By Risa Askerooth

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Junior Bryce Lagua and Sophomore Sienna Lalau stepped into the spotlight and on to the stage of the Blaisdell Arena as backup dancers for the song “Rhythm Nation” in Janet Jackson’s Unbreakable World Tour on Nov. 12, 13 and 15. Apart from meeting Jackson herself, the two dancers were among the youngest recruited to perform in front of the massive crowd.

“It was just one song, but it was super fun,” said Lalau. “This is my first time performing for a celebrity so it was super cool and just like, the vibe that I got off of it and my adrenaline was rushing.”

Lagua and Lalau were invited as a part of their dance studio, The Headquarters, to attend a workshop on Nov. 11 hosted by Jackson for local dancers. However, what seemed to be a workshop was actually a much more larger opportunity. “They told us that we would like to see you after the workshop and that’s when they told us, ‘Oh this is actually a secret audition to dance with Janet Jackson in concert,’” recalled Lagua.

After learning the routine for two hours, Lalau and Lagua were two out of 24 selected from just under a hundred dancers and were required to memorize and perfect the routine within six hours. “We all practiced hundreds of times before we went on and while we were practicing a lot of us forgot it. Like you know how you second guess yourself? That’s how a lot of us were feeling, especially me. Because it was such a last-minute thing, we’re all like freaking out. We obviously don’t want to mess up in front of a big crowd like that and especially for a famous celebrity like Janet Jackson,” expressed Lalau.

Out of the three performances that Jackson gave during her stay in Hawaii,  Lagua danced in two of the shows and Lalau danced in three. Despite the briefness of the song “Rhythm Nation,” the intense routine was by no means easy for the dancers. “It’s very militant. Very straight. Straight lines and all about hands,” said Lagua. “So it was very different, it was really challenging.”

Due to the briefness of time allotted for practicing and memorizing the routine, the dancers’ nerves were running high before each showing. “I was both excited and nervous only because I haven’t performed in front of a huge huge crowd. It’s usually around 200 to 300 people but then the concert, it was like 500 plus, so it was like, ‘Wow,’” said Bailey Lagua, Bryce Lagua’s brother who, at 14 years old, was the youngest selected to perform in the concert.

In addition to dancing in front of perhaps the largest crowd of their career, meeting Jackson was yet another unforgettable moment for Bryce Lagua and Lalau. “She just told us like how it’s going to be and just remember to have fun and be humble about the experience. I’ll always remember that. She’s very humble and very sweet,” said Bryce Lagua. “She is such a nice person,” added Lalau. “I’m pretty sure she’s like one of the only artists that ever does that, to bring on local dancers to the stage.”

With such a momentous experience under their belts, Bryce Lagua and Lalau are more comfortable with dancing under heavier pressure and a shorter deadline, and are ready to dance into even bigger opportunities in the future.