MountainView colleague dances at Super Bowl

Chris Allen has some serious goals:

• Win a dance competition
• Dance professionally in several shows
• Go to the Super Bowl.

This weekend, Chris checked off one of those goals from his list. He danced in the Super Bowl halftime show with Usher.

“It’s a mind-blowing experience,” Chris said in between dance practices for the halftime show, prior to the Super Bowl. “My goal was to go to the Super Bowl, I never thought I’d go dance at it.”

Chris, 43, works at MountainView Hospital as an EVS trash tech. He removes biohazardous waste and other waste from units within the hospital, mostly from the emergency room and the hospital's South Tower. He’s been with MountainView for two and a half years.

Chris has been dancing since 2007 and dancing professionally since 2015. He has been in several shows and performances, including the Essence Stellar Gospel Music Awards and with Canton Jones, a Christian hip-hop musician.

Chris dances with two local troupes and received notice through them that dancers were needed for the Super Bowl halftime show. He went through numerous auditions in Las Vegas and LA, including submitting a video of him dancing. He received notice in January that he had been accepted as one of the dancers and has been practicing with the group every day since.

Because of the grueling practice schedule, Chris took a leave from the hospital, but said he’ll be back the day after the Super Bowl, Feb. 12.

Chris is part of the flash mob that swarms the field as Usher and Little John perform. The theme was a “back to school” vibe, so Chris wore blue jeans, a burgundy velour letterman jacket with a black and white polo shirt underneath, and burgundy shoes with white trim.

The day of the Super Bowl, Chris had to be onsite at 9 a.m., prepped and ready by 10 a.m. for the halftime show that would be at least eight hours later. All phones had to be wrapped to keep photos and videos from being recorded and shared during practices and before and during the game.

Chris said all the practice and anticipation has been worth it. Not only has he checked off a goal, he danced at one of the biggest events ever hosted in Las Vegas, for an international audience.

“It really has been an incredible experience,” he said.