Joan Walton’s high-energy, focused teaching, theatrical choreographies and morning warmups have become well known to dancers over the years.  She has the ability to communicate movement concepts with energy, humor and interest.  A keen observer of learning styles, Joan has an ongoing interest in understanding the many ways that people learn to dance.

Her classes in Ragtime, Jazz Age, Swing Era and 19th Century dance have been seen at Vintage Dance workshops across the USA, in Paris and the Czech Republic.  As Assistant Director and dancer in Cincinnati with Richard Powers' Flying Cloud Vintage Dance Troupe for 10 years, she performed on the ABC-TV mini-series North and South. 

Joan designed choreography for award-winning operas and musical theatre productions at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music, and other schools in the midwest.  She was a guest artist with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra under the direction of Keith Lockhart, performing Morton Gould’s challenging Tap Dance Concerto. 

She currently teaches Dance in World Cultures, Dance Appreciation, and Dance in Film at San Jose State University, along with Social Dance, Swing Dance and Tap Dance classes at the College of San Mateo.  She has a Master’s degree in Dance Education from Stanford University’s top-ranked School of Education.