Nineteen judges

One role each

In the preliminaries and quarterfinals every judge scores the role they dance, so each dancer gets the full attention of ten judges.

The foundations

Samy El Magico scores both leaders and followers in the preliminaries, quarterfinals and semifinal, with an eye on the foundations: timing, weight transfer, grounding, posture and a basic that works at any tempo.

Two head judges

Gero heads the leader panel and Klau the follower panel. When a majority cannot separate two dancers, the head judge's ranking decides.

Impartial by rule

Judges never score their own dance partner, romantic partner or close family. If one of them is on the floor, that judge's scores do not count for that round. It can only come up from the semifinal on, when every judge scores both roles. All judges declare that they stay impartial towards friends, students and teammates.