By Tara Kyle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — One-third of New Yorkers are foreign born — and Friday night in West Chelsea, one competition will try to determine which country has done the most to enhance the city's collective gene pool.
Twenty-six aspiring models from homelands including Armenia, Ireland, Haiti and Hungary will compete at Amnesia Nightclub in the five-year-old Miss Diaspora Models International beauty pageant.
The women, who range in age from 18-30, will perform in five categories: an introductory dance choreographed to Rihanna's "Hard," a costume number in which the models wear their country's traditional dress, a lingerie competition, an eveningwear competition and a question and answer category.
Judges will pick the winner — like last year's Miss Kosovo — based on both inner and outer beauty, said founder Gabriela Schon. This year, the entrants include teachers, choreographers, students and businesswomen.
"Each and every girl should have goals for herself and want to better herself," said Schon, who used to be a model before a leg injury made traveling the runways in heels more difficult.
Schon knows something about the pressures and challenges foreign-born models face. She arrived in New York from her native Romania to pursue her own modeling dreams in 1999.
"When I came here, I didn't speak any English, I didn't have any friends," Schon said.
Inevitably, Schon said, women who come to Manhattan under circumstances like hers find themselves the targets of unscrupulous agents and industry hangers-on.
"A lot of people promise that they will make you a supermodel, or get you into this movie, or that movie, but you have to pay," Schon said.
Her mission is to provide the models with a support network that will help them succeed and avoid getting involved with illegitimate agencies. Before the competition, they also take part in two months of rehearsals aimed at improving their poise and modeling skills.
And although she said her annual competition struggles to survive financially, she remains committed to not charging entry fees.
"This industry is pretty tough," Schon said. "I just wanted to do something where I can help other women."
Tickets to the 2010 Miss Diaspora Models International pageant costs $55 and are available online. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. on Friday at Amnesia Nightclub at 609 W. 29th St.
