THE JOURNEY
How sharper than a serpents tooth it is to have a thankless child.
“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.”
The journey began in the Month of November 2009, when Mr. Eversley Liburd contacted me via Facebook and asked me if I was interested in taking part in a Fashion Show, that was going to be held in the World’s home of Fashion, New York City. I accepted this offer because I take advantage of every opportunity that will have a positive impact on my life. I was not aware of Mr. Liburd’s intentions at this point; he was scouting for a young, talented woman to represent the Federation for the 2010 Miss World Pageant. My trip to the Big Apple for the JRG Fashion Show was a life changing experience. The Fashion show was held at Brooklyn’s Public Library. I was fascinated how a Library could have transformed into a runway in order to host a Fashion Show. The Fashion Show was hosted by Lu Sierra. Top designers from around the Caribbean and the US, models from America’s next Top Model and all throughout the Nation made the night a memorable one.
In January of this year, Mr. Liburd told me that he was interested in my knowledge and passion about pageantry and asked me to enter the Miss World Pageant in October. Pageantry is not only my passion but the key to happiness and invention of new ideas; culture. From the tender age of 8 I looked at Miss Universe and Miss World, never thinking I would enter either one. I will like to say thank you to Sandra Berridge who constantly encouraged me to enter the National Carnival Queen Pageant. It was from since then I furthered my education and gained more love for pageantry. I once again accepted Mr. Liburd’s invitation, and decided to continue to walk in the footsteps of my god mother who entered back in 1988, Haley Cassius. I did not get the chance to rep my Federation in the Miss Carival or Jaycee’s Pageant like she did, but did get to experience the atmosphere when I chaperoned Miss Samantha Boone during her reign.
It was from here onwards that Joan Millard, Amoy of Amoy’s Beauty Salon, Lynette Williams and the man behind it all, Eversley Liburd began planning for my journey. After entering the Miss Caribbean World Pageant in March of 2010 and won Best Performing Talent, I gained more knowledge about competing amongst bigger countries; Puerto Rico and Guyana. It is completely different competing locally amongst 6 girls compared to competing with well known countries; they always get more publicity than smaller countries. I analyzed, evaluated and learned tips on how to stand out amongst 18 other beautiful contestants. This observation molded me, kept me alert and reminded me what to do in order to stand out amongst 114 young, talented women while in China; News Reporters, Model Agencies, Designers were everywhere.
Normally countries like Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Spain, Russia and England begin preparations for pageants of this status one full year in advance; however, I began the first week in June, when I went to New York for two weeks to train with Lu Sierra (Official Walk Consultant & Coach for Miss Universe & Miss USA and ELITE MODELS MANAGEMENT top talent). I felt blessed to be coached by one of the most respected persons in the field of pageantry. Lu Sierra taught me everything I needed to know, from how to maintain confidence, have a high self esteem, wardrobe tips, charming tips, modeling tips, hair tips and even smiling tips. I treasured every split second I had with her. Her sophistication made me feel aware of the many possibilities life has to offer despite obstacles and challenges. Her tone of voice mesmerized me to feel free to do what you believe in and forget all the negative comments people will have.
The Press Release informing the Public that I will be entering the Pageant was revealed in June. I was in the Federation during this time and I began training and raising funds. I held a dance workshop entitled “I Feel Like Dancing” which was a tremendous success. I will like to say Thank you to the parents, dancers, my assistants Nerissa Mourillon and Kerry Anne Pinard, Kewani Joseph, Vicki Williams, and the Anglican Church for making this event possible. Thank You!
During my time home, I learnt the skill of dancing Mockojumbie to prepare for the Traditional Dance Segment. This was a very hilarious experience because I just kept falling. I bragged that this will be an easy task because I have balance as a dancer, but it sure wasn’t. When my instructor met me the first time he laughed and said we got a lot of work to do, I asked why and he replied, “You foot dem small small well need some muscle”. After the first 3 practices I was walking like a pro. The words of encouragement from Pica aka Solider from Sandy Point gave me wisdom and confidence. To Pica and the Culture Doctor, Zack, Thank you. I also did my official photo shoot for the Miss World website while in St.Kitts and will like to thank everyone who voted for me on the many different sites. Darryl Charles, Angel’s Beauty Salon, Plush and Amoy, Thank you. I also organized a big fete entitled “Hot Summer Night” that was held at Club Kactus, which did not turn out as expected. Thank you to the sweetest bands in the Federation Grand Masters Band and Small Axe Band and to the hottest Dj’s and Selectors in the World, Evolution Sounds, Chalice Sounds, Sweet Sister Sensia and Tombstone Int’l. Googal Arts, Maurice Flanders, Altonia Springer, Laura Richardson, Lynelle Hodge, Williams Auto Rental and to all the persons that showed up, Thank you.
I returned to the States with a bag filled with hope and faith just waiting for businesses to come on board and assist with sponsorship, knowingly that this will not just only benefit me as an individual but the entire Federation; the Tourism Industry. LIME, Thank you for your support and for acknowledging my letter of sponsorship. It was a very difficult experience for the entire MWSNCO but good team work made this all possible. Thank you to, Mr. Mallalieu of American Airlines, for making my journey halfway across the world possible.
A special special Thank you to my mother; she continuously contacted many businesses to get donations. She was very successful in doing so and collected many donations from different businesses including: St.Kitts and Nevis Tourism Department, FEDEX, Island Hopper, Living De Life Jewelry, Cameron’s Art Gallery, KVK Enterprises, Fashion Traffic, Ashbury’s, Sugar Klothing, Sun Island Clothing, Brown Sugar, Paulette Caines and Samantha Boone. A special Thank you to Andre Phipps.
Counting down to the 30th of September, my date of departure, I was prepared and ready for action. The smell of competition blew in the air. I practiced and practiced my Jazz routine for Talent and my Mockojumbie routine for Traditional dance every evening after I got home from school. I walked back and forth in my apartment practicing “The Walk”; fierce eyes and a body language to die for. Thanking my two fashion consultants Fadil Imo and Kevin Morton, who organized my entire wardrobe and helped me packed even though the aim was not accomplished to have 2 suitcases in the end. Their choices made me stand out while in China. Thank you!
Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe. My entire trip was made possible because I had faith in all the following persons and they had faith in me: Eversley Liburd, Joan Millard, Amoy, Joh Imo, Fadil, Zinga and Johsiah Imo, Kevin Morton, Annette Berry, Jennifer Heflin, Percy, Claudette, Iris, Sinclere and Sonia Williams, Kymberlee Ward the entire Williams and Berry Family. Ozelle Martin, Yakima Daniel, Linda Watson, Imo Moses, Dexter Taylor, Verna Brown and Facebook fans, Thank you.
China here I come!! -I was ready to go and ended up with 3 bags, my stilts and a carry-on. At the airport in Wichita Falls the airport security and Customs Officers steered at my stilts (they were wrapped in black garbage bags). As they came to learn that I was entering the Miss World Pageant they were so fascinated about where I was from, the History of the Mockojumbie and wanted to know how difficult it was to walk on 6ft stilts. I travelled from Wichita Falls to Dallas to Los Angeles on the 30th of September, then from Chicago to Beijing on the 1st of October and arrived at 11:45pm on the 2nd of October.
1st day in China – My first assigned activity was to shoot my video profile clip, and had to be dressed and ready to go by 8am sharp! It was now onwards competition began, as well as judging. From rehearsals with Lu Sierra I learnt that judging begins from the time you step foot off the aircraft. After the video profile clip, I had to head straight to changing rooms to prepare for Traditional Dance. When I stepped in the Ball Room there they were; 100 + young women vying for the title of Miss World 2010. I enjoyed seeing the cultures of many different countries that were being displayed. It was now my turn after nearly 1hr and 30 mins. I was nervous; I wouldn’t be if I wasn’t human. The masquerade and clown music began to play and there I was, dancing away nearly 12ft in the air. The panel of judges clapped and cheered away, while the contestants steered with the look of amazement and fright on their faces. I was thrilled after my performance when the judges acknowledged me and told me they have never seen anything like this. I was so happy because this is the impression I wanted to give, something totally different. Thank you to my costume designer and seamstress, Dennis Richards and Wendy Grant. I made my mark in that segment and earned the name stilt walker from the judges throughout the entire pageant. Later on that afternoon was Talent Preliminaries. I did a Jazz piece, and here again I was acknowledged and received thumbs up. Many contestants continuously asked, “Where is St.Kitts and Nevis”. I answered many of them by briefing them about the location, our carnival, music festival and of course the food and people and then handed them a magazine.
While in Beijing we visited the Great Wall, Badachu Ancient Temple and The Bird Nest. There was a special performance by drummers and dancers at The Bird’s Nest. I enjoyed the show because I have never seen dancers in sync with each other even when the music changed nearly 4 times in 20 seconds. As a dancer I wish our dancers could have that discipline in class and on stage.
We left Beijing and travelled to Ordos-Inner Mongolia. During our time at Ordos we visited Qin Zhi Dao (grand gateway to famous ancient travel route), Genghis Khan and the Mongolian Tent. There was a special performance by the Mongolian horsemen, which was exciting. The food in Mongolia was not too tasty, as I was not use to tea being salted instead of sweetened or use to eating different parts of animals that I would never expect to be cooked and covered in different types of sauces. I tried it but it was not too appetizing.
Off to Shanghai- After travelling since 5 am, we finally reached to Shanghai around 3pm. As soon as we reached we had basically less than 1hr to get dressed up in gowns for a Welcome dinner. Time Management was very important during my time in China, for each morning basically began at 6am. We had to change about 3 times every day and always had to look our best, no matter how much time we were given to do so. During our stay in Shanghai we attended many functions: Night River Trip on Huangpu River, Shanghai World Expo, a Cocktail at Shanghai International Conference Centre, Trip to Yu Garden, and Welcome Dinners.
Sanya! - On 11th October we finally arrived in the only Tropical get away in China, Sanya. We arrived in Sanya about 2am and it took about 2 hrs to get to the hotel. When I arrived I was so excited. The air and scenery felt like Sweet SKB; there were coconut trees, birds chirping and the sound of waves rushing to the shore. After 3 days of resting in my suite, the Fast Tracks began.
Miss World Beach Beauty- This was the first Fast Track and each girl had to model in front of a panel of judges who then decided who would continue on to the semi-finals. Thank you to Petal Designs from Nevis, who provided me with swimsuits for this Segment. I did not make it to the semi-finals and Miss Puerto Rico won that segment.
Rehearsals- We began rehearsing basically every day for the Diamond Dance (Grand Finale) and sometimes spent 6 hrs rehearsing. You had to have had discipline during these sessions, because one can become very restless doing the same thing over and over and over. My best friends throughout this trip were Miss Zambia, Miss Tanzania, Miss. St. Lucia, Miss Trinidad and Tobago and Miss Sweden. We really made these rehearsals memorable with games and shared different life experiences. We also spent about 6-7 hrs rehearsing for China’s Fashion Show. The Fashion Show opened the elements of true fashion in a complete. The designs of the clothing were phenomenal; I wore a dress made entirely out of paper. When I saw it at first I thought it was a normal dress but it was really made from paper. Unbelievable! Miss Norway won the Miss World Top Model Award.
Sports- On the day of Sports Preliminaries, I geared up in the colors of my Flag. I completed each discipline. The next day during practice, they announced the names of the countries that made it to the Top 20 Finals for Miss World Fitness/Sportswoman. I was shocked when my name was called. The announcer asked that a special round of applause be given to me and announced that it was the 2nd time for my country to ever compete in this competition. On the day of the finals for Sports, we did an 80m dash, long jump and swimming. I came first in my group for the running. Overall I came 2nd in running. They announced that Miss Northern Ireland had the fastest time and Miss Wales had the 2nd fastest time and I went to back check because I know that was not correct. They corrected it and they apologized and announced that Miss Northern Ireland had the fastest time and Miss St.Kitts and Nevis had the 2nd fastest time. I finally asked for my time and Miss Northern Ireland won by 2 seconds. I came 3rd in my group for long-jump and second in my group for swimming. The last discipline was relay; in order for my team to win, I decided to take the last leg which was 160m. I wanted to have something to hang up with Miss World printed on it. I brought it home for Blue House. I received a gold medal and Blue House was the winning Sports Team for Miss World 2010. Miss Northern Ireland was the overall winner for this segment.
Talent- Those who made it through the first round for Talent were informed that they had to present to a panel of judges to continue on to the semi-finals. It was then I learnt that I had to perform my Jazz piece and my Mockojumbie piece for this section. The next day during rehearsals the Top 20 semifinalist were announced. My name was called and once again I was very shocked. I stood about 10 seconds before I could have stood up. . I was asked to do the Mockojumbie dance for my talent and I was now determined to learn how to hop on one foot. I looked at many clips on the net, critiqued it and got it after 2 days. On the evening of the Talent Show, the audience was thrilled with my performance. I hopped away 12ft in the air and maintained the faith by constantly repeating to myself “DO NOT FALL FATZ”. Miss Ireland walked away with the Miss World Talent Award.
After so many rehearsals the night that everyone was waiting for was here. The 60th Annual Miss World Pageant was ready to be broadcasted to the entire World. Upon arrival to the venue I spotted my flag blowing high in the sky. I was so proud. I said to myself, “We did it!” The pageant began and I was ready for action. This entire night was a night to remember. During the pageant they showed clips of the contestants during the entire journey in China. I was very pleased when I was shown about 5-6 times, I was shown talking at Genghis Khan, I was shown at the Great Wall hugging Miss St.Lucia while she was crying, I was shown during talent on my stilts dancing away and was shown bringing home the gold for Blue House (I was shocked when they voice over said and here is Miss. St.Kitts and Nevis bringing it home for her House). Thank you to Uzuri Designs, who designed and made all of my official gowns.
I did not make it to the Top 25 but I did make a mark for myself and my country and made my Franchise Holder, the Miss World St.Kitts and Nevis Executive Committee and my family and friends very proud.
My pre and post Miss World Pageant experience was a dream come through. There were many obstacles but I turned them into stepping stones. In life you should always leave room for disappointment. Never give up, strive for what it is you want and always be respectful to those who assisted you. Always remember “You don’t get to the top by being like everyone else”. It is important to treasure every moment when you are representing your country whether it be locally, regionally or internationally. It will benefit you, as well as your country. Always having a smile on your face even though everything is not the way you expected. Being positively inclined about accomplishing your dreams and aspirations is important in order to excel. I have met 114 very intelligent young women; I have learnt how to respect their cultures and their opinions on different topics.
To every young woman who has a passion for pageantry, “Competing in a beauty pageant is a vehicle to achieving your dreams. View you participation as a way to personal development, a way to gain valuable skills and become more successful. Pageants also provide an excellent platform to develop the communication skills necessary for future careers”. Character contributes to beauty. It fortifies a woman as her youth fades. A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, discipline, fortitude, and integrity can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful”. For more tips on Pageantry become a fan of Glittering Reign Pageantry Consultancy fan page on Facebook.
What’s next? I will be entering the Miss Universe Pageant in 2012 and I am looking forward to it.
I will be hosting a next dance workshop during the Christmas vacation. For more information e-mail me at fatishaimo@hotmail.com.
To continue the representation our Federation in the International arena of pageantry, someone will be sent annually to enter the Miss World Pageant. I am urging businesses to come on board and support the Miss World St.Kitts Nevis Organization in 2011.
Once again I will like to thank Eversly Liburd, Joan Millard, Amoy’s Beauty Salon and Lynette Williams for job well done. To my family, friends, sponsors, fans, supporters and media houses, Thank you!
