THE Bermuda Gombey troupes are traditionally male-dominated but a group of girls are giving the boys a run for their money with their unique and energetic style.The Alisa Kani Girl Gombeys have proved so popular since starting up over a decade ago, that captain Algina Warner says she can barely keep up with calls from wannabe members.

She explains that parents almost expected their little girls to become drum majorettes, but after seeing the girl Gombeys perform, the same little girls are literally beating her door down.

Her own daughter, Destami, who is the youngest member of the group at only five, went from watching her mother perform, to jumping in with leg-splitting, gyrating moves that boys twice her age have a hard time pulling off.

“She’s a natural,” Ms Warner laughs, adding that girls perform just as well as boys.

“It’s energetic, it’s freedom and people don’t always know we’re girls when we perform. They think girls just can’t do it, but we show them that we can,” she adds.

Historically the Gombeys wear costumes which cover their bodies and faces to avoid identification, and even though the girls uphold this tradition, Ms Warner says it’s obviously hard to hide the fact that you are a girl sometimes.

However, with the right undergarments and clothing, she feels they are able fool most people some of the time.

The group was originally started by Ms Warner’s mother in 1997, and were known as the Lady Di’s Gombey Girls.

Since then the group has developed a steadily growing membership of dancers ranging in ages from five to 37 and few years ago changed the name to the Alisa Kani Girl Gombeys.

Ms Warner explains that when her mother retired and she took over as captain, she wanted the girls to have a new unique identify.

“Alisa means dance and Kani means energy, so its really dance and energy gombey girls,” she says.

Ms Warner grew up with a rich Gombey history, having watching her entire family, starting with her grandfather, who was from St. Kitts and her grandmother, who was one of the first female gombeys in Bermuda, perform.

She adds that her aunt makes Gombey costumes and her father, who is captain of the Warner Gombeys, has been involved in the tradition for almost 40 years.

With a smile she recalls how she first got involved in 1996 when a member of her father’s group dropped out at the last minute for a performance at a hotel and after begging him to allow her to fill the space, he eventually gave in.

“I was so eager to do it, but my father didn’t want me to hurt myself,” she recalls with a laugh.

The experience had a lasting impression on the 17 year old, who begged her mother to start a group just for girls.

Today the family legacy continues not only with her five year old daughter, but also her two sons who dance with the Warner Gombeys.

All the girls in the Alisa Kani Girl Gombeys grew up in families where all the men in their families performed the gombey.

Kim Simons and her daughter Kiandra have been with the group since the beginning.

Kiandra jokingly recalls that her mother performed in the Lady Di’s Gombey Girls when she was expecting her, so she literally participated before she was even born.

“I guess I was born a gombey,” she adds with a laugh.

By the time she turned seven, she had perfected the moves she’d watched her parents perform hundreds of times and was included in the new all-girl group.

There are currently 13 members and Ms Warner is hoping this number will grow, but she warns: “Girls need to be dedicated, hard working, willing to learn and have a good attitude.”

One of the biggest hurdles currently facing the all-girl team is finding female drummers.

Ms Warner says girls just don’t seem interested in that sort of thing. “But then that’s what they said about girl Gombeys, so I hope this might change,” she adds with a chuckle.

Until then her team depend on male drummers, which is unfortunate, because with female drummers, the Alisa Kani Girl Gombeys will truly be the only all-female troupe in Bermuda.