Top Advice for Dancers

I would never deduct for a slip if was not the dancer’s fault. When it comes to tripping or falling this maybe the dancer’s own fault. Sometimes inability to perform certain parts of the teacher’s choreography can cause this. If this was the case, I would deduct according to how I felt the overall perform was handled.

Every adjudicator wants a clean performance. As an adjudicator it is our job to be able to access all the different scenarios and decide on who we feel has the best performance on that day.

One of the worst things for a dancer is an unexpected costume malfunction such as a cape falling, socks falling down, buckles shattering, or a shoe slipping off. How do you handle these problems in terms of your marks?

To me this depends on what level that you are judging. If I am judging grades I am not as strict if a shoelace comes untied or a cape comes undone. It may factor slightly into my mark as it is part of the overall performance, but I believe it is learning curve for dancers and parents in the lower levels and with more experience at feiseanna this rarely happens later.

As far as championship level goes it is a great distraction to see a wig slipping or a lace come undone and it takes away from the overall performance of the dancer. I may not intentionally want to deduct points, but I am there to judge the overall performance which may include a lower mark due to a malfunction.

What advice would you give to a dancer who arrives at a feis and finds out they are dancing with last year’s winner, a stressful situation for most dancers?

My advice is dance for yourself. You can never change the circumstances of a competition, whether you are on the stage first in a big competition or you are on with the World champion. Your performance should be about you.

I believe the best advice I ever heard came from my own mother “leave everything you can do on that floor and if you come off happy that is all that you can do.”

Confidence and belief in yourself are the most important things you will take away when you leave Irish Dance.

Have you had dancers who received lower marks than you felt they deserved and if so, how did you handle the situation?

Irish Dancing is subjective and there may not always be a clear winner. Dancers should remember each adjudicator forms their own opinion.

In a championship whether there are 3,5 or 7 judges on a panel, everyone is watching all the dancers on stage so we may see things differently depending on our seating position.

Unlike other sports or dance forms there is no set point system. Judges will evaluate a dancer on what their own personal preferences and styles are. If I am happy with how my own dancer danced and the dancer is happy then really then that is all we could do.

What do you think some of the biggest mistakes’ dancers make at major competitions and how can they be avoided? I think that one of the biggest mistakes that any dancer can make at a large competition is letting their nerves overtake their performance.

Whether you are dancing at the World championships or at your local feis you must remember that you deserve to be there just like everyone else. Be confident in your performance and it will translate to the adjudicators.

Tell us about judging teams…with everyone doing the same dance, how do you decide who wins – what are the most important elements for judging a team competition?

I must admit one of my favorite parts of judging is team dancing. I came from a school that had won many national championships and we have been lucky to produce national ceili champions as well.

The most important element to good team dancing is their synchronization and their ability to dance as a unit. This includes spacing, arms and footwork.

How important is stage presence, in terms of getting noticed on stage?

In large competitions strong stage presence is very important, or you could be overlooked. Dancers from the moment they walk on stage should show confidence. It says to the adjudicator look at me!!

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