Despite the cloudy and rainy weather this past Saturday afternoon, people came to the Bucknall Theater to watch the Precious and Rare Pageant hosted by the Alpha Lambda chapter of Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, Inc (SIA).
People walking in were given small bags of candy placed in tiny, golden plastic crowns, which were interwoven with the flowered vines on the Bucknall stage. These decorations were part of the pageant’s theme of “fairytale.”
They knew the show started when all four contestants had walked onto the stage one by one.
First up was Sankofa Benzo, a senior cybersecurity and networks major who represented the University of New Haven’s branch of the Women in Cybersecurity student chapter. Benzo strutted onto the stage, wearing a shimmering black dress with a halter neck.
Next up was Delianne Ayala-Ramos, a senior forensic science major who represented Alpha Phi Omega. Ayala-Ramos came onto the stage wearing a shimmering white dress with a sweetheart neckline, a small gold crown with leaves and gold ear cuffs with dangling metallic strings.
The third contestant on the stage was Aiya Chahid, a junior criminal justice major who represented the Muslim Student Association. Chahid wore a high-low black dress with small pink and red flowers on it.
The last contestant to come out was Ari Keelan, a first-year forensic science major. Keelan wore black tuxedo pants and a vest over a white button-down shirt and black tie.
After the introductions, there was a performance done by the Chargers K-pop Dance Crew. They all wore white and beige colored outfits while giving a synchronized and electrifying performance that reeled the audience in even further. Midway through the performance, five of the nine dancers left the main stage, allowing the remaining dancers to give it their all. At the end of the dance, the whole crew came back together to finish up.
Once the Chargers K-pop Dance Crew left the stage, the talent portion of the pageant had started with Ayala-Ramos giving a Bomba dance, which is a routine based in Puerto Rico. Ayala-Ramos had the Puerto Rican flag painted on her cheek and wore a navy blue, floral top with a white skirt, which she utilized for the Bomba dance by flaring it.
The next performance was a story told by Chahid, who recounted a humorous and dramatic tale of a wedding she had attended in Morocco, which involved distant family members fighting and said fights being broken up.
The third performance was Keelan, who sang “Same Sky” by the cast of Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies. Keelan’s voice was mesmerizing, but even better was their outfit, which consisted of a white button-down shirt and shimmering blue skirt that matched a night sky.
The final performance was spoken word poetry by Benzo. Lines such as “My yearning is delicate and fierce. Unyielding to the logical reasoning prostrated by the head, yielding only to the palpitations of my heart as if it was morse code trying to tell me all the ways you make my heart race,” were powerful, but Benzo amplified that with her acting. She would giggle at certain parts and quiet words at other moments to convey emotion.
During the break between the contestant performances and the question-and-answer session, there was a tap dance routine done by the Illuminate Dance Club, who wore matching jeans and red-orange shirts which added synchronicity to their group.
The question-and-answer session was combined with the best dressed category, which saw the contestants show off outfits relative to the fairytale theme while answering different questions per contestant. Some questions pertained to SIA such as when the organization was founded on campus to personal questions such as what would be one thing that they would change about themselves.
When it came to the costumes, each contestant had put much effort into their respective looks.
Benzo wore a halter neck white gown with a sweetheart neckline and gold threading and flowers embroidered onto the dress.
Up next was Ayala-Ramos, who wore a plain white dress and had flowered vines painted onto her arms and chest, which was accompanied nicely with a green and black scepter and a flower crown.
The next contestant was Chahid, who wore a gold off the shoulder gown while holding books and a red rose, which is reminiscent of Belle from Beauty and the Beast.
The final contestant of the last category was Keelan, who wore a light gold dress and a green capelet, which paired nicely with an antler crown with red, purple and pink flowers attached.
Afterward, there was a dance performance by three members of SIA, who were animated and electrifying throughout their routine.
Once the dance was over, the event went straight into winner placements, which were decided by the pageant judges and audience through a form.
In fourth place was Benzo; in third place was Keelan; in second place was Ayala-Ramos; and the first place winner was Chahid.
