Local students shine during Super Bowl
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A Pasadena ISD student got up close and personal with Lady Gaga at Super Bowl LI.
Dobie High School sophomore Ally Bellini shared a hug with the 'Joanne' artist during the Super Bowl halftime show at NRG Stadium Sunday.
"I was thinking in my head, was I dreaming?" Bellini said.
She said she felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
"It's crazy that that happened, I'm still shaking," she said.
Lady Gaga reached for her, wrapped her arms around the Dobie High School sophomore and held her in the middle of the flashy halftime show.
A screen capture posted to Pasadena ISD's Facebook shows Bellini mid-hug, surrounded by her torch-wielding piers, her eyes wide shut.
"I was hugging her then I realized so many people are watching me and I was tearing up. Hold it together for just a little longer and is soon as the lights went down, I bawled," Bellini said.
Bellini's high school troupe, the Dobie Lariaettes, were told four weeks ago that they'd been picked to perform with Gaga. Only their coach and parents knew about it.
"It was kind of cool to have this little secret that built this bond amongst us," dancer Gabriela Munoz said.
Bellini said that the hug was totally unscripted and life-changing.
"I love her. This meant the world to me," Bellini said.
However, Bellini wasn't the only local student in the Super Bowl spotlight.
Clear Brook High School's Celebrities Drill/Dance team were part of the torches cast/fan mob during Lady Gaga's halftime performance. Trace Brown is a CBHS alumn and is currently on the instructional staff for the CBHS color guard. He was a part of the air blade cast on stage during the song just dance "Just Dance."
Goose Creek CISD's Robert E. Lee High School Celebrities Drill Team participated in the the Super Bowl pregame, coin toss and National Anthem! The team posed for a photo at NRG before their national debut.
Super Bowl Sunday was also an exciting day for Katy ISD's Morton Ranch High Maverick Belles. They participated in the halftime show with Lady Gaga and shared a small piece of their performance on Facebook Monday.
It wasn't just students who had an opportunity to shine during the Super Bowl. Lady Gaga ended her halftime performance by catching a football and Rice Associate Athletic Director for Development Brian Mann is the man who threw the football.
