LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — This Lafayette woman got to live out her dream Super Bowl weekend in Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show.

Paige Manuel, a dancer at Louisiana State University, said being a professional dancer has been a dream of hers since she began dancing as a child. She says performing alongside Kendrick Lamar, was beyond anything she ever imagined.

“It was crazy, if you were to ask me a year that if I were to be performing in the Super Bowl, I would be like, are you kidding me,” she said.

Manuel said a few weeks before the Super Bowl, she and her dance team at LSU, “The Tiger Girls” just got back home from the UDA national competition, when her hip-hop choreographer, Sammy McFadden, sent out a link to the team to apply to audition for a spot in the Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans.

She tried out for the spot with the mindset of just enjoying the audition experience, however, when she got the call she secured a role in the show, she was over the moon.

As the performance grew closer Manuel soon realized this was not just another gig, it was the start of her professional career as a dancer taking off.

“It was just like nervous in a good way, like this is real, like your dreams are finally slowly coming true, this is your first ever professional job, first ever audition for you to books this, just go out there and perform, and that’s how I was calming myself down,” she said.

For Manuel, getting to dance alongside Kendrick Lamar, one of Hip-Hop’s hottest rappers, was an experience she’ll never forget.

“It was surreal, he’s a very nice, calm person, he’s very funny, he’s very chill, he made it very comfortable, comfortable for like all the dancers there and just made us feel so wanted and welcomed,” she said.

Manuel was able to meet other dancers who have performed alongside major figures like Chris Brown and Beyonce—dancers she’s looked up to since she was a little girl. When asked about the advice she would give to those wanting to pursue dance, she said she would tell them to keep working hard and believe that dreams do come true.

“Keep training, don’t stop, don’t compare your journey to another person your age, if you believe in a higher power, I would say really just take the time to talk to God, and believe in yourself and your abilities.”

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