Joan Bradford (she/her/hers) is a dancer, choreographer, arts administrator, teaching artist, and facilitator proudly born, raised, and still residing in The Bronx, NY, ancestral, stolen, Siwanoy Lenapehoking land. Joan holds her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and minor in Theatre from Long Island University where she graduated magna cum laude with the Faculty's Award for Choreographic Achievement.
As a dancer, Joan has collaborated with Sydnie L. Mosley Dances, Alexandra Beller, Alethea Pace, MizantyMoves Dance Works, liryan movement, kamrDANCE, Praevado Dance Collective, Haven Movement Company, and Mise en Danse at venues including Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, Chelsea Factory, Ailey Citigroup Theater, Gibney Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center, Dixon Place, Triskelion Arts, Green Space, Brookfield Place, Brooklyn Studios for Dance, The Old First Reformed Church, Barnard College, Dance Place, Hi-Arts, Middlebury College and Harlem Stage E-Moves and in residences through the Iron Factory, Wilson College, Temple University, EarthDance, Double Edge Theater, Penn State University, Middlebury College, NCCAkron (The National Center for Choreography at The University of Akron), Dance Place, Gibney Center, and Lincoln Center. Joan performed in the Sir Peter Shaffer Memorial film and The Anatomy of Choice Digital Course by Alexandra Beller and was a Rehearsal Director with Sydnie L. Mosley Dances from 2019-2024. Currently, Joan is a Wildlife Theater Performer with The Wildlife Conservation Society at The Bronx Zoo.
As a choreographer, Joan has shared her work at Socrates Sculpture Park, Hunter College's Kaye Playhouse, Brooklyn School of Music, Triskelion Arts, The Old First Reformed Church, Atlas Studios, The Ritz Theater, Arts on Site, Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture, The Tilles Center, BAAD! (Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance), Symphony Space, Speyer Hall, and the Knockdown Center. Joan represented her alma mater at the American College Dance Festival Association and was awarded the Long Island University Faculty Award for Excellence in Choreography. Joan has been in residence with Lost Dog Dance Theatre in Lewes, England, and with the Dancing Futures Artist & Mentor Collaborative Residency presented through Pepatián & BAAD! under the mentorship of Alexandra Beller & Sydnie L. Mosley. With an emphasis on continuing to make work in The Bronx, Joan was a mentee through the Dance Your Bronx UP! Development, has presented work twice through Bronx APAP, with Bronx Artist Spotlight on Dance and Bronx Dance: Pivot to Thrive presented by Pepatián, BAAD!, Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture, and BronxNet. Joan was a recipient of a City Artist Corps Grant and produced Improv on the Parkway, a free dance and music improvisation performance series on Pelham Parkway in The Bronx. Additionally, Joan was a 2021-2022 Fellow with The Performance Project at University Settlement. Currently, she is a 2024-2025 Bronx Dance Fund grantee.
On the arts administrative front, Joan worked with WAXworks (Williamsburg Art Nexus) a monthly choreographic showcase with an emphasis on audience feedback from 2015-2022 as an Intern, Production Associate, and ultimately Executive Producer. Joan has project managed works including Alethea Pace’s here goes the neighborhood at BAAD!, Works & Process at the Guggenheim, and MetFest at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts, J Dellecave’s Four Corners at CPR, Sydnie L. Mosley Dances’ PURPLE: A Ritual in Nine Spells at Lincoln Center, as well as various youth public performances with The Coalition for Hispanic Family Services Arts & Literacy Program and The Bronx House. She has worked with the Mark Morris Dance Group's operations/development department, with Triskelion Arts, Rhythmology Studios, as an Arts Education Program Coordinator with Get Empowered and as a Production & Administrative Manager and Education Coordinator with Sydnie L. Mosley Dances. As a facilitator, Joan has co-created and co-facilitated Sydnie L. Mosley Dances' PD for the People! and has led self-advocacy workshops at Montclair State University, Middlebury College, and Theatre of the Oppressed NYC. She has led professional development trainings through Get Empowered and facilitated a conversation with Bronx-based artists & writers through BAAD! & Pepatián’s launch celebration of the booklet Write Your Future. Additionally, Joan is the Co-Chair of the Dance/NYC Junior Committee.
As a teaching artist, Joan has worked with Fancy Feet Performing Arts Day Camp, The Bronx House, and the Coalition for Hispanic Family Services Arts & Literacy Program teaching and choreographing in genres of creative movement, tap, modern, contemporary, choreography/composition, and theatre for ages 3 - senior citizen. Joan was a Teaching Artist, Assistant Site Director, and founding Arts & Literacy Dance Company Director with the Coalition for Hispanic Family Services Arts & Literacy Program. She has worked as a musical theater choreographer with Villa Maria Academy’s Musical Theater Program and KJK Productions. Joan has guest taught at Wilson College, University of Akron, Middlebury College, and as a Rehearsal Director led weekly company class for Sydnie L. Mosley Dances. Additionally, Joan is a dance adjudicator with True Talent. Currently, Joan is a Teaching Artist with The Bronx House Weinberg Neighborhood Senior Center where teaches seniors/elders line dancing and contemporary dance.
Looking forward, Joan is excited to see where her interests and passions for movement will take her, most especially in her home borough of The BX. She looks forward to new collaborations, choreographic projects, and more making surrounding themes of body inclusion, environmental justice, mental disability, and domestic intimate partner violence & survival.
Photo by Whitney Browne