Due to the Taylor Swift effect, the 58th Super Bowl was the most-watched US broadcast since the event of the Apollo 11 landing. Its halftime show peaked at 129.3 million viewers.
Who were the Super Bowl Halftime Show choreographers, the masterminds behind iconic performances? Let’s do a quick head count with me!
Table of Contents
List of Super Bowl Halftime Show Choreographers
| Super Bowl year | Headliner(s) | Choreographer |
| 2011 | Black Eyed Peas | Fatima Robinson |
| 2012 | Madonna | Jamie King |
| 2013 | Beyonce | Frank Gatson Jr |
| 2015 | Katy Perry | Nick Florez and RJ Durell |
| 2017 | Lady Gaga | Richy Jackson |
| 2018 | Justin Timberlake | Marty Kudelka |
| 2020 | Shakira, Jennifer Lopez | Parris Goebel |
| 2021 | The Weeknd | Charm La’Donna |
| 2022 | Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar | Fatima Robinson |
| 2023 | Rihanna | Parris Goebel |
| 2024 | Usher | Sean-Christopher Freeman |
Fatima Robinson
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fatima_noir/
Fatima Robinson is a legend in the choreography field. Even if you are not familiar with her name, you are likely to have seen some if not a lot of her pieces.
Remember the Time by Michael Jackson, More Than A Woman & Rock The Boat by Aaliyah, As Long As You Love Me & Everybody by Backstreet Boys, and My Humps by The Black Eyed Peas are a few high-profile routines highlighting her remarkable career.
In 2011, the Black Eyed Peas entrusted their Super Bowl appearance to her incredible talent, paving the way for a series of notable stages she choreographed and directed.
Her work shook the Super Bowl 2022 again with the sleek moves of the dancers backing up for various hip-hop stars such as Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, and more.
She is also the Director of Choreography for Beyonce’s RENAISSANCE World Tour 2023!
It seems like nothing is too difficult to achieve for Robinson as she pieces everything together effortlessly and ensures every individual in the performance synchronizes.
Jamie King
Jamie King is the man building the extravaganza for Madonna at Super Bowl 2012. The performance was 12 minutes in length with star-studded spectacles, Roman soldiers, and overall explosive choreography.
However, Jamie King wasn’t a rookie in the Super Bowl.
In 1996, he choreographed Diana Ross’ stage. Further back in 1990, he participated in Michael Jackson’s dance line for this iconic show.
Nowadays, people recognize him as a top-tier director for concerts with credits in some of the biggest tours, like Femme Fatale by Britney Spears, Black and White by Ricky Martin, or Stripped by Christina Aguilera.
His tours have earned approximately $2 billion thus far.
His talent also shines in the field of reality shows and producing for J Lo and Marc Anthony. According to Anthony, Jamie King is a genius regarding the visionary aspect, since you can never repeat what he creates.
Frank Gatson Jr
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frankgatson/
Gatson is no stranger to the Super Bowl as he dances for the Up With People organization and travels frequently with them to different venues, including Super Bowl halftime.
Eventually, he became the captain and started managing the shows.
For a better view of dancing, he pursued studying at the Alvin Ailey Dance Center and the Broadway Dance Center before returning to his former university and receiving his degree for a Master’s in Theatre and Dance.
Ever since Destiny’s Child, Gatson has been choreographing and directing for Beyonce and Kelly Rowland. He has also held the position of creative director for renowned names like En Vogue, Rihanna, and Jennifer Lopez.
After Rihanna’s successful Super Bowl performance, he called it the best Super Bowl show ever and stayed loyal to his opinion despite the backlash he got from Beyonce’s stans.
Nick Florez and RJ Durell
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickandrjofficial/
Nick Florez has achieved desirable projects as both a dancer and choreographer. His projects include names like Beyonce, Madonna, Will Smith, Britney Spears, and Katy Perry. His appearances on big TV shows are not humble at all either!
With the organizing choreographer RJ Durell, the duo staged the Super Bowl 2015 for Katy Perry. Although the feedback they received after the show was a diversity of compliments and criticism, it’s hard to deny how impressive the sharks were.
The other half of the duo, RJ Durell, has a dance background with his mom being a dance teacher. While having a scholarship in LA, Durell made sure to learn as much as he could about dancing. He submitted ideas for Madonna’s Confession tour and the rest was history.
Nowadays, this duo still frequently work together on significant projects.
Richy Jackson
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richysquirrel/
Richy Jackson is a dancer, choreographer, and creative director active from 1999 to the present. He is most acclaimed for his work with Lady Gaga, the artist infamous for reinventions of image and versatility.
2017 was a big year for Jackson as he choreographed for Lady Gaga in both the Super Bowl and the Grammys.
Although he has worked with Gaga since the beginning of her career and knows the extravagant concepts she loves to portray, imagining a whole performance and making sure it matches a world-class platform took a lot of work.
Another big event for the team was Coachella 2017, which took place in March, right after the explosive February they had. It was short notice and Lady Gaga was replacing Beyonce – the most anticipated superstar of the show – but Jackson didn’t miss any step.
Marty Kudelka
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrkudelka/
As Marty Kudelka has been Justin Timberlake’s artistic director and choreographer for over two decades, they sort of became close friends beyond work.
And even then, Timberlake was giving Kudelka generous and genuine praise whenever he was asked about what Kudelka could do.
Besides projects with Timberlake, Kudelka has also shared his magic with the likes of Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Pink, Jennifer Lopez, and more significant names.
His amazing ability for creative ideas brought him 5 awards and nominations for Best Choreography from MTV.
Despite the fame attached to his name, Kudelka’s working style is considered relaxed and inspiring, especially in the clips and images for the rehearsal of Super Bowl 2018, which included Timberlake’s hits: Can’t Stop the Feeling!, Sexy Back, and Mirrors.
The reassuring feeling and the energetic environment Kudelka creates also made him one of the most reliable names for TV shows like So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars.
Charm La’Donna
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charmladonna/
Who would have thought the mastermind behind Super Bowl 2021 of The Weeknd would be such a young female artist?
This 14-minute performance involved about 200 individuals to create a grand and overwhelming atmosphere.
La’Donna secured a spot in Madonna’s lineup for a world tour when she was only 17 years old, indicating how great she was as a dancer.
However, with the guidance of Fatima Robinson, she found a new and strong passion for choreographing.
Before 2021, La’Donna had also worked with Robinson in another Super Bowl appearance of Black Eyed Peas, though they both shared that their dynamic bond formed when La’Donna was only a child and still went by the name Charmaine.
La’Donna recently released a single and started her music career, so we can certainly await more wonderful products from her!
Parris Goebel
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parrisgoebel/
Goebel’s bond with hip-hop has formed since she was 10 years old, and her raw talents took her to the finals of the Monsters of Hip-Hop convention.
Nonetheless, with consecutive awards for choreography and performance, there was no doubt where Goebel’s potential lies.
In 2020, she choreographed the stage of the ever-so-hot Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, which immediately received a downpour of compliments for the perfect distribution of vocal, dance, and stage presence.
Following the success, she returned to the Super Bowl once more with Rihanna. The show raised the question of who choreographed the Super Bowl Halftime Show 2023, though dance experts and avid fans might have figured it out already.
Rihanna’s Super Bowl was considered one of the best performances to ever exist in the show’s history, which will undoubtedly set a high bar for the next superstars to follow.
Sean-Christopher Freeman
After a long wait, the mastermind behind Usher’s Super Bowl Halftime Show is finally revealed, and fans were thrilled to see a rather familiar face.
Before this show, Freeman also choreographed and led the skater team during Usher’s “My Way: Las Vegas Residency” tour.
Unlike a lot of dance prodigies, Freeman took dancing as a mere leisure hobby. However, after attending a few classes and meeting inspiring teachers, the idea of being a professional dancer and choreographer eventually got to him.
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanxopher/
The COVID pandemic quietened his life and his teaching career significantly, until a job offer from Good Morning America got him back on track and opened up more opportunities for him.
With his innovative and artistic vision, the 9-minute performance of Usher was a viral phenomenon on all SNS platforms.
Aside from the top-tier presence of the award-winning singer, the skaters spinning and flipping in perfect synchronization were one of the elements that the audience couldn’t take their eyes off.
More amazingly, Freeman only joined the team in the middle of January, when the show was in its rehearsal phase!
Conclusion
I’m going to wrap up this list of Super Bowl Halftime Show choreographers with so much eagerness for future shows!
Do you have a favorite among the names I have mentioned? Which halftime show is your all-time favorite? Are there any other artists that should be mentioned?
Let me know what you think and share your experience!