SANTA CLARA, California (KLTV) - 20 sophomores with the Tyler Junior College Apache Belles performed at the Super Bowl LX pre-game party, but their planned performance turned into something no one on the dance team expected.
The sophomores took the stage in front of Levi’s Stadium on Super Bowl game day, with dance captain Paige Phlieger leading the team during the performance.
“It’s just kind of all fun you know? Like you go out there and you see the crowd and there’s so many people saying ‘what are these hats and boots?’” Phlieger recalls. “It was awesome just to kind of see everybody’s glances and realize that we were leaving our footprints there and that people would be able to remember us.”
The Apache Belles’ performance served as the opening set for the Chain Smokers. The team planned to go home immediately after their performance, but the pre-game party coordinator told TJC Apache Belle director Happi Byrne that the team could stay and listen to The Chainsmokers from behind the stage.
“We’re like, ‘well if we just get to listen to it, that’d be great,’” Byrne said. “The girls were really excited about that.”
“This is like, peak middle school for us, we all love The Chainsmokers,” Phlieger added. “When \[Byrne\] came back in and told us that we might be able to listen to The Chainsmokers, it’s kind of like, ‘how can this get any better?’”
When The Chainsmokers’ performance began, the team sung and dance, recording the entire experience on their phones. That’s when behind-the-scenes crews noticed their excitement and jumped on the opportunity to get them more involved.
“Some of the behind-the-scenes crew, some of their media team started noticing us a little bit,” Phlieger said. “And then we got ushered to come backstage and it’s like ‘oh my gosh, we are backstage with The Chainsmokers right now!’”
Now being able to see The Chainsmokers actively performing just feet away from them, the team’s excitement built further. Media crews were filming the team dancing, screaming, and singing to the performance. That’s when the final surprise kicked in.
“The Chainsmokers usher us on stage and it’s like, holy cow,” Phlieger recalled. “Every time you thought it couldn’t, it just kept like stepping up,” Phlieger said.
For the next several songs, the Apache Belles surrounded The Chainsmokers as they performed, singing and dancing to the music.
“I’m still kind of coming down from cloud nine. It’s unbelievable for sure,” Phlieger said. “Sometimes you forget how lucky you are to be in this organization. To get to go on this trip together, experience all of these things and realize that it’s all from Apache Belles. None of this is an individual thing. It’s all within the organization. All of the love that we received over the weekend, all of the praise that we received, it’s all from Apache Belles.”
Right now, the full performance from the Apache Belles is not yet available online.
_Copyright 2026 KLTV. All rights reserved._