Superbowl 2023 - Rihanna

It's all about the grass

I spent most of Rihanna’ halftime show worried about the fact they were flying a pregnant woman 60’ in the air.

Why were they doing that?

The biggest reason was the grass.

The NFL is committed to keeping the halftime show’s impact on the field as small as possible.

Right upfront that’s the challenge designer Willo Perron, choreographer Parris Goebel faced.

This is a little crazy but you know how they make that 100,000 sq ft of hybrid Bermuda grass grow? It’s on a tray that is rolled outside into the sun during the week and rolled back under the stadium’s dome for game days.

So how do you setup a stage and surround it with 80 dancers in 7.5 minutes without damaging the turf?

I loved the look of the show. Platforms flying up and down. I also loved the tight formation dancing. Great moves without, you know, a lot of turf churning movement.

Formation dance is like hyped up cheerleading. Perfect for a football game. Savage X Fenty costumes were a hoot.

How much rehearsal did it take? How much work went into it?

800 on the crew. Wow. I’ve done my fair share of high pressure set changes. That show was next level challenge. And as the NFL gets more strict protecting players, we can expect the shows to get more air.

Cirque de Soliel anyone?

We saw Rihanna perform in Central Park and her live show is awesome. She can sing. Her band is tight. She’s a super-diva and her fans adore her.

I’m not going deep into any of the music stuff because that was a spectacle. That was the point. And it looked amazing.

She lip-synced her way through the hits. A little careless at times. She went live for Umbrella and Diamonds.

And she flew into the air on a wobbly platform.

Not the most memorable show musically. (I still vote for that Purple Rain in the rain guitar solo as THE moment.)

But diva Rihanna certainly ‘rose’ to the occasion!