Beyoncé’s Christmas Day NFL performance, otherwise known as Beyoncé Bowl, and Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl-half-time show may be just two of the most cultural defining performances in the past year, and the same creative power was behind them both.
Dancers-Väin choreographer Charm La’donna has worked with some of the music’s most influential voices, including Beyoncé, Rosalía, Shakira, Dua Lipa, Selena Gomez, Meghan Trainor, Madonna, Pharrell Williams and The Weeknd. She choreographed Beyoncés Cowboy Carter tour as well as the latest tours for Lamar, Dua Lipa and The Weeknd. This year, La’donna’s work received its two Emmy nominations for outstanding choreography for variety or reality programming for Beyoncé Bowl and Lamar’s half -time show.
The double nominations in the category, which also include nods to Doechiis Grammy performance, “The Lion King” at Hollywood Bowl and Oscar’s tributes to James Bond and Quincy Jones, was an astonishing moment for La’donna, who long viewed the TV-Academy.
“I was in shock – I was stopped in my tracks,” La’donna said for receiving the nominations. “Every project is special. Each project is a bit of me.”
Whether she choreographers for Lamar or Dua Lipa, La’donna said that she is approaching each project with several “ingredients”, which includes bringing herself and her past experiences to the table and feeling the music and presence of dancers. The last step, however, is always to include the fun and enjoyment in these dream jobs, as La’donna strives to admit “I am blessed to be able to create on such a platform all over the world.”
La’donna especially leans its past experiences as “tools and skills” and says “as artists, (and) as only people in general, we go through life and we learn. We take our experiences to our next trip.”
The Choreographer was Certainly Able to Draw from Her Past Experiences While Working On Lamar’s Halftime Show, Having Had Her First Super Bowl Gig As A Dancer For The Black Eyed Peas In 2011. At the Time, La’donna Was under the Direction of Her Mentor Fattor Fattor fat nominated in a choreography category at the Emmys, Alongside Debbie Allen, Chloé Arnold and, Now, La’donna.
“I’ve been to the field before, but in another space,” La’donna said. “There were many dancers in the field and many colors – it was a task.”
When Lamar performed a medley of his biggest hits for Super Bowl, La’donna worked in Tandem with the creative and production teams to make sure that every formation and routine were located.
“It speaks to set designers, the creative directors of it and really gets an understanding of what – I call it the playground where the dancers move, where the artist moves – and what is our property of it,” La’donna said. “When you understand it, you can only create in it.”
La’donna also collaborated with Lamar for the music video “Not like US”, which paid tribute to both La’donna and Lamar’s hometown of Compton by welcoming Hip Hop Extraordinaire Tommy The Clown and other local dancers.
“It is absolutely necessary for our culture as a dance community, and being part of it was special,” La’donna said. “I could spend time with dancers and hire some friends and just represent a city and a space that raised me … I was home, in more than one way, physically and spiritually.”
The next step for La’donna is to combine her love for dance with its passion for filmmaking, mark the next step in its creative development after growing from dancers to choreographer as a creative director as a director at shorts and music videos. “I want to start telling dance stories and tell stories differently with the camera, with movement, about dancers in different ways,” she said.
When La’donna becomes the fourth black woman nominated in an Emmy choreograph category, she said she feels gratitude to follow in the steps to Robinson, Allen and Arnold. “(I) hope and pray for years along the line, there are more black women and more black voices” represented in the awards. “I’m proud and I’m honored to continue and drive boundaries and remove limitations,” she said.
