On Judging

We NEED a system.
I'm not gonna comment on any specific events or battles, but there have been a lot of weird decisions lately.
It's not even just the 'bad' decisions that are hurting the artform.
It's the inconsistency in the judging.
It's the blase attitude that some judges have when they are not paying attention to the hard work of the dancers.
When they say 'it's not a big deal'.
Or when they say one thing and judge for another.
(I mean, like what you like, but at least be consistent and wear your bias in the open.)
Or when they wait for the other judges to make a decision first.
Or when they disappear straight after judging.

I don't care who u are, what you've done or how long you've been doing it.
If you love this artform and u want it to last, it's time to grow up.
People need to be held accountable for decisions they make whilst they're being paid.
Judging is a job. Treat it like one.
Don't judge if you don't want to.
Don't judge if you don't care.
What I mean by that is there are some people who judge to feel important.
It's not a right, it's a privilege.
Take it seriously.

Jams are getting bigger and more organised. There are more competitions now than ever before. Things are going mainstream and we're old enough and experienced enough to get it right this time around.
Why is this very important aspect not being dealt with seriously?
You can't judge a 10/20 minute battle on what you 'feel'!!
You can't quantify 'style' or 'flava' or 'originality'.
You can identify when someone doesn't have it but you can't say 'A' has more than 'B'.
It's too subjective.


We NEED a system.
If we're ever going to be taken seriously.
It needs to be internally consistent.
It needs to be clear and eliminate as much bias as possible.
It needs to be holistic in that it looks at as many components of the art as possible.
It needs to be fair.
It needs to done ASAP so the scene can refine it through trail and error sooner rather than later.
No system is gonna be perfect. Get over it.


We NEED a system.
If we don't do it, someone else will.
Someone from outside our scene.
And you're not gonna be happy with the result.
Then you're gonna complain how 'they' took it from 'us'.
I'm surprised they haven't done it yet, but I guess we're not being taken seriously enough yet.
But they will soon. Unless you've been living in a cave you'll notice the signs.

I've had discussions with loads of dancers about this and they all agree.
Something needs to be done.

I had a long chat with Dyzee and Morris at HipOpsession til 6 in the morning!!
Dyzee's judging system is detailed and well thought through. It's taken a lot of work and effort.
He's very serious about getting it right.
I'm not in total agreement with his implementation but it's a great start.
Anyway...we NEED a system.

Kev