals were reversed after one of the judges admitted that her vote had been coerced. Le Gougne
said she was pressured by the head of her skating federation.
If this can happen at an Olympic games I'll guarantee it happens at a small dance comp. I would love to see a madatory ban put on a judge who allowd themselves to judged their own pupils in a dance competition. A year wouldn't be too harsh would it..

the poorhouse.

"Selling" their votes provides the only means by which many US judges - especially those who officiate at pro/am competitions - have of paying for their Lexuses and cosmetic surgery.

Nobody - and I mean nobody - is going to pay them $150/hour without the prospect of being repaid with a first place finish about which they can boast to their dance-ignorant friends.

Yes, a one-year ban sounds quite fair.



jj

"Nobody - and I mean nobody - is going to pay them $150/hour without the prospect of being repaid with a first place finish about which they can boast to their dance-ignorant friends."

You obviously are not a serious dance student, otherwise you would know that we take numerous such lessons from people who we have no expectation of receiving any sort of payback from.

Bribing a corrupt judge with lesson fees can't help you unless they are both on the panel at an event you are entering AND you will dance well enough in comparison to others there that they would not look like a fool to be marking you.

On the other hand, taking a lesson from a world class dance expert can help you no matter where you dance!

Don't run out and study with anyone just because they are a judge. But if you have had a chance to find out that they are a skilled teacher, don't let the fact that they are a judge stop you.

Anonymous. Are you in favour of judges judging their own pupils. Does anybody else believe that it is fair to have a stacked jury. Should a judge remove themselves from the floor if even one of their own pupils are in that event. Yes or No

So, to you, "serious" students are people who believe that it's necessary to cough up money that can be put to better use elsewhere just to make themselves feel better about their dancing.

It's not my fault that you've let yourself get sucked up into the "world class dance expert" racket. You apparently believe that spending more money makes you more "serious" than other students. In my book, it just makes you a fool.

A different coach can always help a dancer simply by offering another perspective and no student needs to shell out more than twice the going rate to obtain that benefit.


You really have no idea how the system works, do you? The competitions that are subject to this abuse subdivide their levels to the point that the ten couples on the floor are actually competing in five or six different categories. You'd have to stand perfectly still to fail to finish first.



jj

"So, to you, "serious" students are people who believe that it's necessary to cough up money that can be put to better use elsewhere just to make themselves feel better about their dancing."

No, serious dance students are those who known that spending twice the cost of a lesson with your local teacher on a lesson with the world-class expert who trains your local teacher will bring improvements in your dancing that two lessons with your local teacher won't.

There's a lot of value in getting the information firsthand, rather than secondhand.

So you get a few lessons with true experts, and then a lot of lessons with compatible local teachers who can help your implement what you learned from the experts.

"You really have no idea how the system works, do you? The competitions that are subject to this abuse subdivide their levels to the point that the ten couples on the floor are actually competing in five or six different categories. You'd have to stand perfectly still to fail to finish first."

Then this buying of first places that you allege would be pretty stupid if they can be had for free, now isn't it?

The question remains. Is it fair that a judge should judge their own pupils. Or should they remove themselves from the panel of judges. Failure to do this should result in a mandatory ban.
That is only a dream. Because those who make the rules are the biggest culprits and if not they then their collegues are.

"The question remains. Is it fair that a judge should judge their own pupils. Or should they remove themselves from the panel of judges. Failure to do this should result in a mandatory ban."

Then you will be banning essentially all of the worlds expert judges, as they pretty much all do this thing which is perfectly permissible under the rules that you want to punish them for.

Perhaps if you'd personally studied with some of those who judge world class competitions, you might have a more informed perspective on why they are needed as teachers.