Parris Goebel Knows Femininity Is Strength

This year, New Zealander Parris Goebel choreographed Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show – and she says she’s only getting started, Alison Cohn reports for Harper’s Bazaar.

Goebel, 31, first got to have a hand in the entertainment portion of football’s biggest night when she choreographed Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s 2020 joint outing in Miami Gardens, Florida. But Goebel’s work choreographing this year’s blockbuster Rihanna show – in Glendale, Arizona, blew up the internet, Cohn writes.

Goebel, one of Harper’s Bazaar’s Icons for 2023, is known for the force and dynamism of her routines.

“When I first started choreographing for my dance crew as a teenager in Auckland, I was obsessed with really hard-hitting movement,” Goebel says. “Dance is my language, and I knew I wanted to communicate power. Maybe that came from my upbringing, my culture, and how I saw the world.

“Right now, I’m working on a feature film with Sony. It’s my directorial debut.”

Original article by Alison Cohn, Harper’s Bazaar, August 17, 2023.

Photo by Mario Sorrenti.