Typical Pageant Stage Walk

The pageant stage walk is where your little princess will "perform" for the judges and for the audience in beauty pageants. Keep in mind that not all stages are the same size, and not all beauty pageants use this exact pageant walk or pattern. Of all the pageants we've done, however, a huge majority have used this pageant stage walk.

The Xs are usually marked on the stage floor with tape. At each X, your little girl will be expected to do something, unless, of course, she's very young.

------------------Back of stage
-----------------------X1


X4---------------------X2--------------------X3

-----------------Front of stage
---------------------Judges

--------------------Audience

X1- The contestant usually comes from backstage to X1. Here, she stands for just a moment. Some contestants turn here, and some don’t. Either way, the child should strike a pose on this X.
X2 – The child walks from X1 to X2. This is probably the most important X on the stage because it’s right in front of the judges. The contestant should make eye contact will each judge – not just “cut her eyes” – but actually turn her face toward each judge. Here, the child should do her personality act, like blow kisses, wave, wink, paint her face, etc. Next, she should turn slowly on this X.
X3 – While walking from X2 to X3, the child should maintain eye contact with the judges. Some pageant coaches teach their girls to do a “crab walk.” With this, the little girl walks sort of sideways. On X3, the contestant should do something else “cutesie” and do a slow turn.
X4 – From X3, the child should walk to X4, without stopping on X2. On X4, the child should wave and/or blow kisses and make one last turn before exiting the stage. If the child is exiting the stage from X4, she should wave goodbye. At some pageants, the contestants return to X1 to exit. If this is the case, goodbye waves are in order here.

The amount of time each contestant spends on time is important, and it’s a careful balancing act. You want the contestant to be there long enough for the judges to get a good look at her, but you don’t want to overstay your welcome, so to speak.

Be aware that sometimes you’ll run into an inexperienced pageant emcee or announcer who tries to hurry the contestants off stage too quickly. Try to teach your child to complete her entire routine, regardless of whether the announcer has finished talking or not.

You need to practice the stage walk at home until your child knows it well. Get the basics down first before you start focusing on smiling, personality, and poise. You can add these once she knows the pattern well.

I have a raised front porch on my house, and this is where my granddaughter always practiced her pageant stage walk. We put down Xs with tape and sat in front of the porch, in the same spot the judges would be sitting during an actual pageant.