NJS Components
Technical Quality - TQ
The adjudicators grade the dancers' ability to maintain posture, poise and balance - how the couple coordinates them properly between both dancers - they look at the body lines and shapes, verify that the appropriate holds are maintained, and they assess positions and transitions that are executed.
Movement to Music - MM
The adjudicators grade how the couple moves with fluency and in conformity with the dance, how it respects its time and how it interprets the musical structure, and they assess the dancers' musicality.
Partnering Skill - PS
Under this Component the adjudicators grade the physical connection and the communication between the two dancers, taking into consideration the appropriateness, the effectiveness and the consistency of their partnering on the floor.
Choreography and Presentation - CP
This Component should bring all of the above together and put it on display in the most convincing form possible. Here the adjudicators consider the atmosphere the dancers create, their expression, interpretation and, most importantly, their creativity.
On An Absolute Scale
Objective judging as it relates to the scale of points awarded through the new system was the topic of the most recent Adjudicators' Congress in Stuttgart, GER. The lectures focused on making the finer distinctions on the high end of the scale - between the "very good," the "superior" and the "outstanding" - and sought to calibrate the adjudicators' use of 8, 9 and 10 points respectively.
The next GrandSlams and the upcoming World Championships will tell whether this goal has been fully attained.
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