Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

The16 finalists, in the Mini Miss Jamaica pageant, pose for the camera. - photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

Sassy, oozing pure sugar and saying the darnest things, the Mini Miss Jamaica Eliminations and sashing contestants left the crowd with an 'ahhh' inspiring feeling last Sunday at the Hilton Kingston hotel.

Despite a late start, the show ran smoothly for the rest of the night. The girls, some as young as five years old, sashayed down the catwalk with attitude as the audience clapped them along. The little misses came out in gym wear first, giving a mini introduction as to who they were, who they admired, and why. Some of the girls spoke eloquently, with pure confidence; most of them wanted to be lawyers, doctors, models and teachers.

Following the introductions was a performance from the JCDC's gold medalist in speech Tyrec Smith. The young man came out dressed to the T in a black suit with a red shirt and a huge black hat. He performed the ultimate Martin Luther King speech, his powerful voice booming I have a Dream. As the emcee pointed out, he looked like a young Marcus Garvey.

Burst of sunshine

Talent wise the girls were a burst of sunshine as they gave some original pieces. An absolutely adorable Shania Edwards started off the talent section with a poignant song crying "whe daddy deh?". Another standout was Shadee Richards who did a humorous skit and eventually broke out in dance.

Monique Monchiffe did a poem Chat is Love by Helen Rice, Ivona Chang did a skit in a very believable laid back manner, doing a dance number with moves like 'Swing it weh' and 'Willie Bounce'. Nadine Dixon did a dance to If I Could Reach, she has obviously done dancing before as she executed ballet movements to almost perfection.

After the talent section, the girls showed off their evening wear. They were elegantly dressed in heels, gloves, sparkles, the whole works. Perhaps, the most interesting section for the night was the question and answer segment. Each girl answered two questions ranging from history, culture and politics. Some audience members could be heard complaining that some questions were too hard, for not even they knew the answers.

Some laughter

Shadey Thorney does dub poetry, pleading to let go the guns at the Mini Miss Jamaica Eliminations.

However the organisers claimed some questions were harder for the champions of various schools. The question section, however, did provide some laughter for the audience members. One example was for the question: Name two female singers in Jamaica? The young lady responded "Whitney Houston and Britney Spears."

At the end of the day 14 finalists were selected for the coronation on December 29.

The emcee encouraged the crowd to cheer for those girls who didn't qualify, as many were seen looking tearful and sad. A successful night ended with a comedic performance from Orville Halls' Dance Xpressions.

The finalists are as follows: Racquel Hall - Miss Payless Fashion, Monique Monchiffe - Miss Mother's Learning Centre, Ivona Chang - Miss Capital Betting, Tashay Myers - Miss Town Center Planning, Shamone King - Miss Kid's Block, Camille Smille - Miss Smille's Inc, Shadee Richards - Miss Fay's on Wheels, Kimberly Salmone - Miss Nursing Institute, Nadine Dixon - Miss Ultimate Jamaica, Shadey Thorney - Miss Empathy Funeral Home, Celine DeCombra - Miss L.S.J Ltd., Ayisha Shingleton - Miss J Sin's Promotion, Whitney Baker- Miss Town Center, Gabrielle Willlams - Miss Portmore Gas.