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University of Wisconsin junior Jake Daane charmed and air-guitared his way to being crowned the winner of Project 40/40’s Male Beauty Pageant Thursday night in Sellery Hall.

The five students participating were judged on formal wear, talent and Badger spirit.

Formal outfits ranged from suave to ridiculous, and several contestants treated the audience to a preview of their dance moves.

Talents performed included counting in Turkish by UW sophomore Bryant Harris, paper airplane building by UW freshman Brigham Heyn, the telling of an economics joke by UW junior Dustin Pashouwer and a guitar performance by UW sophomore Stephen Chelstowski.

Daane showcased an enthusiastic playing of the air guitar to The Darkness’s “I Believe in a Thing Called Love.”

Daane was a late addition to the show and was notified just one hour before going on stage that he needed to prepare a talent. He said air guitar is an art form that encourages free styling, so the short notice was not an issue.

“A wise man once said: to err is human. To air guitar is science,” Daane said. “I was given the opportunity to bring sexy back, and I jumped on it. I did something everyone needs to take advantage of.”

Project 40/40, a student group dedicated to raising awareness and providing treatment for HIV-positive Ugandans, organized the event as a part of its World AIDS Week efforts.

All proceeds from the $2 admission charged at the event will go toward the Clinton HIV/AIDS initiative.

Project 40/40 Communications Director Emily Swanson said the event is unique because it allows students to realize they can make an impact in Uganda in very different ways.

“I think that it is important for us as students to know that we are in a pretty privileged position and it is so easy for us to help out in this way,” Swanson said. “It’s actually really cheap to provide drugs to each person — 50 cents a day. It’s really important that people know they can make a difference because a lot of times when people are called to action they don’t know that it is an attainable goal.”

She said that the pageant was one of four events the group hosted this week to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in Uganda.

Event organizer Kate Taylor said the alternative format allows them to reach an audience that might have otherwise gone unaware of their initiative.

She said the event planners ran into trouble with some contestants dropping out at the last minute.

“It definitely was a little hectic for a little bit but we kept getting people on the phone and asking friends to call friends. We finally got a solid group of guys though that [were] willing to participate,” Taylor said.

She overall was impressed with how the event went, especially when it came to Daane’s performance.

“I’ve known him for the past year, and whenever I go to parties he is busting out the air guitar,” Taylor said. “It was great to see that on stage.”