Happy Feet
Verna Jordan runs longtime dance studio
VERNA JORDAN's first ballroom dance lesson was taught by her mother, after she watched her parents take to the dance floor more than two decades ago. Jordan’s relationship with dance lacked instant sparks. After a short break, she returned to the floor, motivated by the Latin tunes of the rumba and cha-cha. This time, a new career flourished.
“A year later, it finally took,” Jordan says, “I went from a mother with four girls to learning to dance to finally becoming a dance teacher, then to owning a studio.”
For more than ten years, Jordan has owned Ballroom DanceSport at 4523 Franklin Avenue. There, she motivates dancers – from beginners to advanced competitors – with her confident coordination, teaching classic ballroom, Latin, and swing. Before opening her studio, she taught at different facilities throughout Wilmington, until a co-instructor encouraged her to move further.
Though Jordan once attended dance competitions as a contestant, today she relishes the behind-the-scenes action.
“I much prefer taking people who come in the studio and teaching them to dance,” she says, “because I know what a life-changing event it was for me.”
Jordan appreciates the dance community for the social connection it creates. Since owning her business, she’s met several out-of-state dancers, who seek dancing facilities while traveling through the area.
In that spirit, Ballroom DanceSport hosts a dance social every fourth Saturday for all levels. At the end of those nights, when everyone’s feet begins to hurt from the fun and guests begin to leave, Jordan contently stares at the empty room, knowing she’s shaped a place for dancers to thrive.
“Dancing has enriched my life because of all the wonderful people I have met while dancing – the way it has enabled me to become a more social person,” Jordan says. “Watching people learn how to dance and the various stages at which they learn – they talk and communicate in a new and different language.”
For example, she met U.S. dance champion Jim Desmond, previous partner to Mary Murphy, a judge on TV competition show So You Think You Can Dance? Now, Desmond teaches classes and private lessons at Jordan’s studio.
For some, though, dance generates much more than a social outlet. The health benefits, Jordan explains, can be plentiful.
“Everyone has a different reason for coming in. Some people want more exercise. Some people want to meet people,” she says. “It takes the place of any need of a psychologist or psychiatrist because of all the endorphins.”
Her students – whether it is a 92-year-old hoping to improve memory function or an engaged young couple dreaming of their new partnership – arrive with a mission, and Jordan provides the space to harness many dancers’ goals. Though, she says, the students motivate her most of all.
Now that Ballroom DanceSport has established a dance destination, Jordan hopes young people will begin lessons at an earlier age to encourage a more traditional, more entertaining way to learn social niceties.
“I know how it can changes your life, and it makes me very happy knowing that,” she says.
To view more of photographer Katherine Clark's work, go to www.katherineclarkphotography.com.
