SXU Alumna Makes Her Mark in Entertainment Industry
SXU alumna Ariana Rosado '13 is building a big portfolio of work – from participating in the Super Bowl halftime show and commercials to dancing with popular artists such as Beyoncé, she's making her mark in the entertainment industry.
Roasado double-majored in mass communication and business marketing and graduated summa cum laude. She chose to study communication because she was interested in broadcasting and the creative side of advertising, but when she had the opportunity to serve as a dancer for Beyoncé while a student at SXU, she decided to further pursue dance. Immediately after graduating from Saint Xavier, she joined the Chicago Bulls as a Luvabull.
Rosado spent five years on the Chicago Bulls' dance team, serving as captain for four years. Since, she has moved to Los Angeles and has performed on tour and in music videos, award shows and commercials. She's danced with artists such as Bebe Rexha, Jazmine Sullivan, Black Eyed Peas, Iggy Azalea, and Kool and the Gang. She also serves as a personal trainer in the morning and attends rehearsals and dance classes in the evenings.
Most recently, Rosado performed in the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show and starred in a commercial shown during the big game. To prepare herself for her performances, Rosado constantly invests in training by taking classes, workshops and intensives to help further her career.
"What I enjoy most about performing is working with the artist, dance artist and choreography team. I've been blessed to continually work with teams that have such great energy. Everyone is so talented, kind and good-hearted, which makes for amazing memories. Plus, it's great for networking," said Rosado.
Rosado still calls upon what she learned at SXU in her daily life. She finds that she learned great time management skills and how to balance her education with her creative outlets.
"My time at SXU will help me with future business endeavors. I've been exploring the possibility of making my own clothing line geared toward female athletes and dancers. My background in communication from SXU also helps with my ability to communicate professionally with my agents and with navigating job opportunities both in and outside of entertainment," said Rosado.
Some of Rosado's favorite memories from her time at SXU include being a part of the SXU Paw Prints dance team.
"The Paw Prints team was my first exposure to a dance team culture outside of the usual athletic sports teams I was part of growing up. I owe a lot to my first coach, Tara Johnson, for believing me and encouraging me to pursue dance," said Rosado.
Rosado was also part of several other intramural sports teams at SXU and enjoyed participating in and creating service opportunities such as the Hope for Haiti fundraiser in 2010.
In the future, Rosado plans to broaden her performing opportunities to pursue acting and move into creative direction in dance.