While attending Feis Louisianne and Lagniappe, they held an adjudicator's panel for anyone to attend and ask them the questions that they wanted to. Many of the issues that have been brought up in this string were addressed by them. First let me say that I do not have a transcript of that session, so I am doing this from memory, and the memory of others that attended. However, there were 5 judges there, and they appeared to answer every question as honestly and openly as you would want them to.
Not looking at both dancers: They do look at both, they also are often listening to one (during hardshoe) while looking at the other, or appearing not to look at either dancer - they have their heads turned so they can hear the sounds.
Scoring: what the panel said was there was not a percentage breakdown that people earned a certain amount of points for - each adjudicator has his or her own scoring system that is partly developed over time, and part of which comes from what country they are from. Some score with a base of 100 points, some with 80, some with 50 or 40. So, often comparing your scores does not make sense, because a "60" from one judge can mean one thing, while it means something totally different from another.
Also, many adjudicators watch the first dancer, give them a score, and then the following dancers score is based on how much better or worse they danced in relation to the first dancer. So, if the first dancer was given an "82" by the judge, and then the next dancer had less mistakes and better technique, they have to score him or her higher than that "82" - so the "82" just becomes a relative barometer to score against.
As one judge put it, this person had 27 years of experience in Irish Dance, and they have the knowledge and expertise to watch a dancer and see the strengths and flaws and know where they should place them.
Comments: You are lucky if you get a comment at all. There just isn't time for the judge to write down all the comments that they want to. Some judges can jot some thoughts down, some can't. Of course, if they are writing down comments - they aren't looking at you.... something to think about. I know that the time you are up there dancing can seem like an eternity, but if think about how long the day is, and how many dancers they see, and how quickly those dances go by, you may understand that they don't have time to watch everyone, score them, and write down comments. We even brought up that we liked the comments and they discussed the fact that there was not time, and that they would also completely wear out if they were trying to write down pointers for every dancer they see. If they do write down comments - they figure that your teacher will be able to interpret them, because chances are they are not seeing anything new that you are doing, but it is a habit that your teacher has noted before and probably already corrected you on, its just a different voice telling you the same thing.
Dress: According to the panel, they did not care if the hair was curled, and they did not care if you had a big fancy dress on. What they cared about was the dancing. Now, if you show up looking sloppy or wearing something that distracted from their ability to watch the dancing, then they cared and you could lose points, but in the end it was about the dancing. I even asked how they felt about adults and what they wore - and they stated again that they did not care as long as it was not overly distracting, that it was about the dancing. By looking nice, you are showing respect for the art form, the traditions, and for the competition.
Where should you look: The judges all agreed that they wanted the dancers to focus on a horizon line above their heads and that they did not want you to dance looking at them.
Smiling: They all wanted you to look pleasant, but they did not want big, cheesy, Broadway type smiles. One judge even commented that "those scared her". : )
What are they looking for: technique, technique, technique. Where the feet are placed, if they are pointed, straight legs, ability in execution, musiciality - whether someone's timing is right or not, turnout, etc. These were all things that were mentioned.
Banging into someone, losing a shoe or hairpiece: They agreed that accidental colisions or falls do not count against you especially if you immediately recover and keep going. Chasing someone down around the stage could be a negative though. Losing a shoe or a hairpiece could count against you at a certain level. If you are old enough and advanced enough that you should know how to tie your shoes securely and attach your hairpiece, losing either of them was seen as a negative. If you are in a figure, they might stop the figure if it was a safety hazzard to the other dancers, but unless you were a young beginner they weren't going to ring the bell and let you stop and tie your shoe - you should keep going and attach it to your foot better next time.
AGAIN, I WOULD LIKE TO STRESS - I DO NOT SPEAK FOR THESE ADJUDICATORS, NOR DO I CLAIM TO KNOW EVERYTHING THEY SAID OR MEANT, I AM MERELY REPEATING THE ANSWERS I HEARD AT THE PANEL DISCUSSION - if someone else remembers differently, please post and state that, I do not want to claim that I have a perfect memory, and I am not in possession of a transcript of the discussion. I just found it very helpful and thought I would share.
If anyone has a chance to attend another discussion like this, I HIGHLY recommend going. Thank you to Feis Louisianne and Lagniappe for providing this opportunity