To the beat of the Taylor Swift Shake it off song, 89-year-old Fumie Takin lifts the fringes into the air and turns quickly, while her friends, who are on average 70, swing their legs high into the air.
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“They are all very motivated, (…) the pain of the legs and thighs will not stop them in their flight,” said AFP Takinová, doyenka and founder of Japan Pom Pom, about her girlfriends.
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Fumie Takin while watching the Olympics. For 89 years, thanks to the fact that he is constantly active, he does not look.
The seniors train intensively for two hours a week and prepare a big performance on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the group’s founding. It was originally planned last year, but due to a pandemic they had to postpone it for a year. For women, it is a colossal and physically very demanding task, but also a way to “maintain good health” and “meaning of life”, believes 73-year-old cheerleader Masako Macuok.
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At the beginning of the adventure, Fumie Takin didn’t talk much about her hobby for fear of what people would think of her. However, discretion also complicated the recruitment of other women to participate in the group’s activities. The concept of old cheerleaders, dressed in miniskirts and costumes with sequins, was threatened by a misunderstanding by the then Japanese society, Takin recalls.
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However, times have changed and today “there are several other groups and people are used to seeing us on television. For some, it may still be a bit uncomfortable, but we are here and let’s say we have gained our place in society, “rejoices Fumie Takinová.
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