Jo-ann began pre-professional ballet training with Irina Vakhromeeva, Carlos Molina, and Alexandra

Koltun. She attended the training programs at The Pennsylvania Ballet, Artistic Director and The Kansas City Ballet, under Artistic Director where she was selected by the Artistic Directors, Angel Corella, and Devon Carney, to perform in professional productions such as: Don Quixote, Le Corsaire, Romeo and Juliet, and Peter Pan.

At age 19 she danced with Milwaukee Ballet’s second company, MBII, before joining Syracuse City Ballet as a company member. While under the employ of SCB she was cast in lead roles in both full length productions, such as “Lucy” in Dracula, as well as in special abbreviated ballets created for school age children such as “Red Riding Hood” in Goldilocks Meets Little Red.

In 2020 when indoor stages were closed to the public, Jo-ann danced on outdoor stages with Ballet Des Ameriques, in NYC and its surrounding area. Theater closings brought her back home to Connecticut where she found BTC. Here she has danced original choreography by Stephanie Dattellas, Derek Brockington, Paul Mejia, Kate St. Amand, Calvin Bittner, and Melanie Ramos. She has been a featured dancer as a demi soloist, and performing pas de deux in The Nutcracker. She performed lead roles including: “The Wicked Queen,” in Snow White, “The Princess” in Aladdin, and most recently Cinderella in “Cinderella.”