Super Bowl Choreographer Breaks Down Historic Halftime Show: ‘A Big Win For Hip-Hop’

When Dr. Dre called up Fatima Robinson and invited her to choreograph this year’s star-studded Super Bowl Halftime Show, the industry veteran was more than ready for the challenge.

In addition to choreographing Dr. Dre’s “Been There, Done That” music video in 1996, Robinson has also worked with co-headliner Mary J. Blige on a couple of music videos, including “Family Affair,” which the R&B singer performed at the Halftime Show. She was also the creative genius behind co-headliner Kendrick Lamar’s show-stopping and slightly controversial Grammy performance in 2016. Plus, Robinson choreographed another rare moment for hip-hop at the 2011 Super Bowl when Black Eyed Peas and Usher performed.

If Robinson didn’t already sound like the ideal candidate for this year’s Halftime Show, a quick scroll through her IMDb page reveals an illustrious, wide-ranging list of accomplishments, including musical performances at the Academy Awards, the 2006 film Dreamgirls, and Michael Jackson’s iconic “Remember the Time” music video.

Likewise, Robinson’s confidence as a seasoned choreographer was on full display at the Halftime Show in Los Angeles earlier this month. This performance in particular was no easy feat, as it featured a handful of headliners, including Dre, Blige, Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and special guest 50 Cent, in addition to a slew of background dancers, drill teams, and extras. It takes a clear vision and an eye for detail to manage so many moving pieces while giving each superstar their opportunity to shine—not to mention that the entire show took place on an intricately designed set.

And considering Robinson’s roots in hip-hop music, the significance of this year’s event came with an additional level of meaning and pressure.

The Daily Beast spoke with the distinguished choreographer about working with each headliner, recreating 50’s “In da Club” video, and navigating the show’s Los Angeles-inspired layout.

How does it feel seeing all the love the Halftime Show has gotten?

I feel great because we put so much work into it, and it’s always great when the work you put into it gets acknowledged. And it’s also, I think, just a big win for hip-hop music and the culture.

You already had one Halftime Show under your belt when Dr. Dre recruited you. Were you as nervous this time around?

Each time it’s different in a whole other gigantic way. And if anything, this one had more pressure because it was in L.A. It had more artists I had to deal with. And it just seemed, because of the new stadium and [that] the Rams won, there was just so much connected to this particular Halftime Show. I think it was definitely way more pressure.

The dollhouse set design with the Compton landmarks was such an integral part of the show this year. Did you contribute to any of those ideas at all?

Es Devlin, our production and art creator, created the look of the stage and she went and did a tour of Compton. But I helped with what the rooms should be. You know, she’s an Englishwoman. [She said], “I didn’t know what should be put in the rooms to make them feel authentic.” And I just wanted to help out with what that is and potentially make sure that it made sense.

So it was cool. We decided on the barbershop. And I populated that with some dancers called the Glitch Mob. Dre and I had been sharing Instagrams with different dancers that we had seen online. Then there’s a drill team from South Central called Black Diamonds. They were a drill team that I had worked with before, so I definitely wanted to get their vibes in there because I love their syncopation.

And we knew 50 [Cent] was going to be our surprise guest and he was going to be in the club. And so we just kept kind of populating them. And I didn’t even realize it until afterwards. People were telling me that it felt like a play and concert together.

The stage was so intricate and confined compared to other Halftime Shows. Was it more difficult figuring out how to move people around?

Yeah, it definitely had its challenges. But I love when you have somewhere to go or when you can tell a story with the movement and the dance. Like when Dre went into one of his rooms, he hit a little stutter step with his guys. And when Snoop was in his room, he hit a step with the drill team. And they both walked upstairs and met on the rooftop in the middle. It makes staging a show just so much more fun.

And we had different versions of it. The C Walk was on a different side at one point, as we were trying to give everyone in the stadium pieces of the show. It just looked better on the open-face side. It made sense for it to be there, where you have many more eyes at home than you do at the stadium. And plus, the stadium has that big oculus that they can look at.

What was the process of working with each artist?

Well, Kendrick just had the one image of these guys in a box. So that was kind of all we had for that. And then I took that image and started to play with what I felt looked right for that. Then we knew we wanted Mary on the rooftop and for her to have dancers spread out there. But it was Es’s design that had Dre coming up in the studio. And then Eminem wanted a big entrance. So it was really about working with each one of the artists, catch[ing] a vibe and see[ing] what they wanted.

How difficult was it hanging 50 Cent upside down?

Well, he did it in his music video years ago, so it was kind of a homage to that. So what I did was have one of my dancers go to his gym. And then he did it for us, and we timed how long it took him to get down and all that and then we synced the music. Then we put it all together and we were like, this is doable. We actually made the bars, the specs, the same way he had them in his gym to make it easy. I thought it was fun, and it was pretty easy for him as well.

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Did you feel like you got to enjoy the show as it was happening?

I did. I went to a box with some friends and I just watched it as a fan. I had so much fun. The night before, I was talking to our director, Hamish Hamilton. And I was just like, I just don’t know anymore. I’ve watched it so many times. I’ve moved things. I fixed things. You know, I’m now tweaking at it and nitpicking at it. I can’t even tell anymore if it's great. I have feelings of greatness in the rehearsal room. And I’d turn to the dancers, like, “Are we still good?” And they’re like, “Oh my god, that’s amazing.” But then I just didn’t know. So it was so nice to see everybody around me have such a good time and really connect with it.

Were there any ideas you had or stunts you wanted to do that got left on the cutting room floor?

No. We got everything in. Even with Dre playing the piano, we were able to squeeze that in. So no, I think we were able to work everything out. It would’ve been great to see Snoop do another song or see even Eminem do another song. You only have a certain amount of time. But I feel like we picked songs that worked together very well. So I was very pleased.