Dancing in the Super Bowl was a dreamlike experience for choreographer

Bruno Mars and Phil Tayag at Super Bowl 50.

REMEMBER all the smooth dance moves Bruno Mars and his Hooligans performed in the video for "Uptown Funk?" The choreography was created by Phil Tayag, the Sacramento-based dancer who gained fame as a member of Asian/American dance crew JabbaWockeeZ, the season1 winners of MTV's America's Best Dance Crew. 

Remember him? The guy with a mask? Oh, right, they all wore masks. It was part of their trademark look and they never showed their faces.

RELATED: Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk"

Tayag was the dancer known as Swaggerboy, aka "S.B." In an exclusive interview in Billboard,  the Filipino/American explains how he and Mars teamed up to create the video for "Uptown Funk" and how the Filipino/American entertainer asked the NorCal guy to join the Hooligans dance crew for Super Bowl 50's epic half-time show with Beyonce and Cold Play.

"I don’t believe in coincidence," said Tayag. "This particular performance was a very significant one for me because the name that was kind of given to me coming up -- I dance and I do music, rap, produce -- was 'Swagger Boy' a long time ago, like maybe in ‘05, and it turned into "S.B." I’m from Sacramento so I came up in Northern California, and the Bay Area was pretty much like our stomping grounds. This is where I was groomed. Where we stayed in the Bay is where I used to perform when I was 16 years old. Behind where we stayed was this Johnny Rockets where I had my first date. So it was a very big deal to be out here. 

"Coming up (as) this struggling artist, street dancer, garage kid, coming up and, you know, things kind of popped off for myself and my crew Jabbawockeez in 2008. We were on MTV, won America’s Best Dance Crew. After that, that was where everything kind of took off. When we went on tour, I was really only listening to two artists at the time: Coldplay and Beyonce.​"

Read the entire interview here.

The JabaWockeeZ is currently performing in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand. Check here for dates and times.

The white masks became a trademark look in the beginning for the JabaWockeeZ dance crew. 

Super Bowl: Filipino/American football player puts himself in the record books.

Watch Jordan Norwood's record punt return.

Jordan Norwood

A FILIPINO/AMERICAN put his name in the Super Bowl record books. Jordan Norwood of the Denver Broncos returned a punt 61 yards, the longest punt return in Super Bowl history.

He caught the ball surrounded by Panther defenders but apparently, they thought he signaled for a fair catch and didn't tackle him as soon as he caught the ball. Somehow, he eluded the would-be tacklers and ran to the opposite side of the field and down the sideline.

His run set up a successful field goal by field goal kicker Brandon McManus to put the Broncos ahead 13-7 at halftime.

The Hawaii-born Norwood's mother is a Filipina/American. His brother is one of the stars in the  professional basketball in the Philippines.

Oh - by the way - the Broncos upset the favored Panthers, 24-10 in what may be the 40-year old quarterback Eli Payton Manning's last game.

The highlight of the much-anticipated half-time show was the sizzling dance off between Beyonce's army of black-clad dancers vs. Bruno Mars black leather-wearing male crew. 

Fireworks introduced Mars and he started singing his Grammy-award winning dance favorite "Uptown Funk" highlighted by his signature dance moves. Right away, the burst of energy picked up the tone of the performance started by Cold Play's frontman Chris Martin, who inexplicably had mike troubles making most of his lyrics inaudible. 

Then the camera was on Beyonce, wearing two bandolier-looking bands across her chest, and her militant-looking dancers. She sang her new ode to feminism and race relations "Formation," which was released a day before. 

The sexy, tension-building aggressive dancing had me cheering as the camera switched back and forth between the Beyonce dancers and the Filipino/American entertainer's Hooligans. To say the two R&B stars stole the show would be an understatement.

Beyonce and Bruno Mars heated up the stage during the Super Bowl's halftime show.

Afterwards, there was much discussion about the outfits worn by Beyonce and her dancers. She was either paying homage to Michael Jackson, who wore eerily similar costume when he headlined the Super Bowl halftime show; or it was a tribute to the Black Panthers, who were headquartered in Oakland a few miles north of the stadiium because the black berets and leather jackets became their trademark look.

What did it all mean? The colors and the final message put forth by the card-carrying audience the stands, "Believe in Love," made others believe that it was honoring the rainbow flag of the LGBTQ community, which is very influential in the Bay Area political scene.

Who knows? Great art is open to interpretation by the viewer. Entertaining halftime show, nevertheless. All I know, someone has to figure out how to get Bruno Mars and Beyonce back together again.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Earlier versions of this post didn't have comments about the meaning of Beyonce's performance.

For more news about Asians/Americans and Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.

Super Bowl: The AAPI players on the Broncos; Bruno Mars joins half-time show

Filipino/American Jordan Norwood has the potential to become the unheralded hero of the Super Bow.

IF YOU'RE sentient, you must know that the Super Bowl is being played Sunday (Feb. 7) in Santa Clara, Calif. about 40 miles south of San Francisco. If you follow football, you've probably picked a team to cheer for, either the Carolina Panthers or the Denver Broncos.

If you haven't, maybe you'll watch the game for the commercials or the half-time show. Here's a few things that might pique your interest about the huge sporting event.

The Denver Broncos wide receiver Jordan Norwood, is a Filipino/American whose family originally hailed from Honolulu, Hawaii.

His 6'5" older brother, Gabe Norwood, is one of the stars of the Philippines'  professional basketball league. He plays center for Gilas Filipinas.

Jordan Norwood, though only 5'10," has been a solid contributor for the Denver offense, hauling in 25 catches for 233 yards, and has been a huge special teams asset as a sure-handed and slippery punt returner. 

Shiloh Ke'o and his father Regan.

Hawaiian-born safety Shiloh Ke'o wasn't signed until mid-season because the Broncos had a spate of injuries of players in that position. To top it off, he hadn't played for two years and was preparing for a career change when he got the call from the Broncos after a series of injuries had slowed him down. Despite his late arrival, he's contributed heavily to the team's success.

RELATED: Samoan's 'In Football We Trust'

Ke-o's interception and 22-yard return against the Chargers 
helped set up the touchdown that won the game.

Be sure to stick around for the half-time show, which promises to be spectacular, with Filipino/American pop singer Bruno Mars joining rockers Cold Play and super star Beyonce.

RELATED: Bruno Mars asked to perform at Super Bowl 50's half-time

Mars was reportedly asked early to headline the show but somewhere along the line, Cold Play got the headline spot. It was long rumored that Mars would join the show but it wasn't until this weekend was his participation confirmed on the singer's Instagram account with a picture of Mars during rehearsals wearing Oakland Athletics shirt and cap.

"It ain't a party if Mr $how Up & $how out doesn't show up", Mars said in a caption loaded with Super Bowl-related hashtags.

This isn't the first time Mars played at half-time.  He did a scintillating set for the event two years ago and - up until then - he played to the largest Super Bowl audience until he was dethroned from that distinction by Katy Perry last year.

Bruno Mars was at Levi Stadium rehearsing for the Super Bowl's halftime extravaganza.

The Super Bowl 50 game will kick-off on CBS, 6:30 p.m.(Eastern), Jan. 7 matching the Denver Broncos vs. the favored Carolina Panthers.

TGIF FEATURE: Superbowl 50 halftime show: Uh ... Cold Play? What happened to Bruno Mars?

BRUNO MARS, the Filipino/American entertainer, will NOT be the headline act of the Super Bowl 50 halftime show after all. The rumors that Mars would star in and "curate" the 50th Super Bowl halftime entertainment proved not to be true. Maybe they were true at one time, but something went wrong with the negotiations with Mars, whose 2013 extravaganza was one of the most watched halftime productions until last year when Katy Perry was the headliner.

Bruno Mars

Instead, the rock band Cold Play will headline the Feb. 7 NFL spectacle. The rumors are still out there that Mars and Beyonce will appear to reprise their spectacular performances when they headlined the halftime show.

We are so excited and honored and thrilled," lead singer Chris Martin told CNN.

RELATED: Mars asked to headline the Super Bowl show again

Meanwhile, the Mark Ronson catchy hit "Uptown Funk," as performed by Bruno Mars won song of the year and best video video of the year at last weekend's SoulTrain Awards.

The announcement about the British band's selection today was a disappointment for music fans and critics.

Writing at Yahoo Sports, Eric Edholm was blunt: "Coldplay is dull, soulless dad rock that's about as energetic as a dose of lithium. They're everything the kids do not want to watch. Their best days were in the early 2000s as Beatles knockoffs, the suburban's answer to Oasis maybe. This is almost laughable, honestly."

The Twitterverse exploded with negative reactions.

Bruno Mars asked to do Super Bowl 50 half-time show

In his gold lemay jacket and looking like a 50s doo-wop group two years ago at the Super Bowl 48, Filipino American superstar Bruno Mars and his band was asked to perform at Superbowl 50 in 2016. 

SUPER BOWL 50 isn't until February 2016 and the San Francisco Bay Area is already getting ready for the Big Event. Venues are being constructed in the Bay Area, hotels and tourist venues are sprucing up and law enforcement is still trying to figure out how to avoid the inevitable traffic jams.

For the Super Bowl’s golden anniversary, the NFL has asked a big name to return to the stage. According to Entertainment Weekly sources, Bruno Mars has been offered the headliner spot for the Super Bowl 50 halftime show. He would also be the "curator" of the half-time show, which means he can determine what other entertainers he wants on stage with him. It should be noted that neither Mars or his representatives have confirmed the singer's acceptance.

Bruno Mars started his previous Super Bowl
show on the drums

The pop star previously fronted the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show in 2014 with a guest appearance from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Before being usurped by Katy Perry’s turn at this year’s big game, Mars’ performance was the most-watched halftime show ever. This year, Mars’ profile rose even higher thanks to Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk,” on which the 29-year-old Hawaii native contributed vocals. (He also participated in a fake Twitter beef with Ed Sheeran.)

The Hawaii-born Filipino/American entertainer is at the height of his popularity. His video of "Uptown Funk" won MTV's Video Music Award as the Best Male Video performance two weeks ago.

I hope those out-of-owners planning on attending the NFL's Championship game realize that the 49ers' almost-spanking, brand new Levi Stadium is in Santa Clara, not San Francisco. When Taylor Swift had a recent concert there, Uber rides were costing $150 one-way from SF to the Santa Clara venue.

Below, watch Mars energize the TV audience and those in attendance during his half-time performance in 2013.