The annual Blue Devil Pageant

PHOTO: Blue Devils performing at the BDP.

By Naneh Grigor

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

The annual Blue Devil Pageant, or the BDP, was held. Six students competed in three rounds to be crowned the pageant winner. 

As the lights went down, all the contents ran onto the stage for a dance number to the song “Call Me Maybe.” As swiftly as they entered the stage, they ran off, and the show announcers, junior Allie Hubert and sophomore Dominic Corbett appeared.

They explained the rounds the audience would watch: the Catwalk, Questions, and Talent. Then, the judges made their way to the stage. 

“Nurse” Sean, Charles Haws, and Jessica Rasler—who entered with a hair flip as they took their seats in preparation for the show—said, “I’m feeling fabulous about tonight.” 

First up for the Catwalk round was senior Verane Ngassam, who shocked the crowd with her walk, followed by sophomore Jessica Salazar. “I thought it was elegant and sassy,” Haws said. 

Next up was senior Uma Armien Funkn, who left Nurse Sean with only a few words. “I felt served, and I felt like you left no crumbs, Uma,” he said. She had decided to join the pageant for a new opportunity to sing. “I’ve been meaning to get more involved in public performance at DHS, and senior year, I’ve been taking advantage of every opportunity to do that!” she said. 

Senior Michi Arias entered with her dance moves that played along with her song. Alfridah Kizito then stepped on the stage to strut her stuff. Lastly, Junior Mako Barrios left everyone but Rasler speechless with his Ken-themed walk. “Girl, that was everything,” she said. 

The questions round followed the catwalk portion, during which the judges asked each contestant a question. Ngassam was asked about her favorite food to cook, and she responded that it was diced-up ramen. 

Next, Salazar would choose to visit Colombia to visit family and friends she hasn’t seen in 2 years if she could travel anywhere. When Armien Funk was asked what movie she could watch over and over, she promptly responded with, “Dude, that’s a no-brainer, Titanic,”

Arisas’s bucket list goal is to graduate, and Kizito would choose to have dinner with Jesus.  

The pageant’s final round was the talent portion, where the students could display any skill of their choice. 

Ngassam illuminated the stage as the first act, singing “Crazy in Love” as the crowd clapped along. Each detail was thoroughly thought out for the entire show. “I wear a blazer with cool prints and a little black dress for the catwalk. I chose this outfit because I feel empowered and fashionable every time I wear a blazer, so I thought it’d be perfect for a runway walk. I wore an oversized football jersey and baggy jeans for the talent portion because it reminded me of Beyonce’s outfit on her last tour. I was singing one of her songs, so I thought it was fitting,” she said. 

Salazar then followed her lead with a dance number to a K-pop song. “I can’t dance at all. I thought that was sick and took guys. I was impressed,” Sean said. 

Then, the curtains revealed a piano for Armien Funks’s talent. The second the first note hit the piano, there was silence among the crowd as they waited to hear what would follow. “Her voice was smooth like butter. It took me to a very nice place, and I appreciated every note,” Haws said. 

Yet, there was a lot of work behind her performance. “My talent was very last minute— I decided on the song three days before the performance, so I spent a lot of time figuring out the piano part of the song and trying to make it sound natural,” Armien Funk said. 

Arias started her act in the crowd, entrancing the audience and judges immediately. “Any student who knows me knows that I love K-pop, so I’m living for these song choices,” Rasler said. 

Kizito followed with the song “One Step at a Time” as she dazed the crowd with glamour. Barrios stepped onto the stage next, ready to capture everyone’s attention with a show that no one in the audience was ready for. His dance constituted of backflips, a kip up, crowd work, and ending in a split. “That was attitude with a capital A,” Haws said. 

He even stunned the other contestants. “My hands down favorite part of the night was watching Mako perform. He knows how to command an audience and work the stage,” Ngassam said. 

In the end, Hulbert and Corbett called all the contestants on stage to perform a final dance to “Dance the Night Away” in their tutus. 

Last up on stage; everyone joined back for a final Barbie dance in tutus while the crowd awaited the judge’s decision.  

As they all filed back onto the stage, a drumroll started as Armien Funk was awarded the judges’ favorite with her song “Want Me” by Puma Blue, performed in the style of Alice Phoebe Lou. 

Another drumroll followed, and Barrios was awarded the crowd favorite. 

Each contestant was given a bouquet with the winners in their crown and sash, and cheers echoed in the audience as the curtains fell.