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Cheerio cheerleaders as Rabbitohs dump bunny girls
TWO years after rugby league's image with women hit an all-time low, the code's most traditional club will be the first to do away with scantily-clad cheergirls at football games this season, while another will include cheerboys for the first time.
South Sydney fans will be entertained by beats and drums instead of pleats and pompoms at home games this year as the foundation club replaces the traditional primped and perky all-female cheers quad with Australian dance legend Dein Perry, producer of Tap Dogs, Australian highest grossing theatre export, and the 2000 Sydney Olympics Opening Ceremony.
Perry will hold open auditions for a Rabbitohs Drum Squad this month in an attempt to make home games more family-friendly and "show people that the mould of traditional entertainment at the footy can be broken".
A Newcastle boy who made tap dancing manly again, Perry's connection with the Rabbitohs co-owner and executive chairman, Peter Holmes a Court, began five years ago with Tap Dogs' first international foray to the Edinburgh Festival.
"The tribalism of rugby league and the visceral nature of the game" made drumming a perfect fit for match days, Mr Holmes a Court said.
"Nobody in Australia does rhythm like Dein and we're blessed to find a dance choreographer who is a league nut."
The club's cheerleaders would still be involved in its corporate hospitality program and the mixed-sex drummers would have a broader appeal of their own, he said.
"I don't think anyone comes to a game just to look at a little bit of cleavage. No one will miss what we had … because there will be so much more. I think rugby league can appeal to people who aren't traditional supporters. … With us and other teams changing their game-day experience, it will broaden the audience."
At the Parramatta Eels, cheerleaders will be joined by three blokes this season in another rugby league first - and their pouty, dance-based routines replaced by athletic tossing, tumbling and tricks.
It is another example of rugby league's determination to reach beyond its core audience of young men who drink beer and yell, "Get 'em onside!" Said Eels cheerleading coach Melissa McKenzie: "This team appeals to mothers and daughters and kids, too."
The NSW Minister for Sports, Sandra Nori, said it was smart marketing by both clubs and it would be good for rugby league.
The academic Catharine Lumby, who was hired as a consultant by the NRL in 2004 after damaging allegations of sexual misconduct against the Bulldogs clubs, said cheerleaders were not to blame for the game's blokey image and player behaviour issues. "But there is an issue of taste there. Some people would prefer to see women in short skirts at the ballet, but there you go."
Only one AFL team - the Adelaide Crows - still has cheerleaders. Others such as the Carlton Bluebirds and the Sydney Swanettes are distant memories. END
SOURCE http://www.smh.com.au/news/league/cheerio-cheerleaders/2007/02/02/1169919535318.html
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TWO years after rugby league's image with women hit an all-time low, the code's most traditional club will be the first to do away with scantily-clad cheergirls at football games this season, while another will include cheerboys for the first time.
South Sydney fans will be entertained by beats and drums instead of pleats and pompoms at home games this year as the foundation club replaces the traditional primped and perky all-female cheers quad with Australian dance legend Dein Perry, producer of Tap Dogs, Australian highest grossing theatre export, and the 2000 Sydney Olympics Opening Ceremony.
Perry will hold open auditions for a Rabbitohs Drum Squad this month in an attempt to make home games more family-friendly and "show people that the mould of traditional entertainment at the footy can be broken".
A Newcastle boy who made tap dancing manly again, Perry's connection with the Rabbitohs co-owner and executive chairman, Peter Holmes a Court, began five years ago with Tap Dogs' first international foray to the Edinburgh Festival.
"The tribalism of rugby league and the visceral nature of the game" made drumming a perfect fit for match days, Mr Holmes a Court said.
"Nobody in Australia does rhythm like Dein and we're blessed to find a dance choreographer who is a league nut."
The club's cheerleaders would still be involved in its corporate hospitality program and the mixed-sex drummers would have a broader appeal of their own, he said.
"I don't think anyone comes to a game just to look at a little bit of cleavage. No one will miss what we had … because there will be so much more. I think rugby league can appeal to people who aren't traditional supporters. … With us and other teams changing their game-day experience, it will broaden the audience."
At the Parramatta Eels, cheerleaders will be joined by three blokes this season in another rugby league first - and their pouty, dance-based routines replaced by athletic tossing, tumbling and tricks.
It is another example of rugby league's determination to reach beyond its core audience of young men who drink beer and yell, "Get 'em onside!" Said Eels cheerleading coach Melissa McKenzie: "This team appeals to mothers and daughters and kids, too."
The NSW Minister for Sports, Sandra Nori, said it was smart marketing by both clubs and it would be good for rugby league.
The academic Catharine Lumby, who was hired as a consultant by the NRL in 2004 after damaging allegations of sexual misconduct against the Bulldogs clubs, said cheerleaders were not to blame for the game's blokey image and player behaviour issues. "But there is an issue of taste there. Some people would prefer to see women in short skirts at the ballet, but there you go."
Only one AFL team - the Adelaide Crows - still has cheerleaders. Others such as the Carlton Bluebirds and the Sydney Swanettes are distant memories. END
SOURCE http://www.smh.com.au/news/league/cheerio-cheerleaders/2007/02/02/1169919535318.html
:crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:
