Myth: UWD competitions are only for large JFK programs.
Fact: Our goal is to give as many dancers and programs the opportunity to perform and compete with other teams. Performing in front of different audiences is essential to the growth of a dancer and competition teaches many great skills and lessons like teamwork and great sportsmanship!
Myth: If a kick routine does not have more than 20 kicks, the judges will take off points.
Fact: There is no set number of kicks that a group needs to do. All Directors are given routines and choreography to choose from early on and may slightly modify routines to fit their own groups.
Myth: If you have a lift or new trick in your dance, you will automatically win.
Fact: The judges are looking for the team who does their routine the very best. Difficult skills are taken in to consideration, but there are no set or required skills for any routine. If a Director puts a new skill or trick in a dance, the judges look to see if the dancers have mastered the skill and performed it well. Lifts have been prohibited from choreography.
Myth: UWD competitions are on Sundays because football season is over and we want our Saturdays free.
Fact: Many of the facilities we rent from will only open up to public groups on Sundays. In the numerous areas where we run competitions, the hometown schools or groups take precedent to an outside group like ours. We always TRY to schedule competitions on Saturdays, but realize Sunday is sometimes our only option. This year 5 of our 9 events are hosted on Saturdays.
Myth: Teams with the most glitz get extra points.
Fact: There is no place on the judging sheet to enter a score to give credit for the team’s uniform. Criteria are based on kicks, skills/tech, executions and projection. Often the judges cannot even see the added glitz from their viewpoint.
Myth: Mistakes are the primary judging criteria. If a team member makes a mistake, they will lose it for the team.
Fact: There are four categories listed on the judging sheet that all come into play equally when judging. Errors are just one aspect of the criteria. The judges are trained in advance and it is explained that these teams do not hold try-outs for the kick classes, or for front row spots. They are not to judge necessarily on the performance of an individual dancer but rather the overall performance of the team.
Myth: The judges are all from one area and have bias toward certain teams.
Fact: Just for Kix takes the hiring of judges very seriously and selects judges from many different areas and from varied backgrounds for each event.
Myth: Teams with original choreography have an unfair advantage and score extra points.
Fact: There is no place to judge choreography on the judging sheet. All JFK instructors receive their choreography on DVD from Just For Kix and have the option to pick any routine they wish. It is just common for many Directors to like a particular routine or for kids to like a particular song. Judges have no knowledge of how current a routine may be.
Myth: If a hair binder or shoe falls off the team is disqualified.
Fact: Although from a coaching standpoint, this is a frustration at this level of competition this is not the end of the world for a team should a shoe or binder become dislodged. Although it can be a distraction that disrupts the performance, which might affect the team’s score, it also could be a safety factor. By all means be sure your dancers uniform pieces are secure.
Myth: The judges discuss scoring and one judge can sway the others scores.
Fact: The judges hand in their judging sheets following each performance. They are not able to discuss scoring or team preferences. If you see discussions going on between judges it is after the teams sheets have been turned in and the discussion is on everyday topics such as their sore backs!
Myth: It is an unfair advantage to some teams when their coaches sit on the floor and help with the dance.
Fact: This is actually not an advantage at all. If a team does not know their routine and is looking at their coaches it actually will hurt their presentation scores. We encourage our coaches to sit at the coaching table, however some teams feel more comfortable with them on the floor and that is ok too.
Myth: Teams with glitter will be disqualified.
Fact: JFK reserves the right to disqualify a team for glitter. Our hope is that we do not have to. We have asked all directors and dancers to eliminate glitter; due the complaints from the facilities as well as the safety hazard it creates on the floor. We hope that by reminding directors and dancers and by putting this in our rulebook we can curtail the use of glitter. Blatant use of glitter after a warning could result in disqualification. JFK would hate to penalize the entire team for one or two kids not following the rules.
Myth: The judges are not consistent with the number of awards given to keep certain teams from receiving awards.
Fact: Awards are based on the number of teams competing so they vary from division to division. We never want to leave just one team on the floor knowing they were the last place team and plan accordingly.
Myth: My daughter’s class has danced at 3 competitions this year they received a 1st at the 1st one, a 2nd at the second and a 3rd at the 3rd. They are getting worse not better!
Fact: No, they are not getting worse in most cases they are getting better, but so is everyone else. Other factors change as well, such as the teams that are at each competition and the point each team is at with their routines. A new or harder routine may not score as well as an older polished one even though over all the dancers themselves have improved. Each program changes routines at different times in the season, which also makes a difference. Sometimes the teams overall scores are better each time even if their places aren’t. The mix of the teams is also different at each event and in cases where they placed third, there may be teams that outperformed them compared with previous competitions.
