When you enter a toddler pageant with your child, you might want to do the stage walk with your child, especially if she's under three years old. Keep in mind however, that some toddlers cna do the pageant walk all by themselves, and such kids will often score higher than one who was escorted on stage by a parent or other adult. Of course, judges don't expect young toddlers to go on stage by themselves. In this case, judges of toddler pageants won't deduct points for parent participation.
You might choose to walk with your toddler and hold her hand, or you might prefer to walk slightly behind the child. Do this only if she's old enough to understand to stop on the Xs. It's a BIG must for her to stop in front of the judges and remain there long enough for them to get a good look at her. She'll also need to turn on the Xs - with or without your help.
There's another important point you need to understand. Don't let your toddler "run wild" on stage. Some parents think this is cute, so they allow or even encourage this type of behavior. There should, however, be some sort of order to the pageant walk, even in toddler pageants. It's difficult for the judges to focus on a constantly moving target.
Another mistake some parents make in toddler pageants during the pageant walk is to allow their kids to remain on stage too long. Not only is this disrespectful to the other contestants and the pageant director, but it's not popular with judges, either. Each contestant is allotted a certain amount of time for their stage walk, in order to make the pageant fair and to ensure that the toddler pageant runs smoothly and on time. When you use more than your apportioned time with your beauty walk, you're cutting into someone else's time. A lot of judges will deduct points for contestants who remain on stage for too long.
Showing posts with label pageant stage walk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pageant stage walk. Show all posts
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
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.
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.
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