Irish Dancing her way to the Crown: Betty Thompson to crown a new Miss Oklahoma

Back in January, Irish dancers worldwide fell in love with Miss Oklahoma, Betty Thompson, as she competed for the 2012 Miss America crown. Betty was one of three Irish dancers in the running for the prestigious, four-pointed crown, along with Maria Cahill [Miss Delaware] and Katy Lovegreen [Miss Alaska]. She ended up one of the last two standing, and was first runner-up to Laura Kaelepper, Miss America 2012. She may not have won the crown, but she certainly became the Irish Dancers' Miss America! She stole our hearts, and walked away with a Preliminary Talent win, and $25,000 to further her education.

Love that Betty talks about the TCRG exam in this video, by Miss America's Sponsor, Express.

Irish dancers could not have asked for a better ambassador to our art form than Betty. She is beautiful, intelligent, personable, eloquent, and down-right adorable...not to mention talented to boot! Her Miss America talent was choreographed by fellow McTeggart Irish dancer [and World Champion!], Jason Hays. Set to "Warriors" from Lord of the Dance, Betty truly impressed the judges and wowed Irish dancers & audiences worldwide as she danced her heart out [and one of her mics right off her shoe] on the Miss America stage.  

Betty was simply stunning in her Miss America talent costume, but she can capture an audience in bare feet and a crown too! Here she is, at one of her many appearances as Miss Oklahoma: 

Irish dancing in a crown without shoes? Love it! #oldschool

This weekend, Betty will crown a new Miss Oklahoma. One of the 45 beautiful Miss Oklahoma hopefuls will certainly have some big shoes to fill! Best of luck to Betty, and thank you for representing all Irish dancers as you embodied style, service, scholarship, and success as Miss Oklahoma!

Betty & Jason dancing a duet June 7, 2012 at Miss Oklahoma preliminary competitions
....I can only imagine that it was phenomenal!  

 40th Anniversary Miss Oklahoma Scholarship Pageant

More from the Miss Oklahoma Scholarship Pageant & Betty:
Miss Oklahoma [official website]
Betty's Official Miss Oklahoma Blog
@BjtDancer [Betty on twitter]

Keep Dancing,
Moira 

Irish Dancing their way to the Crown: Miss America 2012

More than a handful of Irish Dancers have graced the Miss America stage over the years.  Not only are these young women beautiful, talented, and college educated, they clearly have the best talent ever. What audience doesn't LOVE when an Irish dancer walks out on stage? As a former pageant contestant and life-long Irish dancer, I always root for the few Irish dancers that are vying for the crown. In recent years, Miss Virigina 2010 and my state's own Miss Florida 2009 performed Irish dance as their Miss America talents. 

Miss Virginia 2010: Caitlin Uze

Miss Florida 2009: Rachael Todd

While I love the all Irish dancers and really enjoy seeing them compete for the prestigious Miss America crown, the 2012 Miss America Pageant marks an exciting milestone for Irish dancers. Instead of the occasional Irish dancer competing for the crown, three state titleholders will be performing an Irish dance as their talent! This year Miss Alaska, Miss Delaware, and Miss Oklahoma will be bringing the luck of the Irish all the way to Las Vegas for this year's pageant. I hope to see all three ladies when Miss America airs on ABC this Saturday, January 14th at 9pm! 

Miss Alaska 2011: Katy Lovegreen
Age: 21
Platform: Speak Out: Promoting Public Speaking and Debate Programs for Youth
Miss America Talent: Irish dance to "Stereo Love"
Dance Stats: Katy dances for Northern Lights Celtic Dancers, instructed by Pat Hall TCRG-ADCRG.
My Thoughts: Katy is a lovely dancer. I watched her perform at the 2010 National Sweetheart pageant in Hoopeston Illinois, where she was Miss Alaska's Sweetheart. Good luck Katy!  

Katy dancing at Miss America 2012

Miss Delaware 2011: Maria Cahill
Age: 20
Platform: Project 16-26: Drive Safe, Drive Smart
Miss America Talent: Irish dance to "Riverdance"
Dance Stats: Maria danced for the Burke-Conroy School of Irish Dance (Pittsburgh, PA) and currently dances for the Ryan-Kilcoyne School of Irish Dance in Delaware, where she is also a teacher. Maria is not only a world qualifier, but also placed 16th and 22nd at the World Championships! You can read more about Maria's experience in Irish dance at her Miss Delaware Blog. She also posted a great video of she and her 6 brothers and sisters performing together!
My Thoughts: Maria looks like the real deal to me. She's gorgeous, and placed at Worlds twice. What more could the judges want? I love the costume she wore at Miss America as well! The open back makes the dress contemporary. Love it! I really hope a video of her talent routine turns up on YouTube soon.  

Maria Dancing at Miss America 2012

I love the open back of her costume! 

Miss Oklahoma 2011: Betty Thompson 
***Preliminary Talent Winner, Miss America 2012***
Age: 23
Platform: Milk: It really does a body good
Miss America Talent: Irish dance to "Warriors" from Lord of the Dance

Dance Stats: Betty dances for the McTeggart Irish Dancers. She has competed in at the World Championships 5 times, as well as 4 times at the All-Irelands. Betty was also the first Oklahoman to come home with a medal from the All-Irelands! She has also performed with the Cheiftans, Eileen Ivers, and Natalie McMaster. Betty currently teaches private lessons, and plans to earn her TCRG in the future! 
My Thoughts: Betty has a legitimate chance of being crowned Miss America 2012. As a World's competitor and All-Ireland medal holder, she's clearly got technique to spare. On top of that, she looks to be the type of dancer that commands the stage. She is simultaneously cute as a button and stunning, in an All-American girl way. The judges have already shown they love her by awarding her a Preliminary Talent Award. She won a beautiful Miss America trophy and a $2,000 scholarship. I really hope to see Betty on TV Saturday night! Even better if the night ends with a crown atop her brunette locks. Below is a video of Betty and Preliminary swimsuit winner, Miss Texas, Kendall Morris, after winning their prelim awards at Miss America Wednesday night. You can watch Betty dancing a short portion of her routine and accepting her award. You can see her flawless technique even in those few moments! 

Betty was also interviewed by her local news after winning Miss Oklahoma, and can be seen dancing a bit here.

Betty dancing her WINNING
talent routine at Miss America 2012

Betty dancing at Miss Oklahoma...
Seriously, how lovely is she?

I love the creativity and stage presence that Miss America contestants bring to Irish dance, not to mention the fabulous costumes they all wear! Betty Thompson has already won a preliminary talent award, so her chances of being in the finals is off to a great start! Best of luck to all three Irish dancers competing for the crown this year! 


Don't forget to tune into the 2012 Miss America Pageant, this Saturday, January 14th at 9pm on ABC! 


- Moira


PS: I can't finish this post without wishing Miss Florida, Kristina Janola, best of luck as well! She might not be an Irish dancer, but boy is this girl talented! I've had the pleasure of meeting her through pageants in Florida. Not only is she beautiful, but also sweet and intelligent. Below is her winning performance at Miss Florida 2011.