I know nothing about light meters nor anything about lighting a contest properly but We used to tie a lamp to the basketball net and ask the competitors to not step outside of that two foot lit area during their posing routine.
It worked well back then and kept the competitors from bounding/ dancing all over the 'stage'.
I think the lighting int he above video is great partially due to the fact that the background is pure black and the contenders are under a bright light.
Most of the shows now light up the background so that everyone can see who the sponsors are.