Mr. Amador introduces pageant participants with holiday dance

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Eva Grove

Throughout the year, the ten Mr. Amador boys will be working to raise funds for the George Mark Children’s House.

Zaynah Shah, AVT Editor-in-Chief

Marking the start to the annual Mr. Amador male beauty pageant, the ten nominated boys introduced themselves and performed a holiday themed dance sequence yesterday at lunch.

“When choreographing this dance, we wanted to incorporate a little of the holiday spirit because we are entering into December, so we started off slow in this nice little Christmas-y, girly-ish style, and then we transitioned halfway through to a more upbeat dance to get the crowd going,” said dance coordinator Sydney Queen (‘24).

With local fundraising activities throughout the year, the pageant raises money for the George Mark Children’s House and ends with a grand performance in April. This year, the Mr. Amador boys are seniors Brady Nassar (’23), Elliot Green (’23), Brandon Scherer (’23), Oliver De La Torre (’23), and Sam Montoya (’23); juniors Harsha Kumar (’24), Luke Rathjen (’24), and Nishant Doss (’24); and sophomores David Fortes (’25), and Max Riter (’25)

“It’s a really special program I have been a part of for three years, and I’ve really enjoyed being a part of it. We’ve had a lot of practice working with the program, the boys have spent a lot of time preparing, and the directors have done a lot behind the scenes,” said show coordinator and former Mr. Amador contestant Suvir Kheny (‘23)

Having kept their participation in the program a secret, the boys practiced off campus for their performance over the last three weeks. To end their anonymity, the ten nominees entered the stage from a Black Tie van as show coordinators Aubrie Asbery (‘23), Celeste Murphy (‘23), and Kheny announced their names. 

“I didn’t really expect the tension and anxiety I had today. I thought people would space out during lunch and continue doing what they were doing, but there were a lot of people watching. It was exciting and kind of a big thing,” said Kumar.

As the overall theme is yet to be released along with each boys’ individual roles, the lunch event was meant to provide a peek into what can be expected from Mr. Amador throughout the next few months.

“I’m hoping that audiences were able to retain the personalities of the boys, their energies, and the reason that they were selected to be Mr. Amador. I hope they understand from the performance how much the boys have put into this show and all of their dedication and hard work to the program,” said Queen.

To find more Mr. Amador updates and information, check out their instagram account.

 

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  • Throughout the year, the ten Mr. Amador boys will be working to raise funds for the George Mark Children’s House.

  • To set the scene, the contestants showed up in a Black Tie bus with a personal chauffeur.

  • One by one the pageant contestants entered and were introduced. Each contestant was cheered for and applauded by the students.

  • As the list of introduction wrapped up, the contestants lined up for a high-five chain for the last few boys. They all donned red Santa hats with matching suspenders to get into the holiday spirit.

  • While waiting for the music to play, the contestants lined up for the beginning pose of their dance, “Jingle Bell Rock.” They received laughs from the student audience as they waited for the slightly delayed music to start.

  • The contestants demonstrated their dance moves, choreographed by Sydney Queen (‘24) and Elyse Hockaday (‘23), the dance coordinators for Mr. Amador.

  • Garnering awe from the audience, Oliver de la Torre (’23) and Brady Nassar (’23) can be seen doing “the worm” as one of their solos for the performance.

  • To conclude the performance, the boys threw their Santa hats into the air and smiled as the audience cheered and clapped.

  • Once the dance had come to an end, the contestants went in for a group hug to celebrate their success.