ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – Miss Virgin Islands Kinila Callendar boogied to a Caribbean-inflected dance jam, shaking her lime green ruffled skirt and strutting around the stage.

Miss Arizona Katherine Kennedy danced to a medley of songs from “Moulin Rouge,” twirling a baton she accidentally dropped twice. Another contestant mangled “Over the Rainbow” with off-key singing and a hodgepodge of vocal styles.

Then there was Miss Massachusetts Erika Ebbel, whose stirring piano rendition of “Fantasy Impromptu” wowed the crowd – and the judges.

All but banned from prime time, the Miss America pageant talent segment played Boardwalk Hall on Monday, offering its customary assortment of routines that ranged from impeccable to downright awful.

The two-minute routines, part of the Miss America contest since 1938, have been axed from the annual Miss America pageant telecast this year in another attempt to boost television ratings.

Trimmed

On Saturday, only two contestants will perform their talent routines during the nationally televised Miss America pageant (9 p.m., ABC-TV). In a nod to “American Idol” and “Last Comic Standing,” the last two remaining contestants will go head-to-head in talent to help determine who is crowned Miss America 2005.

To the Miss America faithful, the exclusion of talent routines – once performed by the 10 semifinalists, and later by the five finalists -from the telecast is heresy.

“It’s what separates us from the other pageant organizations,” said Mac Sisson, who runs the Miss Diamond Lakes pageant in Arkadelphia, Ark., a Miss America local.

Sisson and other fans filing into Boardwalk Hall for the first of three nights of preliminary competition Monday said the change would make them savor the 17 talent routines they saw performed live – warts and all.

“The talent is very important in choosing Miss America, and it’s more entertaining than anything else in the show,” said Anita Deschenes, 69, of Lewiston, Maine.

In preliminary competition, the 52 contestants are divided into three groups and take turns competing in casual wear, talent, evening wear and swimsuit. Their scores help determine who makes the top 10, which is announced near the beginning of the Saturday night telecast.

Ebbel, 23, a graduate of MIT who wants to be a doctor, won $4,000 for capturing top honors in the talent competition Monday.

Miss Florida Jenna Edwards, 23, of Miami, won in swimsuit, taking home a $2,000 scholarship.

Preliminary competition resumes Tuesday and Wednesday.

AP-ES-09-13-04 2235EDT