What It Was Like To Perform At The Super Bowl Halftime Show
An interview with one of Rihanna's backup dancers.
If the Bravo Cinematic Universe and ESPN had a baby, it would be Impersonal Foul. You in? Subscribe and tell your friends.
It’s been a week since Rihanna performed at the Super Bowl halftime show.
She announced that she’s expecting her second child with A$AP Rocky, had a Fenty Beauty spon con moment, and probably blew up Leonardo DiCaprio’s group text.
But we’re not here to talk about those floating platforms or even Rihanna’s set list. We’re here to talk about those incredible backup dancers.
The costumes! The sunglasses! The moves that I can’t even begin to attempt with my own lanky body!
To get a behind-the-scenes look at what it was actually like to dance with Rihanna, I spoke with Anessa Bleu, one of the 280 dancers chosen to perform during the halftime show.
After the performance, Bleu went viral on TikTok with her series of videos on what it was like preparing for the show, some truly iconic fit checks in that costume, and more.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Enjoy our conversation below and be sure to subscribe to Impersonal Foul if you haven’t already! It’s free!
A Behind-The-Scenes Look At Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime Performance
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. You can follow Anessa on Instagram here and TikTok here. Enjoy!
How long have you been a professional dancer?
I have been a professional dancer since 2021, which is when I graduated high school. I started auditioning for many gigs and pro teams leading me to what I do now!
Can you tell me how you ended up auditioning for the Super Bowl halftime show?
I first found out through one of my good friends about this gig. She texted me an audition link for Rihanna’s halftime show and I decided to go for it! I had also gotten an email later on from one of my dance professors, as well, about the audition!
What was your initial reaction?
When I first heard about the audition I was super surprised and excited hoping that I would be able to get the job and perform in front of millions of people doing what I love. I was definitely nervous, because I knew there were hundreds of other girls auditioning, but when I had heard from the casting that I had gotten the job I had so much excitement I couldn’t even explain it.
What was the audition process like?
With the audition process you had to be a resident of Arizona. They were really looking for local dancers to be in the show except for the core dancers. The core dancers were in LA and I couldn’t tell you the process for them.
I know they had something to do with their agencies, but I’m not exactly positive. For the audition in Arizona, it was online and you had to submit a video of who you are, age, etc. along with a 360 of your body and the dance that they had given you to learn! After submitting the video it took a couple weeks for them to get back, but we received an email if we had gotten the job or not!
Where were you when you booked the job?
When I saw that I had booked the job I was in the car with dad heading home from work. I decided to go through my emails in the car and had seen an email that had said “Hi”, so I opened it and realized it was the from Super Bowl casting. I was super excited to see that they selected me for this job!
After you booked the job, how long did you rehearse?
After booking the job, rehearsals started on the 31st of January and were consistent till day of show. We did have a couple days off, but majority of the days were rehearsals around 6-8 hours long.
Did you know you were wearing those incredible costumes beforehand?
After we booked the job they scheduled a day for us to do fittings right away, so that they can make modifications to the costumes. It was one of the first things we had done before rehearsals even started, so I actually knew for a while that we were wearing those costumes!
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Can you give me a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like once you got to the stadium?
For our rehearsal practices, we practiced on a field next to the stadium because we were not allowed in till week of show. Rehearsals were very hot and cold because we would be outside all day and night. We were provided food and drinks with these rehearsals, so that everyone would stay hydrated and healthy!
Week of show we were allowed into the stadium and being there felt amazing. We practiced almost every day with stage, platforms and costumes sometimes. We even had rehearsal with Rihanna for some of the days! That week of show was kinda more of a dress rehearsal preparation with camera and everything so that we are prepared for what’s to come day of Super Bowl.
What was running through your head?
Throughout these rehearsals all I could think about was first off: What songs are we dancing to? Because the directors had us dancing to other songs and metronomes to keep the songs confidential for a little longer.
Secondly, I was so curious on when we were going to rehearse with Rihanna, because she is such an amazing person and I was just super excited to start rehearsing with her.
Honestly, too, all I could just think about was Super Bowl day, because I was super stoked to see how everything would work out and see people super excited to watch our halftime show!
The performance was incredible and the choreography was amazing. What was your favorite part of the entire process?
My favorite part of this whole process would have definitely been week of show! Week of show I feel that everyone was starting to become close with one another and we could all feel the excitement for each other!
When we started rehearsing with Rihanna, all I could think is how I get to experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I am super honored to have done this performance. I’m so glad that I was able to meet so many amazing dancers and become friends with each of them.
As I saw on your Instagram, it looks like you got to take it home. How will you style it?
Yes! We were able to keep our costumes. I don’t think I’ll ever wear the outfit out or try to style, because I would not want to get it dirty or change the look of it. It’s a memory I’d like to keep safe in my home!
I have to know: Did you meet Rihanna?!
Yes, we were able to meet Rihanna as a whole team. None of us had any one-on-one talking with her because that would’ve be a lot of people to talk to, but she did in one of our rehearsals thank us for being able to be there with her and perform in the Super Bowl!
She is such a sweet and beautiful woman!!
Other Pointless Sports Gossip
Mac McClung won the 2023 NBA Slam Dunk contest!
He looks like a substitute gym teacher who pulls out the TV on the cart, puts it at half court, and tells the class that they’re watching Air Bud for class today.
He’s only played in two NBA games and was signed to a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers earlier in the week.
One of those Super Bowl brothers is hosting SNL…Guess I’ll be working on a Saturday!
Giannis is wild for this. Is he launching a clothing line? Probably. Will I talk about it? Probably.
If the Bravo Cinematic Universe and ESPN had a baby, it would be Impersonal Foul. You in? Subscribe and tell your friends.
Absolutely LOVE this behind the scenes information!