Georgia Tech Engineering Grad Dances in Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show
Former Georgia Tech Goldrush Dancer and ISyE graduate Raianna Brown was among a handful of dancers selected to perform with Shakira at Super Bowl LIV.
She’s a full-time engineer and consultant — and a professional dancer who just performed on one of the world’s biggest stages.
Raianna Brown auditioned just a few months ago to dance at Super Bowl LIV in Miami. That audition came not too long after she earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgia Tech in industrial engineering. And after being selected as part of an elite cadre of performers, the work began.
“We rehearsed for about a month,” Brown explained. “It was definitely one of the best dance experiences I’ve had. Working with this team has taught me so much about large-scale performances and how to truly put on a show to be seen around the world,” Brown says. It’s estimated that 102 million viewers tuned in to the game.
The dancers were all styled exactly the same, so it’s difficult to tell them apart. Brown says, however, you can spot her pretty easily in the final pose of Shakira’s performance.
“I’m the third head down from the top.”
While this might be the biggest stage, Brown is used to performing in front of a crowd.
She danced with Georgia Tech’s Goldrush, and was a mainstay on the sidelines at Georgia Tech football and basketball games.
“I really feel like that prepared me to perform in Hard Rock Stadium this past Sunday,” she says.
Georgia Tech also primed her with the skills she needs to keep up with an incredibly hectic schedule. When she’s not dancing professionally, Brown is head of software development at CMB Global Partners, a consulting firm in Atlanta. On any given day, she could be splitting her time between coding and choreography.
“My time at Tech really prepared me for how to balance my career and dance,” Brown says.
She says she’s also thankful for the support she’s received from the greater Georgia Tech community. Aside from being featured by Instagram main account during the Super Bowl, Brown also got a shoutout from her former college.
“They used my hashtag I started #WhoSaysEngineersCantBeDancers, and that really meant a lot to me.”