Pageant News Bureau

P a g e a n t N e w s B u r e a u

Junior Miss competitor Katelyn Andrews does stretching exercises.

Have you hugged
a dancer today?

Photos by Joe Whiteko / PNB

Think a minute. What was the first thing that came to mind when we asked that question? Was it a warm, sentimental, lump-in-the-throat feeling, or were you groping for a punch line? (No, that dancer was hugging me!" . . . "Yeah, but don't tell my wife. Ha, ha, ha!")

Kendra Pelletier, a former Talented Teen winner whose older sister is also a pageant star, leaps with abandon.

Dancing is dynamic. Great dancing can even be awe-inspiring. It can't be faked. (No lip-synching here.) But today, fewer dancers than ever are leaping into stardom.

Somebody called it "the Whitney Houstonization of show business." There are a lot of singers out there, and though some are good, too many follow the herd, relying on lung power and manufactured emotion rather than any really distinctive style.

Dancers, as distinctive as they are, don't generate the buzz they once did. And more and more, even in the pageant world, the glory of dance is being devalued.

Katelyn Andrews (above) takes to the air, while Kendra Pelletier practices a routine.

"Dancers seem to work the hardest at their art, yet they're not rewarded for their efforts in the same way singers and musicians are," one pageant fan wrote in a recent note to PNB. "Although there were 21 contestants at this year's Miss America Pageant whose talent included dance, none of the top 10 finalists were dancers."

What to do about this? Obviously, no commentary can change the world, but perhaps pictures can. Look at these aspiring beauty queens, training their bodies for hours on end, risking injury, sometimes feeling exhausted. The culmination of their efforts will be a performance in which they make everything look easy. But it's never easy.

Kendra Pelletier, pageant hopeful Kia Alford (center) and Teen Miss Georgia contestant Christie Doss kick in unison.

From left, Mary Francis Doss (blue leotard), a Talented Miss winner, Christie Doss, Katelyn Andrews and Megan Ulrich (red leotard), a Junior Miss competitor, limber up.

A popular song calls for "a little less conversation, a little more action." Perhaps in pageants, we need a little less vocalizing and a bit more footwork. We would gladly trade an army of bad singers for a few more good dancers.

You don't have to hug a dancer (unless it's one you know.) But you could at least applaud, especially if you're at a pageant.

Editor's note: PNB extends special thanks to Cherri Fustino, owner of the Centre Stage School of Dance in Cobb County, Ga., which opened its doors for this pictorial.

P a g e a n t N e w s B u r e a u

Have you huggeda dancer today?

Photos by Joe Whiteko / PNB

Have you hugged
a dancer today?