Does size matter?

James’ question: A question regarding size: Is it allowed for a judge at (international) competitions to judge based on the size of the dancers? Is it one of the judging criteria?

Bill’s answer: I’m not quite sure if I understand your question correctly. If you mean does a judge use height or weight as a criteria in judging the answer is NO. However, you do not mention a specific discipline and that would enter into consideration. If a Ballet dancer was too heavy, they would not be able to execute many of the steps, large jumps, turns, etc., required to receive a very high score. The same would apply to many other dance disciplines. In couple dance if the size of the dancers differs so much to interfere with the good posture or stance of one of the dancers, of course it would enter into consideration when marking.

So, I guess it boils down to this: If the size of a dancers doesn’t interfere with the dancers ability to execute the required steps or patterns correctly, then it should not be used as a criteria in judging them.