Judging System at Competitions

The judging system for highland dance is complicated for non dancers to understand.

You start out with a certain amount points. Every time the judge sees something wrong they take off a point. The judge decides how many points get taken off for what thing.

This means that it id the judges personal opinion on your dancing. One judge could think you danced really well that day because you do all the things she likes while another could think you danced horribly because you don't do the things she likes.

The judges look for things like if your toes are pointed, if your feet and arms in the right position at the right time, how high you are jumping off the ground and a lot more technical things like that.

How do you know what you are suppose to perfect? There are books for every single competition dance. They specifically tell you what you are suppose to do. You also must have a certified dance teacher. To become a certified teacher you must pass a test. If they pass the test they are officially a teacher and they should be able to tell you all the things you need to work on.

A lot of people believe the judging system to be very political. That you only win at competitions if the judge knows you. From my personal experience it certainly helps if you know the judge. The seem to take a liking to you if you are very well known. I have seem dancers that are much better than any one in their group get beaten by someone the judge knows. It's a very controversial thing.

The organization that creates the books, runs competitions, and organizes all the world event for highland dancing is SBOHD or Scottish Board of Highland Dancing. Here is a link to there website.