After cutting her teeth on dance and figure skating competitions, 13-year old Avery Lagimodiere is preparing to enter a whole new kind of contest through the 2018 Miss Teen Canada Globe pageant.
While this Grade 7 student from Burntwood Elementary has never entered a pageant before, she’s been getting lots of practice after answering an open casting call three years ago.
“In the summer of 2015 we just happen to come across this ad on Facebook regarding auditions in Winnipeg,” said Colleen Lagimodiere, Avery’s mother.
“It’s something she’s always expressed interest about, but we just couldn’t find the means to get all the way to Los Angeles or wherever to find what she was looking for.”
Avery didn’t make the final cut for that initial acting role. However, she still made a lot of important connections with people in the industry, who were able to provide her with training opportunities to help learn the ins and outs of modelling, acting and runway work.
From there, Avery’s signed on with the talent agency Panache Management, based out of Winnipeg, and has been on the look-out for her first official acting/modelling gig ever since.
“There was a lot of sending your resumes, sending head shots, updating resumes, updating headshots,” said Colleen. “You have to really work to get yourself out there and that’s what we’ve been doing.”
Even though Avery is at a geographic disadvantage, with most auditions being a minimum eight-hour drive away, Colleen said she finally caught a break when one of the past delegates of the Miss Teen Canada Globe contacted her via email, suggesting that she would be a good fit for the competition.
“So we just sent her name and all her information and then they contacted us and said they would set up an interview,” said Colleen. “She had an phone interview with these people from Toronto and then she passed her interview and that’s how this all started.”
As such, the upcoming Miss Teen Canada Globe pageant, which is set to take place Aug. 16−26 in Toronto, represents Avery’s first big shot at breaking into the industry and showing off all that’s she’s learned over the last couple years.
“I’d like to get more experience and learn stuff from this and get my career started and really get my name out there,” she said. “And I’d like to be a role model for Aboriginal girls my age, show them not to be scared to go out and be you.”
In terms of the competition itself, each participant will be judged based on traditional pageant criteria, such as evening gown attire, swimsuit attire, interview skills and the showcasing of a unique talent.
“I’m a little nervous, to be honest,” said Avery. “But I’ve spoken with the winner from last year and she’s given me some tips, so I kind of know what to expect now, so I’m not as scared as I thought I would be.”
