The Bay Area may not have had a team playing in the Super Bowl, but it did have a moment as part of the big game’s halftime show.
“It’s dancing for people who came from the struggle,” said Hector “Intricate” Ascencio.
That’s how he describes the dancing highlighted in Sunday's Super Bowl Halftime Show.
It’s a unique Bay Area street dance style.
“We are some of the people who look at the Bay as such a beautiful place no matter what’s happening,” said Intricate. “And we bring the light out of the Bay and we do that by dance.”
His friends, Skeeter and Dopey Fresh, from his crew Unknown, were among the handful of Bay Area turfers dancing right next to Kendrick Lamar.
“It was a blessing, a big blessing,” said dancer Jarell “Skeeter” Boyd. “I was just happy to be an example for my community.”
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“Being on that platform I can't even put it into words,” said dancer Arthur "Dopey Fresh" Gardner.
He grew up in Hunters Point and said he felt his late parents' presence during that moment with Lamar.
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“I was just smiling, you could see my facial expression,” said Dopey Fresh. “Bay Area blessed to have that moment. I was just happy, genuine happy.”
Both men hope the performance brings more attention and respect for the style of dance that carries so much meaning for them.
“We show our struggle and our pain through dance, and they really got to do that for themselves,” said Intricate.
Intricate said turf saved his life -- like it has for so many. And said he couldn’t feel more proud.
“If they’re shining I’m shining, I’m part of the same crew we’ve been brothers for so long,” he said.
