Master the Art of Adjudication
8 Hours
5 Modules
Certificate
$549 + GST
What is Master The Art of Adjudication?
We TRAIN and CERTIFY dance teachers to advance their careers in the world of adjudicating.
Looking for the next step in your career as a dancer, dance instructor or choreographer? Gain the knowledge and skills you need to stand out as an adjudicator, grow your income through opportunities available across Canada and boost your professional profile with the Master the Art of Adjudication: Dance Adjudicator Certification, offered by Canadian Dance Leadership.
Led by Founder, Director and CEO of Shine Dance Festival, Tamara Thompson Levi, our programs have been designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills needed to become a powerfully effective adjudicator with in-demand skills that will make you a top choice for adjudicator roles at festivals and competitions across Canada. Through a carefully designed curriculum that combines learning with practical hands-on exercises, the program distills best practices in adjudication from across North America into easy-to-grasp concepts, “Golden Rules” and “Recipes” to help you quickly master these powerful concepts.
What makes our program particularly unique is that it goes beyond mere skill-building. Whether at festivals or competitions, adjudicators are in a leadership role, and knowing how to tap into the essence of leadership as a dance professional and communicate in a way that demonstrates your skills as a leader is one of the key elements that will differentiate you in the market. And that’s why we’ve built core leadership lessons, insights and skills from the dance world into this program. Plus, the program covers the business of being an adjudicator, providing you with insider tips on pay rates, hiring practices and contract negotiations. Since you’ll know exactly what to expect, you’ll be able to skip the typical trial and error and set yourself up to succeed.
Boost Your Professional Profile and Get Hired by Your Favourite Companies as a Certified Dance Adjudicator
What You Will Learn:
MASTER THE ART OF ADJUDICATION - LEVEL 1
Our introductory course for beginners and seasoned educators alike covers all aspects of adjudicating from the ground up including feedback, scoring, and awards, the role of a dance industry leader, and the business of adjudicating from breaking into the business to negotiating contracts and mistakes to avoid while providing a complete toolkit to use on the job.
*Eligibility Requirements: 5 years of experience teaching/ performance/ choreography
Course Outline
Module 1: Adjudicators as Industry Leaders
Understanding your role and responsibilities as an adjudicator and understanding your impact.
Module 2: The Business of Adjudicating
What you need to know about the industry, the job, and how to get hired and rehired by your favourite companies.
Module 3: Powerful Feedback
What the best adjudicators do, and get tips and tools to give useful commentary that encourages, motivates, and empowers.
Module 4: Effective Scoring
Understand mark spread, avoiding ties, scoring consistency, and how to synchronize your score with your commentary.
Module 5: Making Awards Meaningful
Getting the right awards to the right dancers, giving recognition across the age and studio spectrums, and making an impact through awards.
You’ll Walk Away With:
✅ An adjudicator handbook to use on your journey from application to interview to your seat on the panel.
✅ Experience giving feedback and scoring using actual scoring systems from different dance competitions.
✅ New contacts from your cohort and through our private Facebook Group just for certified adjudicators.
✅ Feedback on your feedback.
✅ A resume review
✅ A certificate of completion
✅ MEMBERSHIP in our private Facebook group to stay connected with other certified adjudicators.
All of our graduates get A FREE listing in our ONLINE ADJUDICATOR DIRECTORY, an effective resource for competition directors looking to build balanced panels of qualified dance experts.
You will also feel inspired and confident heading into your next adjudicating contract whether it’s your first or your fiftieth!
Upcoming Courses
Want to know if you are eligible?
Completed our introductory course and ready for the next level?
Level Up Your Adjudication Skills.
MASTER THE ART OF ADJUDICATION - LEVEL 2
Our Level Two program is focused on taking your feedback to the next level. Feedback, whether written, articulated on mic, or delivered on stage, maximizes the value an adjudicator brings to the competition experience. Our Level Two program offers extensive practice giving and getting feedback using real competition videos featuring a range of ages, levels, and disciplines. Elevate your feedback delivery skills in an intimate 3-person cohort by listening to others adjudicate and getting feedback from a veteran competition director and your peers in a safe and supportive learning environment.
*Eligibility Requirements: Master The Art of Adjudicating LEVEL ONE
Upcoming Courses
3 Hours
5 Modules
$209 + GST
Certificate
Meet Your Instructor
Tamara Thompson Levi
A passionate and engaging educator and presenter, Tamara is the Founder, Director and CEO of Shine Dance Festival (est. 2005), The Leadership in Dance series, Co-Producer of the Dance Teacher reTREAT, and partner in Canadian Dance Leadership. Tamara’s professional performing career started straight out of high school as she danced her way around the world for Alberta Ballet, Calvin Klein, MAC Cosmetics, New Balance, and Festival Cruise Line.
Tamara has since appeared on screen in an assortment of TV movies, commercials, music videos and the award winning dance film Black Angels. A love of learning led to teaching in dance in studios, schools and at events across Canada where Tamara has prepared students for exams and competitions and taught at the post-secondary level on faculty at Capilano University and TDI Professional Dance Training Program.
Tamara is an active mentor with The Women’s Enterprise Centre in BC as well as the Mentorly online platform and is a YPAD (Youth Protection Advocates in Dance) Certified Dance Educator committed to promoting a more conscientious and wellness-centered approach to dance culture. Since starting Shine Dance Festival in 2005, Tamara has expanded her events across BC and into the virtual realm, bridging communities across the province and internationally through educational programs that nurture and elevate dancers, educators, and business owners.
-
![]()
"The Canadian Dance Leadership Adjudicator Certification prepared me for the full responsibility of adjudicating. The workshop was in-depth, with valuable, practical information, as well as opportunities to practice giving feedback and scoring, which is the key to this event. CDL did a fabulous job outlining what to expect in your adjudication experience, and provided me with additional confidence moving forward."
Leslie Kuny
Dance Educator & Owner of Ignite Dance Centre
Surrey, BC -
![Linnea Testimonial]()
"The certification program was well-structured and provided a perfect balance between theoretical knowledge and practical application. The opportunities for hands-on practice and live evaluations helped me refine my judging abilities and gain confidence in my assessments. I also appreciated the emphasis on ethical standards and the importance of maintaining fairness and impartiality."
Linnea White
Owner/Artistic Director - IMPACT Dance Complex
Milton, Ontario -
![]()
“This was a course specially curated by dance industry leaders for dance industry leaders. It will benefit anyone in this industry no matter where one is in their experience with adjudicating. I felt inspired and ready to further my education after this course! Thank you for the enjoyable learning!."
Kennedy Knopf
Dance Educator, Vernon, BC -
![]()
"I've known for years now that I wanted to become a dance judge, but truly didn't know where to start. When I thought about it, I was immediately intimidated by all of the things I didn't know. After taking Tamara's carefully crafted course I feel I know exactly what is expected of me, what I can bring to the table and just how ready I am to take on the adjudicating world!"
Ciarra Thompson
Dance Educator, Toronto, ON -
![]()
“The Dance Adjudicator Certification Program was well thought out and covered all topics from applying to be an adjudicator to commentary to what kind of impact you want to make in the dance community. This course provided me with the knowledge I need to head into adjudicating with confidence and enthusiasm."
Andrea Gibson
Dance Educator and Founder of The Unconditional Movement
Vancouver, BC -
![]()
This course was thoughtfully designed and expertly presented! All the angles and responsibilities of the job of an adjudicator were addressed and helpful first-hand examples were shared in support of each component of learning. Having multiple opportunities to practice how to balance commentary, scoring and special awards was so valuable. Thank you Tamara!
Laura Killeen
Studio Director & Dance Educator, Driftwood Dance Academy
North Vancouver, BC -
![]()
"I would recommend this course to bay teacher/choreographer who is looking to learn about adjudicating. This course also will be very beneficial in the classroom for any competitive teacher when choreographing their routines. I feel well prepared for adjudicating! "
Kaylah Drozda
Dance Educator, Winnipeg
Frequently Asked Questions
-
While experience as a professional dancer, dance instructor or choreographer is critical, when hiring adjudicators, competition and festival organizers are looking for much more. First, they favour professionals who have training and skills in leadership. Why? Because being an adjudicator is all about demonstrating leadership! But they also want adjudicators who have the expertise to:
Give powerfully effective commentary that acknowledges dancers’ abilities and inspires them to grow.
Score effectively based on guidelines provided by the event organizer (these are often different at every event).
Match awards recipients based on guidelines and criteria provided by the event organizer (these are often different at every event).
These are precisely the skills that the Dance Adjudicator Certification by The Dance Leadership Institute was designed to help you build.
-
The Dance Adjudicator Certification can help you advance your career in three key ways:
Build your skills: This program is designed to help you gain valuable knowledge and skills in leadership and communication that will make you stand out among candidates with highly sought after skills.
Add a new income source: You’ll be setting yourself up for success with the knowledge and skills needed to confidently seek out opportunities to be a paid adjudicator.
Boost your professional profile: You’ll be adding a new credential to your resume and building your profile as a dance professional.
-
You don't need any experience adjudicating to register for our LEVEL 1 course which will provide a foundation for those without adjudicating experience as well as valuable insight and tools for those with experience.
You DO need to have an extensive training background in dance as well as a minimum of 5 years of relevant teaching experience.
-
Yes! In addition to the certificate you will receive, our courses will give you insider knowledge on how to be a sought-after adjudicator including what the BEST adjudicators DO, how to get hired - and re-hired - by your favourite companies, and how to ensure you have the skills and knowledge required. You will also make connections with other adjudicators who are known by competition directors as an excellent source of referrals ;)
-
Yes. To be considered for work as an adjudicator, a high level of dance training and teaching or performance experience is required. We require a minimum of 5 years of teaching experience to apply and register for our LEVEL ONE program and completion of our LEVEL ONE program is required to register for LEVEL TWO.
