Imagine you were on a high school dance team and found out you would be performing in the Super Bowl halftime show? With. Justin. Timberlake.
Obviously, the first thing you’d want to do is run to tell all of your friends the exciting news—after you posted about it on social media, of course! But the hundreds of Minnesota teens who performed alongside Timberlake during the Super Bowl LII halftime show had to keep it under wraps until the big game.
“There was huge secrecy,” Minnesota State High School League spokesman John Millea told the Star Tribune. “Everybody kept a lid on it very nicely.”
Of course, once the halftime show was underway, students, parents and staff from the schools that participated took to social media to finally share their pride and excitement.
Incredible Super Bowl halftime show with an amazingly talented supporting cast that included several @Eastview_LDT members! Definitely a memory for a lifetime! pic.twitter.com/YTCPvxQTm3
— Eastview Athletics (@EVHSAthletics) February 5, 2018
The Blazettes Super Bowl LII Team just danced with Justin Timberlake! So proud of these girls! Go Blazettes! pic.twitter.com/FxxCvBWuLl
— Burnsville Blazettes (@BHSblazettes) February 5, 2018
An amazing experience to dance alongside @jtimberlake in the #SBLIIhalftime! A HUGE shoutout to @MGSHPrincipal, Ricardo, Rhonda, @MSHSL and all of MGSH for making this possible for us! We will cherish these memories forever! #justintimberlake #boldnorth #mshsl #PEPSIHALFTIMESHOW pic.twitter.com/MR6VlNxE2y
— MG Dance Team (@MapleGroveDT) February 5, 2018
Fortunately for the excited dancers, they didn’t have to hold on to the secret for too long. While the halftime show is a huge production, the dancers didn’t find out until just one week before the big day that they would be involved. And if you think it was hard for the students to keep quiet, it appears the adults, including Millea, needed to exercise some restraint as well!
I made him promise not to tweet about it! Can you imagine how painful this week was for him?? #prayforMSHSLJohn https://t.co/Sfo5SErPg0
— Allison Millea (@MsMillea) February 5, 2018
Other school administrators shared their pride in their hometown students taking the big stage.
Congratulations to our @MapleGroveDT, who just performed in the Super Bowl LII Halftime Show! #FearTheLeaf pic.twitter.com/ePbP6MZSof
— Principal Becker (@MGSHPrincipal) February 5, 2018
How do you top off a Section Championship? A #SBLII halftime show w/ @jtimberlake Great job Trojets! @WayzataDance
Good luck at state! pic.twitter.com/SEDfaQUSVl— Wayzata Public Schools (@wayzataschools) February 5, 2018
In addition to dancing during the halftime show, Minnesota high school students also performed in NFL events leading up to the Super Bowl, including the pre-game events at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday.
We are so grateful that we had the opportunity to hold the flag with @Eastview_LDT during the National Anthem at Super Bowl 52. pic.twitter.com/eTdqxPbGFs
— LN Lake Liners DT (@lnlakeliners) February 5, 2018
And local high schools weren’t the only young people to show off their talent during the halftime show. The University of Minnesota’s marching band played and danced along with Timberlake as he performed his hit “Suit and Tie.”
And it’s safe to say these college students were just bit excited after hitting the field and playing their hearts out.
"Hey, @kare11! Guess what we just did?" Watch the @UMNmarch band celebrate after a once-in-a-lifetime performance with @jtimberlake at the #SB52 #HalftimeShow… https://t.co/5bA1zn16AY pic.twitter.com/UlDt78nEPW
— KARE 11 (@kare11) February 5, 2018
Congratulations to all the talented (and lucky) students on making the most of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—and for managing to keep the secret all week long!