“Dartmouth’s Finest” gets first female winner
Mar 21, 2022
Mia Carter is crowned “Dartmouth’s Finest” at the end of the annual Dartmouth High senior pageant on Friday, March 18. Photos by: Morgan Beard
Charlie Fairfax does his best Gene Kelly impression in a rendition of “Singing in the Rain” that took an avant-garde turn when it was abruptly replaced by three Spidermen dancing to Rihanna’s “Umbrella.”
Kat Charrier (left) and Mia Carter (right) team up for a dance number.
William Chau cooks up steak tacos for the hungry judges, even making a vegan option for one judge.
Kat Charrier lip syncs along to Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me.”
Keegan Humason hypes up the crowd while lip syncing to a Katy Perry song.
It was a night to remember on Friday, March 18 as Dartmouth High’s most impressive seniors took the stage to compete for the title of “Dartmouth’s Finest.”
The winner of the annual pageant was Mia Carter, who wowed the judges with her energetic dance moves and compassionate appeal for mental health awareness during the question and answer portion.
She is the first woman to win the competition since it was adapted from Mr. Dartmouth to Dartmouth’s Finest three years ago.
“I feel very honored to be the first woman to ever win and to have three women up there [in the final five],” she said. “Any of us could have won.”
In regards to her answer about young people and mental health, Carter said the issue was something she feels strongly about as she has struggled with it herself at times.
“I’ve personally dealt with mental health for many, many years,” she said, adding that she “got through it with the help of my family, friends, and therapist” and now feels “better than ever.”
The competition included formal and casual dress segments, as well as a talent show and the question and answer portion. The show also featured group dance numbers and pre-recorded “car karaoke” videos that kept the audience entertained between segments and while the judges’ scores were being compiled.
Among the talents on display were singers, dancers, and even a local-access style live cooking demonstration in which contestant William Chau took the judges on a flavorful journey to “Chau Town” with his homemade steak tacos.
“I’ve been cooking since I was 10 years old,” he said as he cooked pre-marinated steak strips on a hotplate on stage. “My mom and sisters used to say I played with pots and pans as a kid.”
Like previous years, the show was a collaboration between the junior and senior classes, with the juniors doing all the behind-the-scenes work and the seniors putting on the show.
Proceeds from the event will go to the junior class fund.
Junior class advisor Jesse Grieve, who helped plan and put on the show with her co-adviser Tara Kearney, said afterward that she was very happy with how everything turned out but she couldn’t pick a favorite act.
“I think they all did great,” she said. “Everyone was equally fantastic.”
