The listing of performers who’ve been part of the Tremendous Bowl halftime present greater than as soon as is brief, however Parris Goebel is on it. The New Zealand–born Goebel, 31, first received to have a hand within the leisure portion of soccer’s greatest evening when she choreographed Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s 2020 joint outing in Miami Gardens, Florida. However Goebel’s work choreographing this yr’s blockbuster Rihanna present—which mixed the singer’s extremely anticipated return along with her shock being pregnant reveal—in Glendale, Arizona, blew up the web, as Riri hit the multiplatform stage in a pair of Alaïa by Pieter Mulier coats and a customized pink boiler go well with by Loewe.
Goebel, one in all Harper’s Bazaar’s Icons for 2023, is understood for the pressure and dynamism of her routines. (To see extra from our 2023 Icons concern, together with cowl stars Kendall Jenner, Doja Cat, and Paul Mescal, click on right here.) Lopez first encountered her on YouTube, the place Goebel—then nonetheless a teen and residing in Auckland—had begun posting movies of her native dance crew in motion. The multihyphenate employed her to assist choreograph her 2012 world tour. Since then, Goebel has labored with artists like Justin Bieber and SZA and collaborated with Rihanna on the star’s Savage X Fenty exhibits.
Once I first began choreographing for my dance crew as an adolescent in Auckland, New Zealand, I used to be obsessive about actually hard-hitting motion. Dance is my language, and I knew I wished to speak energy. Possibly that got here from my upbringing, my tradition, and the way I noticed the world. It was this actually beasty, unapologetic sense of expression. However as I grew older and have become a bit extra in contact with my femininity, my type ended up changing into this stunning fusion of masculine and female vitality.
We typically assume femininity is delicate, however I don’t see it like that. Ladies are born with energy and resilience. We’re continuously carrying one million completely different hats and have these unexplainable skills that really feel like superpowers. I work actually exhausting on rewriting the narrative of what it means to be female. Femininity is energy and proudly owning your sexuality in a daring and unapologetic approach.
I solely select tasks now that push me and that I’m going to come back out of higher, smarter, and stronger. I actually thrive below strain. The frequent thread of every thing I do is that it’s uniquely difficult, whether or not that’s choreographing a music video or creative-directing and choreographing a present at Paris Couture Week.
This yr’s Tremendous Bowl halftime present was up there for positive. There have been many layers to that efficiency that made it sort of a posh mission, from working with 280 dancers—a few of whom have been within the air on floating levels—to discovering out Ri was pregnant.
Truthfully, I had a intestine feeling the choreography would go viral. Once I made up sure strikes, I used to be like, “Oh, everybody goes to do that.” My favourite movies are those for “Work” the place folks play Rihanna and get different folks to crawl after them. I believe that’s hilarious!
Proper now, I’m engaged on a function movie with Sony. It’s my directorial debut, and I’m actually excited to place dance on the large display screen in a approach that nobody’s ever accomplished earlier than. However as for what I’ll be doing in 5 years, I couldn’t let you know. Possibly I’ll open a restaurant, perhaps I’ll begin somewhat jazz bar or one thing. I’m all the time chasing the joys of making and doing one thing new.
This interview and photograph shoot have been carried out earlier than the SAG-AFTRA strike.
A model of this text seems within the September 2023 concern of Harper’s Bazaar, obtainable on newsstands August 29.
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