Miss SVG 2011: My thoughts

"Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed."  - Benjamin Franklin

            I wasn't supposed to be home in St. Vincent for Miss SVG 2011 so I never really followed the pageant. However following the death of my grandmother I flew home and knew that I would be here for the show. I took the week before the show to familiarize myself with the contestants in the show. To my surprise I knew a few of them and had even taught one of them at the Carapan Secondary School during my year working there. (I am not that old so don't even ask.)

    As fate would have it, I was blessed with a ticket to attend the show from a good friend. She always loved my critique of the shows and it became a yearly tradition that we would get together and analyze the show after. So on Saturday May 28t, I dressed in my "Sunday Best" and made my way to Victoria Park which is dubbed around this time as "Carnival City" to take in the show. 

    I arrived at the venue just as the show was beginning. To my surprise there were no fireworks as they normally have at the beginning of the show. This was a disappointment as this was being hailed at the 60th year of pageantry in SVG. There should have at least been some pomp and ceremony to open the show. However the show went on. 

      The Introduction section was quite interesting. The contestants did their introductions wearing different costumes from Mas bands here. I must commend the mas bands in SVG for their creativity year after year. The costumes were quite interesting and the use of colours was excellent. However the introductory speeches left much to be desired. Most sounded rehearsed and lacked confidence and exuberance one would expect from contestants in a pageant. A few were so long that I had time to have a full conversation before they were finished.

  The swimsuit section was interesting. The design of the suit was excellent in great bodies, it would help to accentuate the curves. There were good bodies this year as there was a lack of lovehandles. However those buttocks need some firming. If I wanted to see Jello, I would make one.

   The talent section was not very entertaining. Although several relevant topics were touched such as the image of women and domestic violence, there was no talent that was able to dazzle me. I think its time somebody come with something that is new and captivating instead of the usual repeats. There are several controversies within the talent area as well such as did  one contestant really play all that pan music and why did  another contestant have a dance partner? I won't comment on these since they are based on speculations and require some more research so as to get evidence and not be libelous (I can't pay a lawyer now.)

    The evening gowns were average. I must commend the local designers for putting their best foot forward in creating their dresses. The winning gown designed by Kimon Baptiste was beautiful and was my pick from the time I saw it. The use of black was a wise choice and the design adequately fit the form of the contestant who also happened to be her sister. Other notable designers were Jeremy Payne and Alex Grant. One shortfall in this section was the description of the dresses. There were not well constructed and when they were read, they were horrible. The mispronunciation of the Greek goddess of Love, Aphrodite, the mispronunciation of sequins as well as the use of Greecian which should have been Greek all added to the mistakes made. The contestants did not even walk properly on the stage. The turns were poorly executed and the poses were stiff and looked quite unnatural. 

   And then comes the best section of the show: The interview section. This section was integrated to be done with the evening gown section. I wonder how much preparation is given to the girls in this section. These young ladies don't even think about what they are about to say. While some of it may be attributed to nerves, I would say at least 60% of it is a lack of knowledge and preparation. The answers only served to highlight how ill prepared and the lack of knowledge and critical thinking skills these young ladies have. Some may say that they should be like the girls in Ms P'tani however they were controversial because they got their exact questions before. ( I will comment on this in my next blog entry) My favourite answer was to the question on environmental awareness. How does fixing the road help promote environmental awareness? I really shake my head but every year you must have at least one!

    After all the competiton Ms. Aviar Charles emerged the winner and a well deserved win. See was the best of the contestants presented and so deserved the victory. Congratulations Aviar.

  So was there anything good about the show? I must commend the entertainment. This year it was quite interesting especially with the use of local talent such as Skarpyon and Strong. Calypso Rose was quite entertaining as well. I was also happy to see the 1st Ms SVG Mrs Audrey  Hazell- Gomes grace the stage. She did this in truly regal fashion and if a few girls take a page from her appearance that night, they could have done alot better. 

    However there was alot lacking in the show and in order for the pageant to grow in standard and caliber, some of the issues have to be addressed.  The first is the decor of the stage. The background was just bland and the use of those potted plants gave the show a cheap look. The decor should be simple yet elegant adding to the atmosphere of the pageant. The time for the show needs to be addressed. Why does this show need to be 5 hours? Its just a long, drawn out show.This show need to do some major restructuring in the production so that it flows and is a more concise and entertaining  show. Then there is the contestants themselves. The addition of a University scholarship was to attract a certain caliber of girls to the show. This has failed to happen. However I think with effective and efficient training, the girls can be brought up to a standard that would make anyone proud of the national pageant. 

     After what I have seen in the past few years, I really should not be surprised at the show this year. As Benjamin Franklin says "Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed." Maybe I need to stop expecting a great show and then I won't be disappointed. Well let's see how Aviar will do at Ms. Carival and I look forward to Ms. SVG 2012 with no expectations!