Contestant's Corner : Discovering your Pageant Talent

When I approach young women about participating in a pageant, they are usually very excited. However, some may look at me and say I would love to but I don’t have any talent. That really does sadden me because I strongly do believe that everyone possesses talent. The problem comes from ladies not knowing what their talent is or not ever having the opportunity to develop the talent they have.

How Does One Find Their Pageant Talent?
To do that one must ask themselves two basic questions?
(1) What is it that I enjoy doing; and (2) What drives me to desire more of it?

Maybe you enjoy singing: Perhaps you find yourself constantly singing alone or along with the radio. However you have never had the opportunity to join a choir, take classes, or better yet sing a solo in front of other people.

Maybe you enjoy theatre: Perhaps you were involved in a school play and you enjoyed acting in front of an audience however you never pursued your talent by taking some high school or college drama classes.

Maybe you love to dance: You go to parties and dance the night away however you have never taken a single formal dance class.

Maybe you enjoy poetry: You may have written some poetry but you may have never had the opportunity to recite one of your poems in front of an audience.

These are just of few the many talents that may lie dormant inside you waiting for you to discover them. Take some time out to discover your passion.

Once you have discovered your new found talent, the next thing you would need to do is to develop and nurture it. Developing your talent is not a process that has a definite ending. It is something that constantly changes and improves over time. Even the most talented person needs to develop their talent on an ongoing basis.

How Does One Develop Their Talent?

Practice: The best way to develop your talent is obviously thru practice. The more you practice the better you become.

Take classes: Many schools, community centers and colleges offer various classes for various types of talent. This might be a great way to practice for an upcoming competition as well as getting extra credit for school.

Hire a talent coach: Talent Coaches give you one on one mentoring and help immensely in developing your talent. Hiring a talent coach can prove to be a little pricey. However, the benefit from one on one training is quite beneficial.

Things To Remember When Developing Your Talent:

Uniqueness: Whatever your talent is let it be reflective of you. Do not worry about what others may have done and try to mimic past performances. Be Original.

Practice: The more you practice the less stressful you are during competition and the smoother your performance will go.

Choose an area in your talent that you can perfect: Sometimes I feel that contestants choose certain songs, dances, or skits solely on the basis that it may be popular choice or "in thing" at that time. They do not take in consideration the complexity, details, or the physical limitations that might prevent them from executing their talent to almost near perfection. For example, if your voice range cannot accommodate a song by Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey or Celine Dion, I would strongly suggest not singing it. Choose a selection that your voice range can accommodate. Or better yet adjust your voice so you can harmonize with the song without risking the possibility of singing off key. Remember singing should seem effortless. Appropriately adjusting your vocal range can also help to add your own unique flair to the song.

Have others critique your talent: Ask for critique of you talent from others before your competition. This may be the hardest yet the most important thing you do. Find people who will provide you with an unbiased opinion. Getting criticism from others allows you to fine tune your talent so that your best is put forward on the day of competition.

Your attire: Appearance is everything even in your talent competition. Make sure that your attire complements your talent and you complement the attire. Creativity is functionality is key when selecting pageant attire. If you are dancing to ballet or jazz piece, consider choosing an outfit that accentuates the fluid like moves in your dance. If you are reciting poetry perhaps wear an outfit that reflects what the poem is about.

Go for what you know: If you are good actor and not a good vocalist you might want to stay away from a musical play piece. Consider doing a strong dramatic role that will highlight your acting capabilities. Concentrate on what you’re good at and perfect it.

In conclusion, everyone has some form of talent. Here is to hoping you find your pageant talent. By nurturing and developing your new found talent your onstage performance is sure to be a knockout.

Liberian Business-owners support partnership between Miss Liberia Maryland and Virginia Pageants

For Immediate Press Release
Press Contact
Cianna Cooper 240-694-5835 pressrooom@missliberiamaryland.org
Event Contact
Yaetoe McIntosh 804-307-7694 mailto:804-307-7694info@missliberiavirginia.com

Gaithersburg,Maryland -- Feburary 1 2007
For the first time in Liberian US Pagaent history, the candidates for Miss Liberia Maryland and Miss Liberia Virginia will be combined into one star-studded evening of competition; beauty, glamour and intellect; announced producers Cianna Cooper and Yaetoe McIntosh.

According to the producers the strategic decision will allow them to collaborate in an unprecedented way. With both states working together, they can draw from a pool of talented candidates without taking away from the other's value. By working together, we can combine our resources to develop the best candidates in a team environment, which will yield a high energy and quality production; said Cianna Cooper, producer and owner of GEM Imaging Events & Studios.

After our first round of auditions held in Janurary, I became even more excited about our partnership. The young ladies are extremely confident and well rounded. It should be a pretty tough competition; commented Yaetoe McIntosh, producer and owner of Cammepa Productions.

During the auditions, producers invited the young ladies to participate in a phone conference with Chelsey Abrams, the reigning Ms. Liberia Maryland. During the teleconference with Chelsey, the young ladies received words of support while utilizing the opportunity to ask questions about the competition.

When asked about their decision to participate in the completion, one of the candidates, Elenora Peter responded that to become Miss Liberia in Virginia gives me an opportunity to speak to the youth of Liberia in the United States about the importance of following your dreams. Achieving your dreams involves trials and tribulations, however, as long as you have goals, determination, work ethics regardless of the obstacle your dreams can and will be accomplished.

With the positive mission of developing and promoting national leadership among young women in the Liberian community, the annual competition provides a forum that allows state delegates to pursue and achieve their educational, career personal goals. These are key reasons why Liberian businesses and business owners are coming on board to sponsor this wonderful event. Producers say that they receive calls from interested sponsors and appreciate that Lovely Shades Cosmetics, Siatta Styles (S Jeans), Jesa Promotions and Liberian Events are leading supporters with their commitment as 2007-2008 platinum sponsors.

The Miss Liberia/Maryland Pageant is scheduled to be held on Memorial Day Week-end (May 27, 2007) at the beautiful Marriott Courtyard ,Washingtonian Center in Gaithersburg Maryland. Prizes include specially designed Austrian crystal crown, cash, sponsor products, and much more. The winners from the Miss Liberia Maryland and Virginia Pageant become eligible to compete in the Liberian United Women in Progress 7th Annual Miss Liberia in the US Pageant. The Miss Liberia in the US Pageant is the oldest and most respected event supporting the aspirations of Liberian young women across the country. Contestants are expected to develop a platform that will allow them to give back to their community through active participation in a chosen charity or non-profit.

For more information on these pageants, please visit online at http://www.missliberiamaryland.org/ or http://www.missliberiavirginia.com/.

Black History Month Fashion Show Awards and Banquet

ACANA
African Cultural Alliance of North America Inc.
In collaboration with:
The Children Crisis Treatment Center (Project Taama) and
The Liberian United Women in Progress (LUWIP)
Presents the 4rd.Annual
Black History Month
Fashion Show & Awards Banquet
African Fashions, African Cuisine, African music, Guest Speakers and Awards
February 17th, 7:00 PM
At The
Holiday Inn Stadium 10th.Street &Packer Avenue Philadelphia, PA
Tickets @ $35 Table of 10 @ $300
Keynote Address by:
Sonya M. Toler
Executive Director
Pennsylvania’s Governor’s Advisory Commission on African American Affairs
Entertainment By:
Universal African Dance & Drum Ensemble
ACANA Dance and Drum Students and More
Honoree
Pennsylvania State Senator / 8th District.
Honorable Anthony H. Williams
Tickets and Souvenir Booklet information call (215) 729-8225 or (215) 727-7780

Liberian Pageants talks to Miss Liberia Minnesota 2006-2007 Miss Decontee Kofa

I remember the Minnesota queen Decontee Koffa as one who had a true natural beauty about her, quite intellingent, and had an excellent command of delivering spoken word. During her talent she left the audience mesmerized as she delivered her poem that inspired Liberians to be the best that they can be.

Miss Koffa is a graduate of St. Cloud State University SCSU where she earn a BS degree in psychology. During her time at SCSU she became the founder and President of "Today Women", an award winner mentoring program that allows students of color at the University to serve as mentors to girls of color in their local school district. Ms Koffa is currently the Youth Services Conselor at the Central Minnesota Sexual Assult Center.

This Queen is definately using her crown to make a difference amongst the Liberian youth living in the Minnesota area. She is the first Queen to have established her own official non profit organizton dedicated to mentoring Liberian youth.

Miss Koffa is the Executive of the Liberian Youth Network. The Liberian Youth Network is a Minnesota based non profit Organization founded by seven young Liberian women. Their mission is to provide Liberian youth with the tools and resources need to empower themselves.


Ther goals are...
To give Liberian youth hope for a brighter future
To encourage self determination and self confidence
To create a safe enviroment for Liberian Youth to express themselves
To promote higher education for Liberian youth.

To find out more about this dynamic queen and here organization visit www.liberianyouthnetwork.org

Contestant's Lounge: Your Pageant Application (The start of any pageant begins with your application)

Okay. So you have decided to participate in an upcoming pageant. Congratulations! However, when does the competition really begin? In my view it begins the moment you start filling out your application. This form as little as it may seem, has the potential to make or break your chances for capturing that crown. Let’s take a closer look.
The application is indeed your first chance to make an impression on the judges. Before any judge has a chance to see you in your swimsuit or evening gown; or even hear your interview, your little application is lying before them. Your application allows the judges find out the backgrounds of contestants. What is your application saying about you? Here is a list of things that contribute to a poor application.

1. Your application needs to be filled out by you and you alone.
I cannot tell you how dangerous this is. You would assume that every contestant fills out there own application however that is not always the case. By not filling out your own application, you run the risk of not being able to answer question that may arise from your application. That can lead to total disaster on the stage.

2. Proper grammar and spelling is very important.
Taking out time to check for grammar and spelling. Shows good command of grammar, organization, and that thought was put into the preparation of the document.

3. Be truthful about all information on you application.
What clubs and organizations do you belong to? If you were to be crown Miss Local/State/National how will you make a difference in your community? Be prepared to tell a judge at anytime what organizations you belong. If you abbreviated the name on the application be prepared to tell judges know the full names on any organizations that you may belong to. The application may ask you to briefly describe your platform. Take out time to chose a platform and then write in a brief description of it. However, before that pageant takes place that brief platform needs to be fully developed. To sum this all up, be prepared to elaborate on any and all parts of your application as needed.

4. Here are some suggestions for filling you pageant application.
When you receive you application, don’t be in such a rush to fill it out. Make a copy of your application. Take out time to assess each question that is posed to you. Write your first responses on the copied version. Make any changes that that need to be made on that copy. If sending application through email, review the questions and write out your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

Only when you are satisfied with your responses fill out your application. Have someone else help go over it for punctuation and spelling errors. Before submitting your application, make a copy. It may be months before the actual competition. Before the pageant, you will want to have a copy of what you sent them. Familiarize yourself will all the responses on your application and have your platform fully developed.

This may seem at lot to do for one application. However taking out the time to fill out your application properly will go a long way in saving you from unwanted stress. You never know, a properly filled out application may be the factor that gets you the crown!!!