Charmaine Jordan (born May 15, 1988), known professionally as Charm La'Donna, is an American dancer and choreographer. She is considered "one of the most sought-after dancers and creative directors of her generation," and is known for her work with recording artists such as

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

Rosalía Rosalia Vila Tobella (born 25 September 1992), known mononymously as Rosalía (, ), is a Spanish singer. Born and raised in the outskirts of Barcelona, she has been described as an "atypical pop star" due to her genre-bending musical styles. ...

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco- pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Gramm ...

and

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

Early life and education

La'Donna was born Charmaine Jordan on May 15, 1988, in

Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...

. She has an older brother, Yki, and was raised by her mother, Debbie. She credits her mother, grandmother and "the village of women in Compton, all connected by blood, friendship or simply proximity" for her success. Yki is a rapper and songwriter who inspired La'Donna to pursue a recording career of her own. After he was arrested and sentenced for 75 years to life in prison, she suspended those dreams and turned to dancing. After telling her mother at the age of 3 that she wanted to become a dancer, La'Donna was enrolled in a recreational center in Compton that offered dance activities. Counselors at the center referred her to Regina's School of the Arts, where she trained before moving to Miss Monica's Dance School. When she was 10, La'Donna was introduced to dancer and choreographer

Fatima Robinson Fatima Robinson (born August 29, 1971) is an American dancer, music video director and choreographer. Career Robinson has choreographed dance routines (for live performances and music videos) for several musical and pop artists, notably for th ...

while auditioning for a music video for rapper

Mase Mason Durell Betha (born August 27, 1975), better known by his mononym Mase (formerly Murda Mase and stylized as Ma$e), is an American rapper and minister. In the late 1990s, he recorded on the Bad Boy Records label alongside its founder Sean ...

. She quickly recognized her talents and began mentoring her. La'Donna attended the

Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA, ) is a visual and performing arts high school located on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) in Los Angeles, California, United States. History The school was ...

(LACSHA), where she graduated from in 2006. She holds a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in world arts and culture from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA).

Career

During her senior year at LACSHA, La'Donna was hired by singer

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

as a backup dancer for her

Confessions Tour The Confessions Tour was the seventh concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna, launched in support of her tenth studio album, ''Confessions on a Dance Floor'' (2005). The tour began in Inglewood on May 21, 2006, and ended in Tokyo ...

. Following the tour, she worked as Robinson's assistant choreographer, working on various music videos, television specials and

Super Bowl halftime shows Halftime shows are a tradition during American football games at all levels of competition. Entertainment during the Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), represents a fundamental link to pop culture, w ...

under her direction while attending UCLA full-time. Her work with Robinson introduced her to fellow Compton native, rapper

, while co-choreographing his performance at the 2015 BET Awards. He recruited her in 2017 as the choreographer and sole female dancer for his DAMN. Tour and choreographed and danced in his opening performance at the

60th Annual Grammy Awards The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongc ...

in 2018. La'Donna continued to gain recognition by choreographing music videos and live performances for singers

and

Meghan Trainor Meghan Elizabeth Trainor (born December 22, 1993) is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "All About That Bass", which reached ...

. Her work in the music video for

J Balvin José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. He has been referred to as the " Prince of Reggaeton" (from Spanish: "Príncipe del Reggaetón"), and is one of the best-sell ...

and

El Guincho Pablo Díaz-Reixa (born November 17, 1983), professionally known as el Guincho, is a Spanish musician, singer, and record producer. Díaz-Reixa rose to prominence with his 2008 album, ''Alegranza''. His musical style relies heavily on the use ...

's " Con altura" won her the

MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography The MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography is a craft award given to the artist, the artist's manager, and choreographer of the music video. From 1984 to 2007, the full name of the award was Best Choreography in a Video. The biggest winner ...

. She was the sole choreographer for singer

the Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...

Super Bowl LV halftime show The Super Bowl LV halftime show, officially known as the Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show, was the halftime entertainment of Super Bowl LV, and took place on February 7, 2021 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. It featured a performa ...

. La'Donna's music aspirations resumed in 2020. She signed a recording contract with

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

in February and released her first two singles "So & So" and "Westside". Her debut extended play, ''La'Donna'', was released on April 9, 2021.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

As lead artist

As choreographer

Discography

Extended plays (EP)

* ''La'Donna'' (2021)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:La'Donna, Charm 1988 births Living people 21st-century American dancers 21st-century American rappers African-American choreographers American choreographers African-American female dancers American hip hop singers American music video directors Creative directors Dancers from California Epic Records artists Los Angeles County High School for the Arts alumni MTV Video Music Award winners Musicians from Compton, California People from Compton, California Rappers from California Songwriters from California University of California, Los Angeles alumni