One of the last things we expect to see at a thrilling professional rugby match is our country’s most intellectually gifted students and graduates performing spectacular on-field dance routines to entertain the fans.
Yet we have been watching them do just that for almost eight years, with all the skill, grace and professionalism of a touring international dance troupe. And then some!
SA MEN had the honour of meeting two of these highly talented and gorgeous lasses with their manager, Danie Haasbroek from World of Sport & Entertainment (WOS&E) for an exclusive interview for our inaugural sports feature.
Zjardene Bester and Vikki Bischoff are both blessed with some of the finest DNA around, endowing them with breathtakingly good looks and sexy, super-fit physiques.
If you were thinking it’s nigh impossible to squeeze any more talent into these petite, extraordinary athletes, think again.
I discovered these two ladies also had more intelligence and street-smarts than you’d find at a combined convention of rocket scientists and ex-convicts.
The girls all started their dancing careers very early and some were as young as six years old, which explains how they can move in ways which causes many of us to forget our names. The characteristic which really sets them apart from the crowd, is their choice to also nurture their academic talents and live life to the fullest.
Zjardene has just completed a B.Com in law and is now working towards an LLB. Vikki has already earned her National Dance Diploma, while the other girls either have, or are studying toward university degrees and national diplomas in medicine, internal auditing, teaching and dance.
Many of the girls stop dancing professionally once they’ve qualified and move on to their new careers. Some continue to dance on a part time basis or find different roles such former Bulls Babe Tania Bekker, who is the company’s current choreographer.
Vikki hasn’t put a time limit on her dancing career and says she’s enjoying it immensely. Zjardene puts her future legal career first, but if she can find the time to continue being a Bulls Babe after she starts practising law, she will.
We conducted the interview at Trademarx, the upmarket sports bar and restaurant adjacent to Loftus Versveld where the girls let their hair down and party after a hard day at the office. When I asked them if they have time for boyfriends, they responded at once with firm answers as different as their hair colour.
“No!” said Vikki emphatically, who apparently attracts regular attention from the high flying corporate clients they entertain and interact with each week. She says she’s far too busy having fun to tie herself down now and the suitors are seldom close to her batting age.
Zjardene is happily involved in a long term relationship, so she’s also not in the market for a new man either, sorry guys.
Danie treats the girls with complete trust and respect, particularly regarding the importance of their academic studies. Working either full or part time, they have at least three weekly performances, in addition to their two hourly training sessions, also three times a week.
Their schedule often includes extra rehearsals for special performances and their most recent was a very successful performance at the DEURIEMIKKE CONCERT in front of an estimated 20 000-strong audience.
They perform a wide variety of acts and routines, having appeared in television adverts like Vodacom’s Leeuloop campaign and the television series Villa Rosa on Kyknet. One of the most unusual was a surprise performance at the birthday of a huge Blue Bulls supporter, who is a manager at Momentum.
A few contracts offer some seriously good opportunities to party, such as the Vodacom Spring Break at Sun City. Its a ten day assignment which sees them up at 07h00 each day to perform an hour-long show and then they do promotional work serving the public who visit Vodacom’s trade stand.
They volunteer whatever spare time they have during the day to support the other performing artists. At night they’re free to paint the town red and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t squeeze any stories of mischief out of them.
When Vikki did confess she didn’t get much sleep, Danie just shook his head dolefully, saying there’s no way to keep up with the girls and their incredible energy reserves.
The birth of a legend
Relax, this isn’t where I spoil everything and hit you with a cheap scandal about one of the Babes getting knocked up.
The Babes Inc. story really began when Danie was working on a Sun City Extravaganza production team, which gave rise to an American cheerleading project at the University of Pretoria.
The American cheerleading style was tailored to meet our local demands and Babes Inc. is the successful result of that visionary and innovative enterprise. It has changed the face of sports entertainment and still sets the highest standards in its playing field.
Babes Inc conducts the auditions and training for its programs at the University of Pretoria. The girls are then selected for different squads such as the Vodacom Bulls Babes, Nashua Titans Dancers and the F1 Racing Dancers.
It struggled for survival in the beginning, but was rescued by the Blue Bulls Company who had approached Danie to create the now highly successful Vodacom Bulls Babes on-field entertainment line up.
The Vodacom Bulls Babes is their most illustrious project. Its capacity for professionalism received a huge leg-up after the Blue Bulls Company’s buy-in and again when Vodacom and became its main sponsor later on.
The company actively promotes the art of cheerleading by offering uniquely customised corporate services such as a recent event held at Montecasino where they performed on behalf of OKI and other corporate clients alongside other top acts such as the Parlotones.
It was also the first to successfully create a professional, high quality and tasteful performance in the South African sport environment, which is why it now attracts major blue chip clients and sponsors.
The key to the success of Babes Inc. is their unique ability to provide professional hosting and marketing services with beautiful, elegant and highly intelligent women with dazzling physiques.
Exhibiting professional and courteous behaviour at all times has secured their healthy client base of major corporate companies, includes Nashua, ABSA, Nedbank, Samsung, OKI and Vodacom.
Sadly I could not include all the anecdotes Danie gave me of how good his ladies’ side is – he seems to love all the dancers like his own daughters and they feel completely safe with him as their guardian.
It’s clear to me the impeccable reputation built by Danie and the babes of Babes Inc. exists only because of the safe, empowering environment of mutual respect and dignity they have created. It would be sacrilege to treat these amazing people with anything less.
Vikki summed it up beautifully saying, “We are our client’s brand ambassadors.” They are so highly visible they attract celebrity status, but they don’t let it go to their heads.
Considering how powerful and well-trained their minds are, I don’t think there would be any room at the top.
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Contact WORLD OF SPORT & ENTERTAINMENT OR Babes Incorporated
at : jumpsprt@mweb.co.za or Cell: 082 408 6680
to organise your next event or
for bookings of artists and performers including the Vodacom Bulls Babes
