With millions of viewers watching the Super Bowl each year, Pepsi’s halftime show is one of the most coveted gigs for an entertainer.
However, according to industry pros who have taken to social media, trading “free” time and skills for “exposure” is no longer enough – even to dance for hip-hop big names like Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mary J Blige, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar.
This year’s chief halftime choreographer, Fatima Robinson (whose credits include Michael Jackson, Aaliyah and the Backstreet Boys), revealed via Instagram that she is “pleased to hire 115 paid Super Bowl dancers. this year… the most ever hired”. to dance alongside the featured artists on stage.
However, this number does not take into account the hundreds more who will join the paid dancers in the field for free. Page Six obtained copies of alleged requests to professional dancers – many with years of experience – asking that “predominantly African American movers” “volunteer” for halftime.
Purported screenshots from various recruiters and the Bloc Talent Agency in Los Angeles reveal that volunteers are expected to attend mandatory rehearsals for up to nine hours a day, with no transportation provided. “Glee” star Heather Morris, The Pussycat Dolls’ Carmit Bachar and Alyson Stoner (who appeared in Eminem’s “Just Lose It” music video) have since spoken out on the matter via social media.
“It’s not uncommon for the Super Bowl to bring local volunteers onto the field to witness the Super Bowl experience just to deepen the quality and value of production and attention,” Taja Riley – who has played halftime with Beyoncé, Bruno Mars and Coldplay in 2016 and with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira in 2020 — says Page Six.
“These are pretty common things in the industry, but what’s not common is for a coordinator, a production or a producer to approach professional talent to hire them as volunteers and work them during the time that ‘they ask.”
Melany Centeno, who danced professionally for more than a decade with artists like Kanye West, Blige, Pink and Pitbull, was one of many dancers who reportedly received DMs about the volunteer gig and found the requests insulting.
“My immediate response was no, I will never dance the Super Bowl for free…they have money to pay people. And I don’t know why they would be sitting here and in front like it takes nine days of rehearsal to get people into a stadium. That’s a lot, they’re lying,” she told Page Six regarding the casting call, indicating that the ground crew would only do “limited” choreography.
“It’s like you want to get into the antics about it and try to find some kind of loophole to justify what it is. But it’s, at its core, exploitation,” he said. she continued. “It turns out that in the past, when the Super Bowl has done this, that these [field] people end up dancing.
Riley and Centeno alleged that Robinson must be “in the know” about the situation, given the number of dancers who reached out to her and tagged her in social posts about it.
They also alleged that she used to have dancers work for free. Centeno claimed she experienced it firsthand during West’s Sunday service for Coachella in 2019.
“There were volunteer dancers to help make it a bigger moment…but the professional dancers and the ‘paid’ volunteers were all in the same rehearsals. They basically did the same amount of work and went to Indio, California,” she said.
Riley told Page Six that she was reportedly blocked by Robinson when she reached out to discuss this year’s Super Bowl. In the end, she just wants Robinson – who worked alongside her father, musician Teddy Riley – “to do the right thing”.
“It’s such an amazing Super Bowl, happening during Black History Month and showcasing black art, black culture and primarily showcasing black talent… so if you want to be the leader of a community, now is the time, if anything, to step up and be called, to do whatever you can to move the movement forward,” Riley advised.
“We are in a space where we are overexploited as the art of dance is overused, overworked, then undervalued and underpaid. I think the next step is really who is going to stand up, how loud do we need to be…to raise awareness about the mistreatment of dance artists,” she continued. “We should raise the bar now and hold ourselves accountable, especially when we have accepted these oppressive methods and practices for so long.”
Centeno expressed similar sentiments, telling Page Six, “I think in general the dance industry just got to that place where we’re fed up with a lot of things. Because it’s not just people who ask us to dance for free, it’s also these rates [for dancers] hasn’t changed for 20 years.
In addition to Robinson, Riley is tapping Super Bowl LVI halftime show executive producer Jesse Collins and this year’s headliners to make changes.
“When it comes to the Super Bowl, there’s enough money that can flow. The real question is who is the person who pulls the plug? Who is the person who can consult and get approval?” she said “I think you definitely have to leave it to the reference producer who puts his name to it… and that would be Jesse Collins, who happens to be an African-American man and a leader in our industry cultural community. .”
Riley said it would also be “so amazing” to see the halftime performers take over.
“Mary J. Blige has a heart of gold, and personally, knowing just Snoop Dogg, I know he does. I don’t know Marshall Mathers [Eminem] personally, but I know he’s, like, amazing…and he knows how hard it is to get on in this world,” Riley explained.
“So I feel like somebody can do something. Ideally it would be to make these people pay,” she continued. “I think if it’s not for Fatima, I think that if someone’s personal camp could even provide something for these volunteers in Inglewood, whether it’s Beats by Dre everyone gets Beats or the reduction in rehearsal days… I don’t want anything more than that for just money. It would be so monumental.
Page Six also spoke with Keenan Williams – currently a hype artist for the Orlando Magic basketball team – who volunteered as an on-court dancer for the Super’s halftime show. Last year’s Bowl with The Weeknd. He took the unpaid gig to gain exposure, seeing it as an opportunity that could help boost his resume for future paid dance jobs.
While Williams said being part of the production was “a dream” and gave him more “confidence” as a dancer, he admitted that the long hours spent in rehearsals – all in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic – were sometimes exhausting.
“We had about eight 10-hour rehearsals,” said Williams, who was tasked with finding his own transportation and a place to stay in Tampa, Florida. “It was definitely a big, eye-opening experience for me to be like, ‘Wow, that’s what it’s like to work with celebrities as a background dancer.’ It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”
As to whether he would consider doing it again? Probably not without allowance, Williams told us.
“I was like, ‘Man, I’d really like to do this again!’ for the experience itself and being able to network with other dancers,” he explained.
“But also as artists we have to have self-esteem and a prize for ourselves. The show doesn’t pay the bills, and that’s frustrating.
Representatives for Robinson, Tia Rivera, Bloc Agency, the NFL, Pepsi, Collins and the star halftime performers did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
Super Bowl LVI kicks off on Sunday, February 13 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.