Story highlights S.E. Cupp: Criticism of Left Shark's missteps in the Katy Perry Super Bowl halftime are undeserved. Left Shark is an artiste

She says as a young interpretive dancer she worked to plumb the motivations of her characters

S.E. Cupp is the author of "Losing Our Religion: The Liberal Media's Attack on Christianity," co-author of "Why You're Wrong About the Right," a columnist at the New York Daily News and a political commentator for Glenn Beck's The Blaze. The opinions expressed in this commentary are hers.

(CNN) As the world now knows, the star of the Super Bowl was not Tom Brady or Russell Wilson. It wasn't Katy Perry or Missy Elliot. It was the Left Shark. His onstage dance during the halftime show has earned him global acclaim and, I must say, some unfair scrutiny for his seeming missteps.

But neither the general public nor the media seem to appreciate just how much work goes into an interpretive, character-based dance such as the one Left Shark performed last night, and how easy it is, if you are committed to your craft, to lose yourself in the moment. Allow me to enlighten you.

As a former ballerina, classically trained at the School of the Boston Ballet, I can assure you that Left Shark -- if he is the student of dance I suspect him to be -- trained for months to get inside the head of his character. Literally. Who is Left Shark? he probably asked himself. And why must he dance?

What is his relationship to Right Shark? Are they lovers? Enemies? Do they share custody of a boy shark who's starting to ask questions about his parents' separation, for example?

This is what true dancers -- or danseurs -- do. As Patrick Swayze's character said in "Dirty Dancing," "The steps aren't enough. Feel the music."

Read More