When the lights dimmed in the NIU Convocation Center, shrieks were heard from left to right as the blinding lights from flashing cameras pointed toward the stage. Artists T.I. Ludacris were to begin their performance within minutes, and Columbia student Alyssa Johnson found herself in the spotlight, standing before a sold-out crowd of 10,000 fans.

Johnson, a freshman journalism major, and two other Columbia students were about to perform their three-minute dance routine with the tour’s opening act, Jeremih, in DeKalb, Ill., on Feb. 20.

“It was the weirdest thing. I think I was more nervous on my way to the performance than I was when I got there. You have to buckle down and get down to business,” Johnson said. “I was standing on stage and the lights went out-the noise was nuts. I couldn’t see a thing because of all the flashing lights from the cameras.”

Before Ludacris and T.I. were to make a stop in the Chicagoland area during their tour, they began searching for an appropriate opening act, ultimately calling on the local R&B artist Jeremih to do the deed, Johnson said. It was then that Jeremih began the search for three

A week before the show, there was an open call on Michigan Avenue for dancing hopefuls to fill the spots. Johnson was asked to audition and later found herself free-styling a contemporary hip-hop routine to one of Jeremih’s songs called “Birthday Sex”  in front of judges.

A day later, she received the call that she, along with two others, was selected out of hundreds, and her first show was in one week-opening for Ludacris and T.I.

“I was pretty overwhelmed by that point,” Johnson said. “It was our very first performance, and of all things, it was something as huge as T.I. and Ludacris. We only had one week to rehearse our routine, so the three of us spent most of our days in the 7th floor lounge of the University Center going over eight-counts and everything.”

Although she’s a journalism major, dance isn’t a new hobby for Johnson. After choreographing for the American Basketball Association team to being picked out of 600 girls to perform for the Adrenaline Rush Dancers, Johnson said that she has gotten a few questions as to why she hasn’t given up her journalism aspirations to become a professional dancer.

Johnson has no plans to halt her broadcast journalism studies, but she still hasn’t completely ruled out the option of dancing for a living.

“It’s just really weird because I’m not here at Columbia to dance. I’m here to be a journalist,” Johnson said. “And after the T.I./Ludacris thing, opportunities continue to come up that I still can’t believe. I just feel like God is trying to hit me in the face and tell me something.”

Maria Macsay, a freshman dance major at Columbia, and Ninah Snipes, a sophomore musical theater major, were the other two students selected to tour with Jeremih. Much like Jeremih, the three students have adopted the hectic life that comes with touring as they tag along to shows from  Detroit and St. Louis to smaller venues throughout Chicago.

“Now that we’re a permanent part of Jeremih’s dance crew, we’ve been doing shows constantly,” Macsay said. “Imagine doing that while trying to juggle classes. It gets to be pretty overwhelming.”

Johnson’s first week of rehearsals before the big show on Feb. 20 caused her to miss a full week of classes, forcing her to request withdrawal forms and spend nights e-mailing assignments to teachers. The multiple shows a week have put Johnson, Macsay and Snipes on call, causing them to drop their schoolwork to spend each night dancing throughout different cities.

To Snipes, the good always comes with the bad, and she said all she can do now is take full advantage of the opportunity while it lasts.

“Anytime you have a goal in life that you simply have to fulfill, it will always pay off in the end,” Snipes said. “When I’m out dancing with Jeremih before a show, I don’t feel too guilty that I’m missing school. I would do this the rest of my life if I could.”