Swift answers, iconic ‘lava’ walk: How Catriona trained for Miss Universe

BANGKOK, Thailand —  It took almost 12 months for Catriona Gray to make it to the Miss Universe pageant came out of it with the coveted international title.

Her performance at the 67th Miss Universe was praised for being a standout from start to finish. She was lauded for her iconic “lava walk” at the preliminary competition on December 13 complete with a slow-motion twirl. She also gave confident, swift, precise answers during the question-and-answer rounds. What's more, she made it look like she was having a good time.

One of her trainers, Carlos Buendia Jr., said Gray achieved her pageant prowess through her innate talent and training.

Buendia likened Gray’s training to a story that has a beginning, middle and end.

'Beginning'

Gray began her training by learning about theater and Philippine history so that “she can bring out the best in her,” Buendia recounted.

He said Gray learned to understand basic human emotion and dance so her movement would be well-coordinated, fluid and powerful.  

Buendia added that they had to train for the “lava walk” since it is a very important part of the pageant.

“Very important [yung walk] because sa walk you can see their personality. When you're on stage, you need to show people na ‘this is me, ‘this my personality,’” he said in an interview with CNN early December.

Nicole Cordoves, one of Gray’s coaches, who is also Miss Grand International 2016 first runner-up, said that one factor to be considered was the limited time any candidate would have on the runway.

“You only have 30 seconds max to make an impression. Your walk has to be mind-blowing,” Cordoves said.

Buendia said Gray's trainers saw to it that the walk was “powerful, mind-blowing" and with a "'vision," providing the candidate with a "perfect silhouette.” He added that they also considered the body type in choreographing the movement.

Meanwhile, Gray also studied Philippine history with gusto, part of which involved frequent visits to the National Museum to learn about country and the nation’s rich culture and heritage. Gray is also pushing to promote Philippine arts.

“I always tell her every time she goes out the stage she should show the story greatness of the Filipino people,” Buendia said.

'Middle'

Buendia said the second part of Gray’s preparation involved rehearsing her overall performance over and over.

“This is when the technicality of the training comes—how you stand, how you answer,” he said.

'End'

The last part of Gray’s training, Buendia said, is simply to bring out her confidence.

“The end is just having, understanding and knowing that deep inside her she knows that she is Miss Universe,” Buendia said.

Q-and-A preparation

Gray also reaped praises for her quick thinking and well-spoken statements at the Miss Universe question and answer segments. Online users also pointed out that she gave an accurate and updated figure of the Philippines' population.

“I stand here not as one, but for the 104 million Filipinos!” Gray said, closely reflecting the official figures.

Catriona Gray: "I stand here not as one, but for the 104 million Filipinos!"

In fairness, malapit sa actual, official figures. Haha. pic.twitter.com/5peeidC6TP

— Alt Tantay ?????????????‍???? (@rupertnotholmes) December 17, 2018

Cordoves, who trained Gray for the question-and-answer portion of the pageant said the Bicolana beauty is a natural when answering questions.

“Cat is the type of girl na kahit anong question ibato mo sakanya masasagot niya,” Cordoves said. “What we worked on was more immersive, like she really immersed in the community."

“When queens give voice to the voiceless, listen to them, so that's what she did. She wrote about them,” Cordoves continued.

Cordoves said she also gave Gray several case studies on social enterprises to give her a more technical perspective on community development.

The former Miss Grand International beauty said a pageant candidate should read a lot, turn the social media accounts into news portal so they can follow headlines and get friends who talk about current issues.

Cordoves said she and Gray trained as friends while they tackled the different perspectives on issues and determined Gray’s position on each of them.

For the Miss Universe pageant, Cordoves said they prepared for the worst but she advised Gray to “listen to the core of what she believes in.” Cordoves is also one of the judges of noontime show, Showtime’s Miss Q and A segment, where gay candidates are given questions to be answered for a limited time.

Gray came prepared, and it was obvious.

“Catriona is an epitome of a girl who as much as a person has the limitation, she removes all the boundaries. She made herself bigger than life. She has a vision, she believes in the people around her,” Cordoves said.

Gray was named the 67th Miss Universe and the fourth Filipina to earn that title on Monday after competing with 93 other women from all over the world.