Weeks, Janet. "The Judges Weigh In." Dance Magazine 79.10 (2005): 6-10. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

This article is about Michelle Caruncho experiencing her first competition and her opinions on how judging works. She talks about how different dance competitions actually were than what she originally thought. She talks about how dance competitions are places to learn tools to become a better performer as well as broadening experiences of each dancer. According to Caruncho, choreographers use tricks and turns in order to place higher on dances. However, judges look more for musicality and level of difficulty in performances, not tricks. Caruncho also states that judges do take into account the level of appropriateness of dance costumes and song choices. Caruncho says that the main things judges look at are technique, ballet training, and execution. Caruncho talks about how competitions have started to award kids with different high awards that they do not deserve. She says that every dancer is here to be critiqued and improve. If every dancer got an award then there would be nothing to work for. Caruncho believes that competition dance is a great activity for children to get involved in. This article helps with my project because it talks about some benefits of dance as well as some negatives of judging and awards. This article will allow me to pull certain things out about judging and how it affects children.