Is It About Dancing Or Playing The Judges?

Dancing with the Stars is all about dancing, isn't it? After all, the programme is called Dancing with the Stars. However, when you think about it, dancing is only one aspect of the performance. One thing that is crucial is impressing the judges faviourably, because what the judges say about a couple will have an impact on millions of viewers, many of whom will cast a vote in favour of one couple or the other.

This naturally affects the fate of both couples, one will go home with long faces while the other will celebrate and possibly kick start a waning career. It is hard to impress millions of people but far easier to influence the three judges, who will then speak on your behalf and sway millions of viewers for you, because people listen to the opinion of experts even if they do not always agree with them.

So, how do you go about influencing the judges to have a favourable opinion about you assuming obviously that you can dance reasonably well or you would not get on the show in the first place?

Appearance is paramount, after dancing skills. The dancers have to look the part. That involves tight-fitting clothing for the men and skimpy, revealing garments for the women - no matter how old or overweight they are. Within reason obviously. Appearing sexy never does any harm and two of the judges are men.

However, balancing that is the public assessment that the third judge, the woman on Dancing with the Stars judging panel, has a reputation for over-criticizing the women. This may give younger men an advantage. So, dazzling costumes are a card to be played, but it is not a high trump.

Elegance and poise are vital and that involves knowing the dance routines backwards. You have to have practiced so often that every step is automatic; the routines have to flow on from each other like water out of a jug.

A captivating smile is a big benefit.The contestants have to appear as if they are enjoying themselves even if they are worrying inside. This ought to not be a problem to most of the participants as most of them are stage performers like actors and singers anyway, but sports personalities do not have to beam in their professional lives, so it might come harder to them.

There are a number of theories about whether the contestants in Dancing with the Stars are judged fairly, that is whether they are judged on their dancing skills alone or whether there is more to it than that.

Playing up to the judges can be pushed too far and sycophantism might be penalized. Having said that, smiling at the judges and being friendly ought to get you a couple of brownie points.

If you want to join the discussion on whether the dancers are judged solely on their dancing skills, go on over to the message boards on the official Dancing with the Stars website.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on fairly a number of topics, but is currently concerned with the host of Dancing with the Stars. If you would like to know more go to our website at DWTS Pictures..