APSU alum talks performing with Kendrick Lamar at Super Bowl LIX

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – “Girlfriend, you deserve to be here.”

After years of battling self-doubt, Austin Peay State University alumna Kyrstin Young affirmed these words as she stepped onto the field to perform with Kendrick Lamar as a dancer in this year’s Super Bowl halftime show.

The broadcast drew a record-breaking 133.5 million viewers, and the stadium crowd was the largest Young had ever seen. For the former APSU dance team member, it was a clear sign her hard work had paid off.

“I’ll never forget the experience, and I never thought I’d be part of history like this,” she said. “I remember getting on TikTok and Instagram afterward – it was all anyone talked about for days, and I was there.”

Seizing the day

However, Young nearly missed her chance to travel to the Super Bowl. A friend sent her the audition notice four hours before the deadline, and she recorded and uploaded her video with little time to spare.

“The old me would have thought, ‘I’m not doing that,’” said Young, who currently teaches dance classes at various studios in Nashville. “But I’m trying to be very intentional about where I’m at in life right now, and I want to spend more time dancing and performing.”

By the time Young left work and started to record, she had less than an hour to meet the audition’s 2 p.m. deadline – but she was determined to succeed.

“They sent a link to a video with a routine you had to learn,” she said. “It wasn’t long; it was two eight-counts of choreography and then they wanted you to freestyle. My video ended up being about 30 seconds.”

Besides learning the choreography and picking her best take, Young had to give a slate of background information to introduce herself and create an account for the audition website.

“Once I got everything together, I had about five minutes left to post the video to YouTube and uploaded the wrong one,” she said. “I think the right one was submitted at 2:01 p.m. I was really sad about it … I thought they’d never choose me because it was technically late, and I didn’t think it was that good because I was panicking about not having much time.”

After three weeks, Young was surprised to see an email asking for her information and measurements. She thought it was sent by mistake, but decided to reply and was booked for the job a week later.

“Prior to this experience, I’ve had a really hard time with internalizing that I’m good enough,” she said. “Because I didn’t feel like it was a good enough audition in my head, I convinced myself I wasn’t good enough for the job. This was a confirmation for me that I can do something like this.”

Behind the scenes

Young soon traveled to New Orleans for a week of rehearsals ahead of the game. First, she learned the choreography with other local dancers, and then memorized her spots on the field with a larger Los Angeles-based group.

“All the locals spent our own time together before LA got in, and those rehearsals were not easy at all,” she said. “We had to learn basically a whole show in four days, and the bond we created inside and outside rehearsal is something I’ll never forget.”

Young said choreographer Charm La’Donna made sure the dancers were prepared for the performance, and they had plenty of opportunities to work directly with Lamar before the Super Bowl.

“Kendrick was at every rehearsal, but he was always in and out,” she said. “He’d come do the show once or twice, maybe three times, then he’d have to go to an interview or event. One day he flew in for rehearsal, left for the Grammys, then he was back the next day. His work ethic is insane.”

Although Lamar’s schedule kept him busy, he made a lasting impression on the dancers by providing valuable words of encouragement before the show.

“At the last rehearsal, he huddled us all up and gave us a pep talk – ‘never stop being great, if you’re scared, just do it. Art runs the world, so keep being creative,’” Young said. “That was really nice to hear before game day. Some artists are in and out, but he took the time to talk to us and let us know he appreciated us being there and doing this with him.”

Taking center stage

As the group headed to the stadium, Young was surprised by the number of people working behind the scenes. That put into perspective how significant the moment was for everyone involved.

“This is not a job that people get to do every day – the Super Bowl happens once a year, and they don’t always have dancers for halftime performances,” she said. “I’m just looking around taking it all in. People are crying and praying, and I thought to myself, ‘God, thank you.’”

Even more people were gathered inside the venue, but Young’s experience and training kept her from feeling overwhelmed.

“The amount of people never scares me, because I don’t see anybody when I perform,” she said. “This was the biggest crowd I’ve ever performed for in my life, but when I’m out there, I don’t see faces. All I see is a bunch of lights.”

Once the lights filled the stadium and the music began, Young felt a wave of confidence and excitement.

“I went to take my first step onto the field when it was time to dance, and I just snapped in,” she said. “Even though beforehand I felt like I wasn’t good enough, I knew in the moment that I was where I needed to be.”

Kyrstin Young with the Gov and other members of the APSU Dance Team during her time as an undergraduate. | Photo by Taylor Slifko

Inspiring the next generation

Now that Young has performed on one of the world’s biggest stages, she hopes to continue touring with different artists while exploring opportunities as a dancer in television and film.

“I’ve also just created a nonprofit for kids who want to dance, whose parents may not have the money or the transportation,” she said. “I did it as a camp last summer, but now it’s a registered nonprofit called Kreate You.”

Young was inspired to start the organization after working with children in Nashville’s underserved communities. Her vision is twofold: to help families pay for their children’s dance expenses and to expand the reach of the Kreate You summer camp by touring it across multiple states.

“I believe money shouldn’t be an issue for anybody, and children should be able to pursue anything and everything they want,” she said. “If you want to dance and be a superstar, money should be the last thing you have to think about. I want to do everything I can to create these opportunities for kids and let them know they can do the Super Bowl too.”