Back in December, Montreal professional dancer Justin Corbo was performing with Colombian singer J Balvin when he received a casting email to audition for the Super Bowl LX half-time show with headliner Bad Bunny.
“I was devastated because I wasn’t able to make it,” recounted Corbo in a recent interview.
But as luck would have it, while back in Montreal for the holidays, Corbo got word from his agent that the production team was inviting him to perform at the historic show.
“I was going crazy with my family and friends, and I told them that I needed to get back to Los Angeles asap. We were starting rehearsal on Jan. 7,” he said.
Over the next month, Corbo, along with more than 160 dancers and 300 human prop trees, practised hours upon hours of choreography and camera-blocking. And, of course, fittings.
“It is definitely a huge puzzle piece, and a lot of patience is necessary for a job like this,” the dancer said.
“The artist Bad Bunny would come and join us, and the choreographer would guide him through the performance. And then we fixed any modifications that he didn’t like or wanted to add.”
Still on a high from the show, Corbo noted that seeing a performance of this scale come together was “crazy.”
“Benito [Antonio Martínez Ocasio] spoke to us as a group, and he mentioned that he doesn’t like to rehearse too much. He wants the performance to be organic and raw,” Corbo said.
“We only rehearsed with him four times in total at the stadium. He is an extremely humble person. He has qualities that everyone should have. And I feel that as a team working together, we all obtained and used those qualities like he does, with lots of love.”
Even though it’s been days since the show, Corbo said he is still processing the experience and is taking in all of the love he has received.
“It’s an awesome opportunity. I am extremely grateful.”