Local woman wins Ms. Senior Nevada crown

Elaine Garrison belly danced during talent portion of competition

This year's Ms. Senior Nevada is Elaine Garrison, a Las Vegas woman who belly danced her way to the title at a June 8 pageant held at Harrah's Reno.

Contestants included Las Vegans Elsie Abbot, Veronica Galati, Marilyn Gray and Pat Schultz, Henderson resident Yvonne Cloutier, Hawthorne resident Ellen Blair, Reno resident Norma Byer and Carson City resident Alyce Dickson.

Jim Garrison waited anxiously watching his wife on stage as the awards were announced.

"I was scared to death, absolutely petrified," he said.

When Elaine Garrison took the title of Ms. Congeniality, she thought the contest was over.

"I thought of Sandra Bullock in the movie 'Miss Congeniality' and I thought, well, I blew it," she said. "But when they announced that I had won I saw my husband's mouth drop open, even from the back of the theater."

"She deserved it. She looked so beautiful, and she was wonderful," her husband said.

This is the second time Elaine Garrison has taken such a crown. As a teen she was named Miss Water Capades in El Paso, Texas. But she insisted that competition wasn't as challenging as this one.

"That was just a swimsuit contest. There was no talent, no interview, no nothing," she said. "My mother didn't even let me buy a new suit, so I just washed up one I had."

In contrast, the Ms. Senior Nevada and Ms. Senior America pageants do not require contestants to stroll down the stage attired in swimsuits. But talent is a necessity.

Garrison's belly dancing is a skill she's worked on for years. She grew up performing as a folk dancer. The local woman is Greek all the way, on both sides of her family tree.

She picked up belly dancing in 1971 while she was still living in Oklahoma. The dancer taught folk dancing at a local YMCA. She had an interest in belly dancing, so she encouraged the gym to hire a new instructor to teach the dance style.

"Belly dancing was the new big thing. We were right in the heart of the Bible belt so we had to convince them it was good exercise for women," she said. "That was the only way we could get it passed."

Dancers in the class had to be covered from neck to toe, but Garrison said it was well worth it to learn a style of dance she's kept up until today.

Once the style came naturally, the then-30-year-old woman made up her own costumes and belly danced her way across the country performing in San Francisco, Dallas, Ohio and Florida.

In Las Vegas, Garrison danced at the Marrakech Restaurant when it was still located across from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"I was a little long in the tooth by the time I danced at the Marrakech," she said.

When she hit age 50, Garrison gave up belly dancing and picked up tap. She joined a group run by local dancer Marie Garn in 1991.

"I'd never taken tap before. I did it as soon as I could. They said I had to be 50 to join the group," Garrison said.

In addition to dancing, the senior performs other local productions, frequently contributing to performances of the Egg & I's "Marriage Can Be Murder" dinner theater.

Garrison had never considered trying out for Ms. Senior Nevada. She met title holder Marlene Koppenhaver at a tap dancing performance. The two talked, and last year's queen convinced Garrison to give it a shot. The dancer took a brush-up course in belly dancing at UNLV.

"It was absolutely terrific even though I was the oldest student in the class," she said.

Garrison wore out the floors practicing in her southeast Las Vegas area home and lost a few pounds to get her performance perfect.

"I thought I'd just go and try to have a good time and give it my best shot," she said.

Once the votes were tallied. Garrison came out on top with Yvonne Cloutier as first runner up, Marilyn Gray as second runner up, Barbra Grove in third and Elsie Abbot in fourth.

Garrison will go on to the Ms. Senior America pageant in November, also to be held in Reno. There, she'll face contestants from 40 states.

"And I think she'll win that one too," Jim Garrison predicted. "She's always been a beauty queen to me."


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