Lexington teen performed in Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show. ‘This is not real’
.jpg "Kendal Hughley and other dancers from the Super Bowl halftime show posed on the field.")
Kendal Hughley has spent half her life dancing. But on Sunday, the Lexington 18-year-old performed on her biggest stage yet.
She was among the dancers accompanying rapper Kendrick Lamar in the Super Bowl LIX halftime show.
Hughley said she submitted a video auditioning for the show Jan. 17, and ten days later, she traveled to New Orleans to begin rehearsals, which sometimes lasted 12 to 14 hours a day.
“Pretty tiring, but it was a good experience,” Hughley said.
Along the way on Sunday, she crossed paths not only with Lamar, but also Jay-Z, Samuel L. Jackson and Serena Williams.
“That was crazy,” she said. “When they walked in, I was like, ‘This is not real.’”
Since Sunday night, she said, “My phone has been flooding with congratulations messages.”
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Hughley is a 2024 graduate of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, where her mom Mary Hughley is a health and PE teacher.
On Tuesday, Hughley was back at work at Upgrade Dance Company, the dance studio her family operates and where she works as hip-hop instructor and choreographer.
Her older sister, Kayla, and brother, Bryson, teach and choreograph there too.
Hughley has been dancing at Upgrade since she was 9 and has trained in ballet, contemporary, jazz, hip hop and other genres. She’s competed in hip-hop at World of Dance and won national solo titles.
And to do it, she’s had an extra layer of work that most dancers don’t.
Hughley was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disorder in which the pancreas stops producing insulin, when she was 12.
She takes multiple daily insulin injections and uses a Dexcom continuous glucose monitor to keep tabs on her blood glucose levels.
“It has definitely been a challenge, trying to adjust to the lifestyle,” Mary Hughley said.
Type 1 diabetes can be scary sometimes, Kendal Hughley said, “not knowing if you’re going to just fall out” because of a low blood sugar.
Since exercise can cause her blood glucose levels to drop quickly, she said she was a frequent visitor to the snack tables at rehearsals for the Super Bowl performance, noshing on chips and fruit to keep her blood sugar levels up.
“I was just snacking throughout,” she said.
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While the mental load of having diabetes can sometimes be discouraging, Kendal said she keeps faith in God and uses a prayer journal to help.
Being part of the Super Bowl halftime show, Mary Hughley said, has already opened doors for her daughter’s dancing career.
“It just puts her in that class of being a professional dancer,” she said.
“I’m so proud of her.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
