CSUDH Dance Team before their performance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show. (L-R back row) Katrina Felipe, Kailey Tomas, Kalani Livingston, Isabel Villa, Nathan Canal, Anika Vega. (L-R front row), Shahrazad Abboud, and Ajahnae Sandifer. Courtesy of Katrina Felipe
Annais Garcia, Staff Reporter
“Okay guys, 30 seconds before the halftime show,” the voice of the Super Bowl halftime show coordinator was heard giving instructions to the dancers, while Katrina Felipe and Kalani Livingston, captains of the Toro dance team, saw themself in one of the world’s biggest events.
The day of the Super Bowl on Feb. 13, 2022, the dance team met early in the morning on the CSUDH campus to go to the stadium. As the clock moved closer to their showtime, the two captains started to feel the audience’s excitement to see the halftime show.
“As we were walking outside of the tunnel, there were like millions of people watching us through the screen, and it was such a crazy experience,” Livingston said.
“Seeing all those fans, thousands of them just standing and waiting for this 12 minute moment, almost took my breath away,” Felipe said.
Felipe and Livingston achieved their professional and personal dreams as the captains of the CSUDH dance team, during their performance in the 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Felipe, who is a senior majoring in Kinesiology, has been a member of the CSUDH dance team since her freshman year. When the coach announced that the dance team would participate in the halftime show, she couldn’t be more excited about it.
“This is the biggest thing we’ve ever done, we never participated in the Super Bowl in our entire careers. In 16 seasons, this has been the biggest thing we’ve ever achieved,” Felipe said.
To Livingston, who joined the dance team three years ago, and who is majoring in Dance, her participation in the halftime show represented joy but also a learning experience.
“It was one of the best moments in my life, especially watching the professional dancers performing on stage,” Livingston said.
According to the two captains, they got the notification of this participation a month before the event. Cilecia Foster, the CSUDH dance team coach, reached out to all the dancers through a Zoom call to tell them about their invitation to perform in the halftime show.
The CSUDH dance team was selected through a search for L.A. dancers that represented diversity and were found through Instagram.
To Felipe, this participation meant more than only a personal dream, she’s also very proud to represent CSUDH in one of the most important sporting events in this country. As co-captain of the dance team, she was eager to dance in front of people, after not being able to do any performance during the pandemic.
“Just to know that we were not only individuals out there, but members of the CSUDH dance team, meant a lot to me. One of the values that we have as members of the dance team is that we are not just dancers, we are also ambassadors from our university,” Felipe said.
Although they were notified a month ahead of their participation, the dance team had only one week to learn, prepare and practice the five-minute choreography they got assigned. During that week, every day for only one hour, the team practiced at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
During the practices, the team was able to see all the artists that were scheduled to perform in the halftime show. This included: Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, and the surprise guest 50 Cent.
According to Felipe and Livingston, on the last day of practices Eminem and Dr. Dre acknowledged the team, thanked them for their performance and participation.
Despite their excitement, they were not able to share this news with anybody before showtime. The dance team was required to sign a confidentiality contract in order to be a part of this event. They were often reminded through emails to not share information, or they would face consequences.
The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched sporting events, but there is often controversy around it. Days before the event, there were articles published about dancers accusing the halftime show producers of withholding payment for their participation in this event.
Felipe and Livingston explained that although they heard about this conflict with other dancers, they were paid for their participation.
“Even if we didn’t get paid I just wanted to take this as an opportunity in our lifetime,” Felipe said.
For the captains and the other 12 members of the CSUDH dance team, their participation in the halftime show made history in their careers, their personal life, and in the story of CSUDH. The team was grateful for the support they received from school, but they are also aware that most of the time they don’t get as much recognition as the other sports teams.
“It is becoming common to us that the support is not always as you see with the basketball, baseball or softball teams,” Felipe said.
The day after the Super Bowl, the CSUDH Instagram page added a post (that was active for only 24 hours), recognizing the participation of the dance team.
To Livingston, her participation was a learning experience. Watching how the other dancers take notes and apply them during the choreography, made her focus on her future as a professional dancer.
“How fast they applied the notes amazed me, and I thought that as a dancer I need to learn to apply their strategy so I can be just like them,” Livingston said.
To Felipe, their participation in the halftime show was earned by the effort all of them have given, even during the pandemic.
“For me this is one of those moments that you’ve worked your life for. Your passion, your time and your commitment, is to know that all of this hard work, dedication and time, someone is noticing it,” Felipe said.