Every SHINE routine is scored out of 50, across five criteria worth 10 each. Here is what each one actually means.
Theme Interpretation, /10
Did the performer commit to an idea and carry it the whole way through? Judges are looking for a routine that reads as one piece, where the music, the costume, the movement style and the face all point in the same direction.
A routine with no discernible idea behind it can be technically clean and still score in the middle.
Musicality and Timing, /10
Is the performer moving with the music, or just next to it? Judges listen for whether you hit the accents, whether you use the quiet parts instead of filling them, and whether your big moment lands with the music big moment.
Track are often chosen and even carefully remixed and cut up by performers.
Dance and Movement, /10
Judges want variety in levels, so the use of the floor, base of the pole, the middle and the top scores well. Choreography, transitions and use of the full stage. .
Technique and Control, /10
This is pointed toes, straight legs where legs should be straight, engaged shoulders, controlled entries and exits, held positions that do not wobble, and grips that do not slip and get reset. Every unfinished line can cost the performers a fraction, and there are dozens of lines in a routine.
Showmanship, /10
Confidence, character, commitment and connection with the room.
What is not scored: difficulty
Performers gain nothing for attempting a trick that they you can barely hold. There is no bonus for the harder trick. A clean, well-told three minutes of movement scores higher than a routine performed messily.
