Toddlers & Tiaras or Little Miss Perfect- Is This Okay Part 4

My comments today are going to be about an episode of the "Little Miss Perfect" beauty pageant being held in Florida. This episode first aired in March of 2009. Michael Galanes is the pageant director.

From Clearwater, Florida, Emily is 9 years old, and she has been doing pageants since she was 8 months old. She is a national winner who's outgrown her local pageants. Mom, Debbie Tye states that her daughter has done at least 150 pageants in her lifetime. Emily is excited to be able to travel to North Carolina to compete in this pageant. She can't wait to meet all the new faces.

Emily has a pageant coach, Jessika McLaughlin. They know that the competition is going to be tough, and her coach brings Emily and Mom video of some of the contestants in the North Carolina area. They realize they have their work ahead of them. In her talent routine, referred to in this pageant as the "Wow Wear" routine, Emily plays a little girl that comes out of a large grandfather clock. It's original, but her coach is worried about her energy and sharpness.

The next time we see Emily, she is getting full hair and makeup done, so that she can make the 2-hour trek to the photographer and get her photogenic head shot. This is just one of many items on their list to check off as they get ready for the pageant this weekend. This little girl knows how how to pose for a photo. She's good!

Emily hates practicing, but she knows that it really pays off when she gets off stage. Mom, at this point, is getting more demanding. So there is a little drama between mom and daughter as they rehearse two days before the pageant. The dress they've chosen for evening wear is Emily's favorite dress so far. The cuckoo clock that Emily steps out of is so big, it has to be taken apart and mailed to the hotel where the pageants is being held.

From Forest City, North Carolina, ten year old Jordan is a veteran as well. She has won over 100 crowns, and has done pageants since she was 5 months old. Mom, Jeanie Adcox is coach, mentor, and financier. She is watching Jordan practice a roller-skating routine. Mom states that Jordan does 85% of her own choreography. Jordan's talking about "thinking out of the box". Imagine that from a 10-year old!

Jordan is getting a whole new outfit for her "Wow Wear" routine. The idea behind "Wow Wear" is that they do a cute routine of any kind that accentuates or perpetuates a theme for the actual outfit worn. When Dee Dee Williams, Jordan's modeling coach saw Jordan perform on skates, she got very nervous. She would rather her get off the skates and have her perform her routine in jazz shoes. At first Jordan is resistant to the change, but after falling a lot, she finally agreed with her coach, and they got down to business.

Jordan has some basic dance skills, and she is very flexible, so she has a fairly strong routine to take to the competition. Even grandma, Gail Webb gets involved and is helping Jordan to practice her routine. Jordan is getting her spray tan from Emily's mom, Debbie Tye. She tans other kids to help with the cost of the pageants.These two moms have to trust each other somewhat, because she's spray tanning her daughter's competitor.The girls and the mom's are sizing each other up, and getting to know each other as well. It makes for a strange friendship, but they all pull it off.

Both girls start the day early. It takes quite awhile to get all the hair and makeup done. In some cases, the mom does it, but in most cases, there are commercial makeup and hair artists hired ahead of time. Some of them do the hair and makeup of several contestants in an assembly line style.

Interviews

Jordan's hair style is very different from what she's done in the past, so when she gets a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she gets upset. She doesn't like it, so mom is reassuring her that she looks beautiful, and not to worry about it. She knows that if Jordan doesn't feel beautiful, that could reflect in her confidence as she takes the stage. In the interview, Jordan is asked, by David Galanes, Pageant Director what her favorite holiday is. She states that she likes Christmas, because she gets to be with all her family. This Christmas she gets to go to a ski condo with her best friend Amber. She feels like she did a pretty good job, but she was a little worried because she didn't make the judges laugh.

Amazingly Emily's hair is done in a similar way, and these two beautiful blonds actually look a lot alike now. Emily is asked what her favorite thing about pageants is. She states that she likes making new friends, and it helps her to get all her energy out. She likes the "Wow Wear" potion of the pageant best.

Both girls seem to get through the interview portion very well.

"Wow Wear"

Emily is extremely excited about her routine, because it is very unique. She looks like a little Swiss child with her hair in braids. She's going to step out of a big prop that looks llike an old fashioned swiss town clock. She looks very confident, but mom got a little upset when she realizes that Emily left out about half of her routine. She left out a part that mom felt was pretty important. Emily is smart enough to just keep going though and she keeps smiling like nothing is wrong. When she gets off stage though, mom has to console her.

Jordan comes on with her polka-dot, 50's malt shop outfit and dances around with a tray and a fake milkshake glued to the tray. She has some basic gymnastic skills, but mostly her personality just glows. She has amazing confidence and plenty of personality. The shows judges seemed to appreciate her routine more than Emily's.

Neither girl has significant dance skills. It's mostly cutesy, flirtatious movements with a lot of facials. That being said, "Wow Wear" isn't about talent. It is more of a modeling routine with props and costuming that all tie together into a theme. Personality, stage presence, and confidence are the most important tools to bring to the "Wow Wear" portion of the pageant. Both girls had plenty of that, but the judges seemed more impressed with Jordan's routine.

Evening Gown-Beauty

Emily is feeling pretty sad about her performance in "Wow Wear", but she is prepared for beauty and ready to take the stage. Mom just tries to cheer her up, even though she is worried too. When Emily steps out on stage, you can't tell that she is upset about anything. The judges start talking about a section of her hair that is out of place.

Jordan doesn't like the beauty portion of the pageant, because it involves slow confident modeling with lots of eye contact. Despite the fact,it's her least favorite portion of the pageant, she does very well.

Comments from the Judges

On this program, you get to hear the judges talk about the contestants while the scores are being tabulated. Their comments do not change the outcome of the pageant. It's just a conversation that we get to hear. In general, they did not like the clock routine that Emily performed, and they didn't like the outfit. They did feel that Emily did better than Jordan in the Evening Gown portion however.

Results

Not only do both girls make it into the top 5, but Jordan wins 1st attendant, and Emily wins Queen. So the two fierce competitors were happy and Emily was pleasantly surprised. Of course, Jordan wanted Queen, but mom reminds her that you can't always win. When the two girls stood on stage waiting to hear which one took 1st place, it was amazing how much they looked like each other. They could have been twins.

This episode was a little different, because you usually have very contrasting contestants and parental approach. In this case, both Jordan and Emily were equally talented, equally beautiful, and had sensible moms that both coached, supported, and consoled as those roles became necessary.

Neither mom is overly harsh, but Emily and mom do fight somewhat during practice sessions.It's nothing major and Emily does have to do her part if she wants to participate in these pageants. Jordan's mom is more in the "Keep Jordan Happy" frame of mind. Jordan is strong willed, but can also be convinced by her mom and coach, with some coaxing, to change her mind about things.

Both families seem to have a lot of fun preparing for these pageants, and enjoy spending time together as they prepare. Both mom's expect their girls to be good sports, and that's important.