Joanna Clifford was born into a musical family in West Palm Beach, Florida; and was introduced to classical music at an early age. She discovered ballet in her later years, and her true passion of becoming a dancer. While her focus was on the violin, she had a keen interest and love for ballet. She began ballet classes at age 11, and at age 14 made the decision to commit her time to making ballet her career. In her younger years of dance education, Joanna’s primary teachers included Eileen Hebron, Douglas Gawriljuk, Marife Giminez, Deborah Marquez, Galina Alvarez, and Laura Alonso. She completed summer training with Next Generation Ballet, Orlando Ballet, Butler Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet, and Grand Rapids Ballet. 

 

Moving on to her latest years of dance education, she completed her undergraduate degree at Mercyhurst University, earning her BFA in Dance under the tutelage of Jennifer McNamara, Noelle Partusch, Matthew Christensen, and Lesley Scalise, Danielle Kaiser, Mark Santillano and Solveig Santillano. She has performed in productions of La Bayadere, The Nutcracker (Dew Drop and Snow Queen), Sleeping Beauty (Lilac Fairy), Swan Lake (Czardas), and Midsummer Night’s Dream (Cobweb). Her BFA in dance was accompanied with a minor in Religion and Society. While performing was her main pursuit, Joanna found inspiration in other outlets of dance by taking courses in Pedagogy and Choreography.

 

Joanna joined Ballet North Texas as a trainee for the 24-25 season, performing in The Nutcracker, Changeling by Sam Jones, and Don Quixote. She is excited to continue her second season as a trainee with Ballet North Texas.