People on social media are praising choreographer Charm La’Donna following her work on Bad Bunny’s NFL Super Bowl LX Halftime Show on Sunday.
“Let’s applaud @CharmLadonna for the choreography she brings to the Super Bowl! Benito Bowl, Beyoncé’s Christmas Halftime Show, The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl… all brought to life through her incredible choreography,” Karen Civil wrote on X, celebrating La’Donna’s successes in some of the most epic halftime performances.
Indeed, La’Donna has a remarkable resume, besides choreographing three Super Bowl halftime shows, including Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar (2025), and The Weeknd (2021), as well as Beyoncé’s “Beyoncé Bowl.” Being on other bigger stages and tours, La’Donna has also worked with musicians such as Dua Lipa, Selena Gomez, Shakira, Pharrell Williams, and Megan Trainor.
Most recently, she became the fourth Black woman in history to be recognized in the choreography category at the Emmys, joining Debbie Allen, Chloé Arnold, and Fatima Robinson, her mentor.
“The first thing I say is that I’m blessed and grateful. I’m still in shock. It’s an honor just to be acknowledged on this type of platform. It’s definitely a dream come true,” she said of the nod last year.
The Compton, California, native started as a dancer before rising to her current level as an award-winning choreographer and creative director.
Born Charmaine La’Donna Jordan, she began dance training at age 3 and even choreographed and performed a solo at kindergarten graduation. Raised by her mom and grandma, La’Donna honed her skills in local recreation center dance classes before entering studios. She had her formal education at Regina’s School of the Arts and the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.
As young as 10 years old, she was cast in a video by Robinson, who would become her mentor. Seven years later, Madonna hired her as a dancer while she was still in high school. And while still dancing professionally, La’Donna received a bachelor’s degree in world arts and cultures from the University of California, Los Angeles.
“Fatima [Robinson] kept me working,” she said to Essence. “I used my tour money and the money I was making with Fatima to pay for UCLA at the time. So yeah, I was broke but I grew up poor. It wasn’t new.”
“I didn’t work at Starbucks to pay my way through school. I was a choreographer on the schedule of artists and moving around and trying to figure it out. By the grace of God, I got through it.”
La’Donna always knew she wanted to be in the arts. “I wanted to choreograph, I wanted to perform, I wanted to be in front of the camera as much as possible. Choreography and dance is the door that opened it all up for me.”
Today, she believes that she is more than just a choreographer as she also sees herself as “a storyteller, tastemaker and soon-to-be-director.”
“I call myself a hybrid. I have trained in many different styles, art forms of dance, and I feel like all of the styles that I’ve been able to study are blended well and put out through me,” she said to USA Today. “So I take my experiences, I look at the world, and I’m able to blend it in my body, and God allowed me to move and put it out.”
Before the Emmy nomination, La’Donna won best choreography at MTV’s Video Music Awards, 2024, for her work on Dua Lipa’s “Houdini.” The following year, she was nominated for the same category for Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” video.
She now seeks to start directing while expanding her work into TV and film and mentoring other dancers.
The 37-year-old believes that what sets her apart from other dancers and choreographers is the trust she builds with the artists she works with.
“I do work with very different artists, and I think for me, the key is doing my best to understand the person. I always say none of my artists could look the same because they’re different. They’re different people. And when you get to know them, you understand that, which is why I think the trust is there,” she told Springhill in 2025.
“The ‘Beyoncé Bowl’ was my first time working with Beyoncé, and it was just a beyond amazing experience for me,” she said to USA Today that same year. “I’m so grateful and blessed to be able to work with amazing artists across the board — Beyoncé and Kendrick included. I feel like every project that I work on has some impact on me.”
