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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Danielle Tcholakian

Super Bowl half-time arrangement under scrutiny over unpaid ‘volunteers’

Dancers perform with The Weeknd at last year’s Super Bowl in Tampa.
Dancers perform with The Weeknd at last year’s Super Bowl in Tampa. Photograph: Kevin C Cox/Getty Images

It’s an annual tradition as ingrained as throwing Gatorade on the winning coach: the moment when the Super Bowl half-time performer takes to the stage and the football field is filled with “fans” cheering them on.

The Los Angeles Times reported last week that those audience members are in fact hundreds of unpaid “volunteers” who participate in nearly two weeks of rehearsals ahead of the Super Bowl, many of whom are trained dancers recruited from the same agency that represents the paid dancers on the halftime show stage.

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