The Sunday Telegraph ‘What’s A Guy Doing In The Babes’ Full page feature with fashion editor, Melissa Hoyer OUT: pom-poms, fishnets, sequins & shiny lycra. IN: a more contemporary, street-wise approach to that age-old form of entertainment – the cheer girl. Or should we say cheer person? Gone is the old fashioned, all-girl scenario. Now it’s kosher for blokes to be part of what was previously a girly pastime. “It’s no longer about cheer girls sitting on the sidelines, twirling their pom poms,” fully-fledged cheer person, Joel Peisley says. The 18-year old dancer & acrobat views his involvement in the Integral Energy Razorbacks dance squad as a brave way to shun the stereotype. “I’m real excited to be part of it,” he says. “I get to work with a great group of dancers & it’s a really contemporary way to showcase us all as performers. With a guy in the team, we can create a complete performance vibe, rather than just a group of busty girls jumping up & down.” But it’s the whole cheer squad – cutely named ‘The Babes’ – who are causing as much excitement as their ball-playing counterparts, with a new look & a new attitude towards sports entertainment. “We wanted to extend that original concept of pom-pom girls to that of slick male & female entertainers operating in the world of fashion & sport,” Integral Energy’s Kylee Bowring says. “The Integral team came to me for advice on which local designers could fulfil their brief: to create a sexy, fun & fashionable direction that looked as good on the court as off. I suggested Rebecca Davies’ BARE label, which has a track record of designing figure flattering, colour-conscious pieces.” Squad director Sandra Fleeton says: “We want the girls & our guy to be seen as individuals. Our squad is unique as it is made up of fully-trained dancers & acrobats who are energetic & very contemporary. The girls love having Joel involved, because he can do all of those things – like the partner work & lifts – that make each routine more dynamic & interesting.” ...back...