There was whooping and hollering, dancing and singing. The crowd was rowdy and cheering and applause echoed through Cecilian Hall on October 6, 2006, as 10 couples participated in the talent competition, king and queen of the Hill.
�This year was the third year the pageant was offered,� said Jaimie Steel, director of activities and commuter life. �The first year was much smaller in which only six couples participated in. Last year, only one couple was willing to perform, so the show was cancelled. However, this year, I believe it was very successful with the ten couples we had. The crowd was much livelier and it just seemed like everyone had fun,� Steel said.
By Tiffany Gilbert,
Contributor
There was whooping and hollering, dancing and singing. The crowd was rowdy and cheering and applause echoed through Cecilian Hall on October 6, 2006, as 10 couples participated in the talent competition, king and queen of the Hill.
�This year was the third year the pageant was offered,� said Jaimie Steel, director of activities and commuter life. �The first year was much smaller in which only six couples participated in. Last year, only one couple was willing to perform, so the show was cancelled. However, this year, I believe it was very successful with the ten couples we had. The crowd was much livelier and it just seemed like everyone had fun,� Steel said.
In order to enter the contest, the couples must have been active in a club or organization. The club sponsored the participant by paying the entrance fee of $10, which is collected from every organization and given to the winners.
At the beginning of the contest, the couples modeled their formal wear then answered questions which they chose at random from a basket. The third section of the show was the talent competition. Talents ranging from Salsa dancing to farming skills were presented to the audience.
The first couple was Makalia Francis, a junior, and Igor Dutina, a sophomore. Their talent consisted of baton twirling and Salsa dancing. Couple number two was Niki Stasik, a sophomore, and Steve Gumpf, a senior. They humorously demonstrated how to milk a cow. The third couple was DenaMarie Ercolani, a sophomore, and Andrew Lonigro, a sophomore. They performed a duet together. Couple number four, Mauren Masur, a sophomore, and Greg Sell, a freshman, danced together on stage. The fifth couple, Nikki Cormier, a senior, and Aaron Benson, a junior, tipped soccer balls off their heads.
Couple number six, Erin Mitchell, a sophomore, and Jason Crighton, a sophomore, performed a Salsa dance. The seventh couple Stephanie Kattera, a senior, and Mark Clark, a freshman, performed a piano duet. Couple number eight Elyse Branam, a sophomore, and Doug Krivda, a sophomore, performed a duet from the movie �Grease.� The ninth couple, Ashley McKoy, a senior, and Jarrett Highsmith, a sophomore, played the piano and sang a song. The last couple, Emily Heinicka, a freshman, and Brian Blasko, a senior, performed a skit and sang.
�The competition was really fun but hard work, because of classes, cheerleading, and other activities going on,� Masur, said, �It was hard to find time to practice, but I would do it again.�
�The Salsa dancing was a lot of fun, and we chose it because we figured I�d be easy to flip and it was really fun,� said Mitchell.
Talking about their performance, Blasko said, �I�m so used to goofing around so I thought I�d bring some of it back.�
The five judges were Meredith Haber, a junior, Rachel Ramsey, a senior, Chris Horigan, a sophomore, Andrew Werkmeister, a freshman, and Becky Campbell, the director of career development.
�What I looked for in this competition was originality, creativity, humor, and seriousness as well,� said Haber.
McKoy and Highsmith were crowned king and queen the next day at the football game at Offutt Field in Greensburg.
The judges said they exceeded the limits in fashion, question-and-answer, audience appeal, the talent portion, and in representing SHU.
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