By: W.A. Davis, St. Mary’s Arts Council
Our Monday Spotlight is shining brightly on local dance instructor – Donna Jordan!
The last time that we had the pleasure of seeing Donna was what seemed to be oh so long ago, pre-pandemic at the Port of Leonardtown (POL) Winery. Social distancing free, it was a sold-out evening of musica salsa, sangria, and side-steps. A full house of dancers lined the distillery room in quite a diverse range from “I’ve-never-done-this-before-beginners” to more advanced salsa enthusiasts.
We enjoyed an hour-long group lesson then moved to the covered and heated outdoor patio for a few hours of open floor time to practice our newly minted timing steps, back breaks, diagonal rocks, guapea, and more!
We are looking forward to more of Donna’s classes in the future…and more wine as well! Fortunately for us, our dance moves won’t be too long forgotten as a brand-new set of educational videos have just been released. Learn all the basics and then step up to the next level with the Leonardtown Learn & Share Series where links to new lessons are posted weekly.
Submitted by St. Mary’s County Arts Council. Photos provided by artist from 2019 events.
This five-part online production will guide the viewers through a brief history about the origins of salsa dancing followed by instruction of various styles. The demos are easy to follow, no matter the skill level, and spiced up with Donna’s entertaining personal stories and unique style.
Our featured artist is a professionally trained dancer and adjunct Professor with both the College of Southern Maryland and at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Donna Jordan has created various wildly popular local events such as: “Salsa Rueda 6-Week Training Series”, the “Salsa & Sangria Celebration”, the monthly “Sip & Salsa Party Series” at POL, and “Latin Shines and Styling” lessons at The Taphouse 1637.
Stay tuned as in-person salsa lessons will be announced for future dates, meanwhile catch the tutorials online! Donna will also be offering Ballroom and Salsa dance lessons via Zoom starting on July 14th, email her at: donna@jordanrd.com for details about those upcoming classes.
Shine on Donna Jordan – thank you for sharing your talents and love for dancing with all of us!
To learn more about our featured artist, visit @LeonardtownSalsa on Facebook and view her dance video lessons at: www.visitleonardtownmd.com/learnandshare