Pictured Above: USF St. Petersburg alum Henry Burrows dances among the masked performers with The Weeknd during his finale on the field of Raymond James Stadium for the Super Bowl LV halftime show.
Courtesy of The Weeknd on Instagram
By Molly Ryan
Few can say they’ve seen a Super Bowl halftime show in-person, but even fewer can say that they’ve performed in one.
So when USF St. Petersburg alumnus Henry Burrows got accepted to be a dancer alongside The Weeknd in the Super Bowl LV halftime show, it was an offer he simply couldn’t refuse.
“I was ecstatic (to be accepted),” the 2020 elementary education graduate said. “I couldn’t believe that I would get the chance to be a part of something so epic and seen by millions.”
During his time at USF St. Petersburg, Burrows was a member of The Herd Step Team for three years – giving him the choreographic experience needed to perform.
“Another USF (alumna), Kayley Klein, sent me the details and application for it and said it might be something that I’d be interested in … And so I applied (Jan. 28)… And then the next day I got an email saying I was casted.”
Klein thought Burrows would be perfect for the show, “If you know (Burrows), you know he lives to perform.”
“When I read the qualifications, (Burrows) just fit the bill,” Klein said. “It would’ve been a crime if I didn’t send him the information.”
Winning the final playoff game against the Green Bay Packers on Jan. 24, The Buccaneers became the first team in NFL history to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium.
“… Being at Raymond James Stadium, USF’s home stadium, just all really added to the hype and the excitement of all of us who were mainly Tampa Bay and Orlando dancers,” Burrows said. “We were just really excited to be able to show out on our home turf.”
It was Burrows’ first time being on the stadium’s field since being crowned USF St. Petersburg’s homecoming king in 2018.
Among roughly 250 other dancers, Burrows danced in The Weeknd’s finale during “House of Balloons” and “Blinding Lights.”
“I was in the North section (of the field) … a lot of the dancers were from the USF dance team, the University of Tampa dance team, some from like VYB dance studio in Tampa, some dancers were from Orlando and then the choreographer, Charm, brought like her own core group from L.A. with her,” Burrows said.
While the production included multiple large scale elements, the dancers only had about a week and a half to prepare for the show.
“It was a lot of practice,” Burrows said. “I went to a total of four, seven-hour rehearsals.”
COVID-19 was key when planning the show’s production.
According to Burrows, at rehearsals “they had some COVID(-19) officers who would walk around all the time, making sure we had masks on, making sure we weren’t gathering, making sure that whenever we got in a line to pick up costumes or microphones that everyone was six feet apart.”
While it faced unprecedented circumstances, Burrows told The Crow’s Nest that the whole show went according to plan.
“It’s so surreal to see,” Burrows said. “I’ve watched it a couple of times now… to think that someone can go back and watch me in this performance is really honoring to me. It’s definitely a memory I’ll have for the rest of my life.”
“It was very cool to see (Burrows) in the halftime show,” Amari Ross, fellow USF St. Petersburg alumna and friend of Burrows, said.
“He had to keep it a secret, so I didn’t know until I checked his Snapchat after he got done performing,” Ross said. (Burrows) has always been the performer out of our friend group so watching him get to partake in something as big as the Super Bowl halftime show is amazing. I’m so happy for him, and very proud of him.”
While to most this will go down as the “halftime show during COVID-19,” to Burrows it will be the one where he danced alongside The Weeknd.
“I loved meeting all these different people who are also interested in the arts and sharing storytelling,” Burrows said. “And being able to work with The Weeknd to bring his vision and his message to fruition … It was just a beautiful community of artists I feel that I’ll always remember.”
