Jazz dance is in Nan Giordano’s blood—and so is leadership. In her four decades at the helm of Giordano Dance Chicago, the company founded by her father, jazz luminary Gus Giordano, she’s worked hard to balance legacy with innovation. “We stand on the foundation my father built, but we don’t live in the past,” she says. “We honor the history, embrace the present, and push it forward.”
This mission was evident at GDC’s spring season in Chicago this year, April 4–5. SOARING: Life, Light, and Legacy featured new works by Giordano, associate artistic director Cesar G. Salinas, and resident choreographer Al Blackstone, alongside older repertory. The performance commemorated Giordano’s impressive 40-year tenure, while also honoring her son, Keenan Giordano Casey, who passed away unexpectedly in 2024.
“This show was the epitome of our company on every level,” Giordano says. “It was the best experience I’ve ever had in the theater.” She was surprised and touched to be presented with a seat in the house by Chicago’s Harris Theater. “My father was the first person to have a house seat with his name on it,” she says. “Now I’ll have one with a plaque next to my dad’s.”
Giordano became interested in the business side of running a dance company at a young age. After an injury cut short her performing career in her mid-20s, it felt natural to step into an administrative role. In 1985, she became associate director of what was then Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago. One of her first initiatives was spearheading the creation of a formal board of directors to make the organization more sustainable long-term.
In 1993, Giordano was named artistic director of the company. “My father released the reins to me,” she says. “Even the name change was his idea.” As artistic director, Giordano has transformed GDC into a repertory company. “For many years, it was primarily my father’s choreography,” she says. “I want to showcase different voices. Jazz is a substantive art form, and it’s important to recognize all of the people pushing jazz dance forward in a concert setting.”
As an educator, Giordano is skilled at “clearly showing what Gus wanted, while also incorporating other choreographers and styles,” says original company member Mort Kessler. Her way of teaching is both challenging and joyful: “In the Giordano Technique, we use the power of joy and energy,” she explains. “The movement comes from the soul and radiates out.”
Her positive attitude has had a profound effect on those in her orbit. “She sees the potential in people and cultivates them to be their best selves,” says Salinas, who recalls being mentored by Giordano as a dance student with an interest in arts administration. He adds that she encourages people to be “the total dancer, as her dad used to call it: You learn how to be a performer, a choreographer, an educator, an activist, and to uphold jazz dance in its best light.”
Giordano’s impact can be felt far beyond her own organization. She’s a frequent master teacher and is a growing presence on the competition scene; this July, GDC will host an intensive at DancerPalooza by DanceOne, in Burbank, California. Giordano previously directed the Jazz Dance World Congress (now on hiatus; the most recent JDWC took place in 2012). She also created the Nan Giordano Certification Program to train other educators in the Giordano Technique. The curriculum covers Gus Giordano’s grounded, soulful movement style as well as considerations like class pacing and music selection. “We have certified teachers in nine countries and 36 states, in studios, universities, high schools, and elementary schools,” Giordano says. “I’m proud that this has become another way to carry the legacy forward.”
With more plans in the works, Giordano shows no signs of slowing down. “I have a lot more to give,” she says. “Jazz dance is having a resurgence, and I want to be a part of that. Keeping our art alive and thriving—keeping this company alive and thriving—that’s the dream and the goal.”
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