Jordan Mac has always exemplified resilience. It’s that quality that allowed her to transform her dream of building a dance studio for adults into a thriving reality. Naturally, she faced numerous challenges along the way, but that only fueled her determination. She overcame every obstacle in her path, and after years of hard work, she finally opened her studio. Everything was running smoothly… until 2020, when the world’s biggest, most inconvenient wrench got thrown into her (and everyone else’s) plans: COVID-19. When in-person classes were shut down, running a dance studio became nearly impossible. Yet, true to her nature, Jordan refused to be deterred. As the world began to recover, she rolled up her sleeves and focused on rebuilding. It would take relentless effort and determination, but those are qualities she has always possessed. Before long, her new studio was up and running, ready to welcome dancers once again. In a recent interview, Jordan shared her inspiring journey and how she made it possible for the studio to declare, “Mac is back!”
But first, to understand her vision, we need to go back to the moment the seed for Jordan Mac Studios was planted. In high school, Jordan and her sisters regularly attended a local dance studio, a cherished part of their lives. However, when Jordan's sister graduated, they were met with a difficult realization. “My sister had graduated and was out of her dance studio,” Jordan recalls. “She missed dance so much, and I remember her saying, ‘I'm just going to sign up for a class’, and she signed up for a class, and she was the only adult in there.” Despite the awkwardness, Jordan’s sister stuck with the class all the way through, but when it was all over, she was “mortified and didn’t want to do it again.” She told Jordan, “I guess when you grow up you just can’t dance anymore.” Jordan’s reaction to this disappointing conclusion was simple: ”Well that’s some sh*t.” Evidently, this was unacceptable to Jordan, who has always cared so deeply about the art of dance, so she decided to fix this problem herself. “I just thought, ‘No, I’m going to start a business for adults,’ and so I did.”
In a fair world, the story would’ve ended there, with “and so I did.” How badass is that? But the cruelty of COVID showed us that no matter how long it takes to get something done, it can be undone in an instant, and that’s exactly what happened when in-person classes had to be shut down (to be clear I’m not negating the fact that Jordan is a badass, she is). It was tough, and Jordan felt like she lost a part of herself, but true to her nature, she refused to give up. When the dust from COVID settled, she picked herself up and went right back to work.
Before she could even think about restarting classes, however, one pretty sizable issue presented itself: Where was the new studio going to be? Perfect locations for adult dance classes don’t exactly come in spades, and Jordan had specific requirements for a space that would fit her unique style, brand, and vision. She told us she was looking for something “flexible and malleable” and that she also “wanted a very light, airy feeling…something that feels a little bit different than a kid's dance studio.” Additionally, the right building also needed to have an open space, and walls that could move so she could expand the studio when needed. With this list, Jordan went searching, and with some luck, or maybe fate, she found the location that all of her students know and love today. It wasn’t perfect, especially in terms of size, but is anything ever perfect in a pursuit like this? Jordan declared “this space may not be big enough but it's enough” and she “acted quick” to scoop it up.
Next came the hard work of transforming the building into an actual studio, but as Jordan told us, “Working insanely hard, that’s easy, I got that.” So not soon after, the lights were on and classes were ready to start.
However, the first day of classes wasn’t exactly as smooth as Jordan had hoped either. “They were a mess!”, she told us. “Our pipe and drape from New York got delayed, things weren’t finished…we took these cubbies and we covered it with these leftover drapes from my house, just to build a makeshift wall temporarily.” It might not have been pretty, but if a global pandemic couldn’t stop her, this sure wasn’t going to, and “dance went on”. She told us, “There’s all these things that I wish it would’ve looked like…but at the end of the day music was playing and dancers were dancing, and I consider that a success.” This success has only grown, as more and more dancers have been dancing in the studio ever since (and there’s a real wall now). Jordan told us, “When the new studio was completed, I felt like I got my identity back. I had lost that for a long time… and it felt like I got my peace back too.”
The story doesn’t end there, however—just because classes are back doesn’t mean the work stops. That’s what Jordan lives for. She still looks forward to each class just as much as her students do because, while succeeding in her own journey was fulfilling, nothing brings her more joy than helping others along their own journeys. At the end of the day, that’s what her studio is for, and that’s why Jordan worked as hard as she did to get it reopened: for the people it would help. “I know this is a special place for a lot of people, and that means a lot to me,” she shared. She went on to sum up what her studio stands for with a story about a recent student: “I had a lady pop in the other day and she was like, ‘Okay, I just need like the next month to get it together and then I’m gonna start your dance classes.’ Like no, get it together here.” Jordan knows firsthand how hard it can be to “get it together”, so now she helps others do it through the power of dance.
Every day, Jordan’s commitment to helping others find their own paths through dance only grows stronger. After everything she’s faced, she knows the value of resilience—and it’s her mission to help others feel empowered to follow their own dreams. As she reminds us, “I don’t think you should ever, ever give up on your dream.”
Comments