PERSONAL INTERVIEW PHASE OF COMPETITION

Each contestant will be interviewed individually by the judging panel. The purpose of the Personal Interview in the USofA Pageants System is to allow the judges some insight into the character of each contestant. During the interview, judges are also afforded the opportunity to evaluate each contestant’s basic qualities, such as general intelligence, ability to communicate clearly and concisely, attitude, composure, etc. The contestant should know and be able to answer questions regarding the USofA Pageants System. The judges may also gather information about a contestant’s personal or professional life. The basic nature of the Personal Interview is intended to be casual and relaxed conversation between the contestant and judging panel. Points are not deducted based on whether a contestant interviews dressed as a male or female. However, the suggested attire for the Personal Interview is what the contestant would wear to a professional job interview.

FASHION (EVENING GOWN) PHASE OF COMPETITION

Evening gowns may be of any color or style. They MUST, however, be full length. The gown must fit well, the contestant must model it elegantly and all of the elements (hair, make-up, accessories, shoes and gown) must come together for an overall look that makes the contestant look their very best. The USofA Pageants System has traditionally rewarded contestants in each division who bring a unique combination of evening gown, hair, make-up, accessories, modeling and poise to the stage. This has not changed. The USofA Pageants System has also often rewarded evening gowns that feature a lot of embellishments, such as rhinestones, beading, etc., as well as hair and accessories which would best be described as “high drag”. These types of gowns are still appropriate for this phase of competition. Couture gowns are also appropriate for this phase of competition, however, contestants are cautioned this is NOT a “creative evening wear” category and gowns that could be considered costumes should be avoided. We also discourage gowns that are so heavily embellished that the contestant cannot model them elegantly due to the weight of the gown. Our judges are asked to educate themselves about current fashion trends and styles. Contestants should be aware that a gown, while beautiful, may appear to be of a style that is outdated and therefore may not score as well as those that do follow current fashion trends. Further, a gown with few or no embellishments (rhinestones, etc.) is able to score just as well or better than a fully-embellished gown as long as the overall look (hair, make-up, accessories, shoes, modeling, poise and fit of the gown) makes the contestant look their very best.

Each contestant will be required to complete and submit an evening gown description card that describes the gown they will wear during preliminary competition and final night competition. If the contestant chooses to wear a different gown on final night, an additional evening gown description card will be submitted. Blank evening gown description cards will be provided by the pageant staff. These cards will be collected from you in the dressing room.

When you arrive at the venue for evening gown competition on preliminary night, you should be ready to get dressed with your hair and make-up already complete. Time is very limited before evening gown competition begins on preliminary nights. The dressing room will not be accessible early enough to give you time to get “in face” at the venue.

TALENT PHASE OF COMPETITION

Talent may be any type of entertainment presentation as long as it does not create a danger or create the possibility of injury to either the contestant or anyone else present, or damage to the venue. No fire, glitter, dry chemicals or liquids of any kind – including water – may be used in your talent presentation. No live animals or reptiles may be used in your talent presentation. No smoke/fog machines may be used in your talent presentation. Talent presentation is limited to seven (7) minutes in length. Talent presentations that contain racial slurs or excessively vulgar, obscene or insulting language should be avoided. The judging panel will consider the content of your talent presentation when scoring it. Prop set-up and removal is limited to five (5) minutes total. There is no restriction in the number of persons who participate in your talent presentation. You should be prepared at Registration to inform pageant staff the exact number of back- up dancers and prop personnel you will have. Each person must pay the door admission or be in possession of a valid “dancer pass” in order to be allowed to enter the venue. Under normal operations, back up dancers will have a separate dressing area and are not allowed in the contestant dressing area at any time.

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