Stepping Criteria

From the home of rapper, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Star and Shadow have come 4th overall for the past 2 years. Can they jump those last few places to the top in 2012? (photo courtesy of John Asher)

Stepping is marked out of 15.

Good

To get the maximum 15 marks, the team’s stepping must meet all these criteria:

• clean, crisp stepping, in time with the music
• excellent volume in stepping
• sharp , light, fast walking, in time with the music
• consistent stepping style between dancers and throughout dance
• consistent walking style between dancers and throughout dance
• starting and stopping stepping at the same time, unless intended
• good jumps, in time with the music
• good, consistent stepping in spins
• variety of stepping (e.g. 4s, 8s, train step etc) with interesting variations.

Bad

Marks will be deducted if stepping fails to meet these criteria, for instance:

• poor stepping, with muffled or missing taps, scuffing, faking, etc
• stepping or walking out of time with the music
• dancers not all starting or finishing stepping at the same time
• inconsistent stepping styles between dancers and/or throughout dance
• inconsistent walking styles between dancers and/or throughout dance
• poor jumps, e.g. not in time with the music, dancers not jumping together, not clearing swords, not jumping two-footed
• poor stepping in spins, e.g. feet not all at same height, out of time with the music
• little or no variety in stepping, e.g. only 4s throughout whole dance.