FEATURED JUDGE
of the Month
CURRENT LOCATION: Waterbury, CT
HOMETOWN: Suffield, CT
STUDIO YOU TRAINED AT:
Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts
YEARS AS AN ADJUDICATOR: 5 years
FAVORITE STYLE OF DANCE:
Tap
FAVORITE CAREER CREDITS:
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The School Of Jacob's Pillow 2017 Tap Program Alumni
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Jason Warley's Man In Motion
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Tap Teacher and Choreographer for Sacred Heart University and The Hartt School
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Convention Faculty & Judge for Turn It Up Dance Challenge, Showbiz National Talent Competition, Primetime Dance, and VIP Dance.
WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR ON STAGE AS A JUDGE?
"Technique is standard. It's always more than the line, the turn sequence, the extension, etc. What I'm more concerned with is if you can make me feel something with your movement and technique. How are you stylizing that to your own and how are you breathing life into the choreography. Going further, as a tap dancer how are you "speaking" with your feet."
"Starting and ending strongly. Audiences usually remember the first and the last thing they saw, on a smaller scale for routines...this is equally important to start strong and end strong to give a clean polished look to a piece."
JUDGES
TIP
WHY DO YOU ENJOY BEING AN ADJUDICATOR?
"I love adjudicating because I really genuinely love helping and making an impact on the next generation of dancers. It came to me very quickly that I realized there is a big generation of young dancers below me. Everyone is doing it around the world and I am so glad there is awareness about dance more than ever amongst young people. It is our responsibility to help and nourish young dancers and to make sure they see the positives within there dancing and "lean in" towards what needs to be corrected about there dancing and not steer away from it. With my own students, I take critiques very seriously and I know how much they mean to other studio owners and dance teachers who give there all every day. I want to reiterate the lessons they consistently and tirelessly give to students and more so, give them an insight on something they may have not realized before."
FINAL
THOUGHTS
"As a judge I get to see so much dance around the United States. I have been fortunate to judge for a number of competitions run a number of different ways...the same thing applies for everyone. The biggest piece of advice I can give to emerging dancers is...be genuine. Show us your honesty, your discipline, and everything you love about dance. If you fake it, we don't buy it. We all beat ourselves up and throw ourselves around a rehearsal room or studio for hours every week hashing out the best within ourselves. When you take a piece to the stage of any caliber, show us the performance...not the work behind it. The saying is true...live to dance."
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