Joanna Patterson
Guest Teacher/Choreographer. Joanna teaches in Brunswick, Maine.
Joanna began dancing at age 10 when her middle school joined Jacques d'Amboise's National Dance Institute/New Hampshire satellite program. She wanted to improve for the next years show, so she jumped in to the dance world with both feet, taking ballet, jazz and tap in her first year as a dance student. She added modern technique soon after, and by the time she finished high school she had taken part in yearly dance shows, several Nutcrackers, a youth dance company, summer dance workshops, and as many community theater and high school productions as she could fit into her schedule.
She received a 4 year college talent scholarship, and in 1999 earned her Bachelor of Arts in Dance, Magna Cum Laude, from Desales University, where her choreography was selected for presentation not only in student and faculty shows but at the American College Dance Festival, where her senior thesis work �Rowing� won a coveted place in the Gala Performance. During her college career she performed in four years of student and faculty dance concerts, as well as dance roles in �The Music Man� and �Evita� for which she was also dance captain. She was a three year member of Desales' pre-professional touring company, performed in several one act plays, and received the highest departmental award for dance performance upon her graduation.
Joanna moved to Maine in 2000 to apprentice with Ram Island Dance under the artistic direction of Sara Whale. When Ram Island was dissolved as a performing company, she found she liked Maine too much to pack up and leave. Because there were no more professional modern companies in the state of Maine, she had to get a "real job". After a not-brief-enough stint as a corporate executive assistant, Joanna is thrilled to be working at The Theater Project in Brunswick as Theater Manager. In the past few years she has performed in works by Peter Kalivas of Sean Curran Company, Kennet Oberly, Christine Philion-Dufour, and with Portland Ballet in their Victorian Nutcracker and the Capriccio Festival. Joanna joined Art Moves Dance Company in 2003 as a dancer, and in 2004 she set her first work on the company as a choreographer. 2004 also marked her first year teaching technique and repertoire at Art Moves Dance Studio. Joanna is absolutely delighted to be a member of Art Moves, and would like to thank her fellow company members for their friendship, love and support.
