Joe was born and raised in the beautiful hills of upstate New York, and can easily be identified by his cacophonous laughter. He began his training in Rochester, New York, and continued his studies at The Juilliard School on scholarships from The NYCDA Foundation and Cornell University. During his training, he performed principal roles in the works of Symphony of Psalms by Jirí Kylián, and Baker’s Dozen by Twyla Tharp. He also performed works by notable choreographers such as Nacho Duato, Kyle Abraham, Martha Graham, Camille A. Brown, and Brian Brooks.
From 2016- 2022 he was a dancer with LA-based contemporary company BODYTRAFFIC, where he traveled twice to Algeria as a cultural ambassador for the arts representing The U.S. in the International Modern Dance Festival. As a company member, he toured internationally to Russia, Holland, Poland, Indonesia, Serbia, and Mexico, and choreographed internationally in the cities of Jakarta and Hong Kong. Professionally, he has performed pieces by renowned choreographers such as Hofesh Shechter, Alejandro Cerudo, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Micaela Taylor, Barak Marshall, Arthur Pita, Victor Quijada, Matthew Neenan, Sidra Bell, and Richard Seigal.
He has been a guest artist with Long Beach Opera, LA Chamber Orchestra, Heidi Duckler Dance Company, and Clairobscur Dance. In 2019 he co-founded HD Theatre with partner Haley Heckethorn, a contemporary dance company that performs and commissions work by upcoming and established choreographers, while also providing educational spaces for youth dance programs. On film, Joe can be seen in Calvin Klein’s Spring ’22 campaign, music video Man’s World, written by MARINA and directed by Alexandra Gavillet, as well as Requiem for Air and Normalcy by Laurie Sefton.
In addition to performing and choreographing, he has taught master classes at institutions such as Steps on Broadway, Loyola Marymount University, Chapman University, Santa Monica College, UCLA, and numerous dance studios across the country, and is currently on faculty at CalArts in Valencia, CA. Joe is a lead Dance Church® teacher, an all-inclusive and community-driven outlet for dancing.
