It's a good day to be a New Yorker! Miss New York has taken the back-to-back title as Miss America. Mallory Fagan crowned Nina Davuluri Sunday night. The competition was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, for the first time since 2004. The pageant orginated in the same city in 1921. Winning didn't come easy and preparing for the pageant was even harder as this might have been the most drama-filled, jaw-dropping competition yet.
Nina Davulari is a 24-year-old from Fayetteville, NY. She was born in Syracuse and is of Indian decent. Her family moved to Oklahoma at the age of four and when she was ten-years-old she moved to Michigan. There she won the title of Miss Michigan Teen. Nina moved back to New York two years ago and competed for Miss New York winning the title after competing a second time.
In an interview with Syracuse.com, she talked about her classical Bollywood dance routine, which she performed during the competition. Nina worked with So You Think You Can Dance choreographer Nakul Dev Mahajan who has had 15 years of Bollywood dance training.
Davuluri also wore a zebra print bikini during the swimsuit preliminary and an elegant, form flattering yellow dress for the evening gown section. Although it's been a busy week, Nina said she's been having so much fun. "We've been up at 5 a.m. every day and go until 11:30 p.m.," she shared.
Nina proved she was not all beauty and had brains, too, when she was asked by Carla Hall about Julie Chen's decision to have plastic surgery to make her eyes look less Asian. Nina answered confidently saying, "I don't agree with plastic surgery, however I can understand that from a standpoint. More importantly I've always viewed Miss America as the girl next door. And Miss America is always evolving... I wouldn't want to change someone's looks. Be confident in who you are."
Even when Nina Davulari missed her cue tonight when she was called up to perform her bollywood dance, she still impressed. Host Lara Spencer announced, "Miss New York, you are up... Miss New York, you are up!" and a confused Nina got up on stage after hearing her name a second time. She then dazzled audience with her dance skills. The confusion didn't stop her from taking home the crown.
This year's Miss America pageant was one of the most talked about competitions. For starters, Miss Kansas Theresa Vail is a US Army Sargeant and the first competitor to openly reveal her tattoos. According to The Washington Post, Miss Florida, Myrrhanda Jones, tore her knee ligament during the preliminary talent rehearsal and competed with a knee brace during the live show. Lastly, Miss Iowa made history being the first woman to compete with a disability--she only has half an arm.
Congrats to our new Miss America!
Image Credit:Nina Davuluri Facebook Page