Miss International Andrea Rubio conducts ‘pasarela’ training with 2024 delegates

Reigning Miss International Andrea Rubio/ARMIN P. ADINA

As a pageant candidate, being in the presence of the reigning queen whose crown you aspire to inherit is a thrilling moment. But what more if the incumbent titleholder helps raise your competitive advantage?

This was what happened when reigning Miss International Andrea Rubio conducted a “pasarela” (pageant walk) session with the delegates of this year’s competition.

In a video shared by online pageant portal Missosology, the Venezuelan beauty was seen in an all-black ensemble showing the delegates how to effectively walk in heels.

Rubio also shared several more tips on how to improve the ladies’ on-stage presentation, telling them how they should sway their hips properly and swing their arms, and reminding them to smile to the audience.

Customarily, the reigning queens only provide inspirational talks to the ladies aspiring to earn the crown, and seldom do people see the incumbent titleholders holding pageant crash courses.

For many pageant observers, the Miss International pageant is known for having the ladies parade in a more demure manner, less flamboyantly than in the other competitions. But in Rubio’s training session with the ladies, it appears that the global tilt is planning to shed off such image.

This year’s competition has already shared several changes from the way Miss International had been conducting the competition every year. For one, the contest will no longer have all the participants parading in swimsuits and gowns.

Twenty semifinalists will be announced, which will include popular voting winners, who will move to the swimsuit and gown rounds of the contest. In the past, all candidates take part in the two segments.

The on-stage swimsuit competition will also return this year. Last year, the Miss International pageant opted to have the ladies’ swimsuit presentation on video only, then shown on the LED screen in the finale show.

A national costume show was also separately held this year, whereas in the previous editions the ladies’ costumes were only seen during the opening segment of the finale show.

The preliminary evaluation previously conducted behind closed doors will now be open to the public for the first time ever. The event will be held at the Professional University of Beauty and Wellness in Yokohama, south of Tokyo.

Rubio, the ninth Venezuelan woman to receive the title, will crown her successor at the end of the coronation show at the Tokyo Dome City Hall on Nov. 12. Binibining Pilipinas Angelica Lopez is hoping to post the Philippines’ seventh victory in the competition.