A Backstage Perspective: Ms International 2012

Time for a peek behind the curtains Dear Readers...

Have you ever wondered what it is like back stage at a major Modeling event?

I was fortunate enough to be there today during one of the most prestigious awards that can be attained in the Second Life modeling world - The CWS Ms International Contest.  At stake was over 200,000 Lindens in prize money.  I was there to entertain, to dance in two numbers while the main players changed between major portions of the show.  A small part, to be sure in the overall scheme of things - but what lessons I learned today!

The intensity back stage is incredible.  A group of talented, beautiful women competing intensely, yet chatting with each other.  Some told jokes to release some of the stress.  Others were all business. the focus... that was it... their collective focus was incredible to see.  To those of us back stage, the auxiliary players in this show, it was like seeing the world's finest race horses grouped together. Their coats gleaming in the lights, their movements decisive and measured.  Professionals.  That is what they conveyed... A deeply honed professionalism.  And as such experts often do, they made it look easy.

But the very next thought is - WOW! How did Suzie do that?  How did Janet make that stage?  Where did Yuna come up with the idea to perform a Japanese folk dance?  The intense creativity on display was nothing short of amazing.  It truly is Second Life at it's best.  And that is one of the things I enjoy most about being part of the CWS family - the talent on display at these events is incredible.

Creativity.  It's a word that evokes so many mental images - Art, Music, Design, Styling.  In the case of this contest it was the blending of all of those elements into a well-honed symphony of color, and movement and beauty that at some points simply took the viewer's breath away.

I was a dancer.  Now that may not seem much with all the aspects of this show taken together.  But, from the perspective of one of those performers it was a well done, exceptionally fun thing to do.  The craft of the CWS Instructors whose dream it was to design this portion of the show - Tiffany and Laylah - was nothing less than superb.  Imagine what it would take to get 7 women attired properly and dancing at the same time.  Then do that in an environment that is trying it's best to slow everyone down and prevent any semblance of synchronization.  Yikes!

Yet, it happened.  Now, it's hard for me to judge how well we did.  I was, after all, just making sure that I moved to the right place at the right time.  But the people who saw our effort and commented on it to me after the show were uniform in their praise.  And that made it all worthwhile for me.

There were 5 main prizes awarded during the Ms International Pageant:  Ms Photogenic, Best Creative Talent and then the three top awards.

Ms Photogenic went to Suzie Marenwolf, representing Australia and she was indeed incredibly beautiful during all portions of the pageant.  From her riding a Kangaroo out to sing Waltzing Matilda in western wear, to her delicate gown, she truly shone like a star all evening.  Here she is picking up her award:

Note the gossamer gown and the beautifully conceived butterfly design.  This picture doesn't come close to conveying how this gown moved and flowed as Suzie walked. Truly a work of art.

The next award was for Best Creative Talent.  Now as I said, I only got to watch the talent portion from back stage, but what I recall most about Sunrae's set was that an Egyptian temple seemed to emerge from the stage.  Seeing that took my breath away.  I can only imagine how she looked performing her belly dance, but I saw her costume and it was just stunningly beautiful. This how Sunrae Suntzu looked after receiving her award:

 
One of the sad facts about a competition like this is that there can only be a few real winners - no matter how many actually did compete.  Being a judge for this particular show had to be the hardest job i can think of because all of the finalists were so great.

Janet Brink was incredible throughout the entire show, her talent offering was exceptionally well-polished and presented.  The incredible red gown she wore was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen.  Kiralyn came out on a float for her talent exhibition!  It was a wild thing to see - watching that float move down the runway. Brazilians would have been proud to see her perform.  Ms Egypt, Sunrae Suntsu won a couple of prizes tonight.  Sunrae's attention to detail was incredible.

I've been fortunate to attend several of these events since joining CWS, but I have to say that Ms International is in a class by itself.

The final standings were:

Ms International 2012Janet Brink Ms Panama

1st Runner up

Ms Brazil -Kiralyn Destiny

2nd Runner Up

Ms Egypt - Sunrae Suntzu

Ms Photogenic

Ms Australia -Suzie Marenwolf

Best Creative Talent

Ms Egypt - Sunrae Suntzu

If you have an opportunity to attend one of these events at the CWS complex, take the time to see it.  You will be as stunned as I was by the level of excellence shown by all the competitors.