"We deliberately refer to the dancers as the Blues Dance Squad - rather than girls or cheerleaders. The dancers were recruited for their ability and athleticism.
"We have been working collaboratively with Claire Baxter - who runs the squad and is a former SKYCITY cheerleader - to present a professional dance squad on-field."
Baxter backed her comments.
"The biggest challenge this year is changing the mindset of the fans to seeing the team as a dance squad and not a cheer team - which costuming, a higher level of dance skill, and adding male members for performances should enable us to do."
Baxter has plans to collaborate with an urban team for an upcoming performance this season. She had hoped male dancers would attend the auditions, but only female dancers came.
The Blues aren't the only sports team to have dancers or cheerleaders before kick-off.
Many South African Super Rugby sides have cheerleaders, and the Australian Big Bash team have mixed dance squads.
Fans at the first performance had a mixed reaction to the new crew.
Lynsey Devine said: "It's like we've gone back 20 years - and not in a good way."
Some men in their 40s were with their children "and they sat there and thoroughly enjoyed the show," she added.
Devine said an act that appealed to fans of all ages would be better, she suggested.
The team's next match is at QBE Stadium on Saturday, when they play the Bulls.
