Joana attended Ginasiano Dance School for 15 years, having an intense dance training and the opportunity to participate in intensive courses with Malandain Ballet Biarritz (2014, France) and Carte Blanche (2017, Norway). In 2017, she graduated, acquiring hers Diploma in Dance. In the same year she starts the Dancer/Maker Bachelor at ArtEZ University of Arts, in The Netherlands. 

As a performer, she worked from 2018-2021 with Kale Companhia de Dança, in dance creations by Christine Hassid (FR), Helder Seabra (PT), Gilles Baron (FR), La Tierce (FR), Osa+Mujica (ES), Matxalen Bilbao (ES), Eldad Ben-Sasson (IS), Gael Domenger (FR). In 2019, she started working with Companhia Instável, where she went on stage with pieces from the choreographers Roberto Olivan (ES), Helder Seabra (PT) and São Castro & António Cabrita (PT) – she is still working with this company. All these creations from Instável are still touring nationally and/or internationally in the present moment. In 2023, she also collaborated with AORCA company, in a recreation from the choreographer Maria Clara Villa-Lobos (BE/BR). In 2023, Joana starts working with the international company GN&MC, based in Barcelona, in the piece “Natural Order of Things”, which premiered in Mercat de las Flors and La Biennale di Venezia, and after engaged in international touring. Joana was nominated in the category of “best female dancer” in MAX Awards 2024 for her interpretation in “Natural Order of Things”. She was as well invited to tour other pieces of the company as “Made of Space” and “Time Takes The Time Time Takes” in several countries, as Germany, Switzerland, Spain, South Korea, etc. In 2025, she starts collaborating with the Irish company Teac Damsa as a cover dancer in Michael Keegan Dolan’s last creation “1975”, that premiered in West Kerry.

She started teaching in 2020, being invited to give classes/workshops in Portugal, Bulgaria, Israel, the Netherlands and Spain, highlighting her role as reference teacher at Fontys University of the Arts (NL) and guest choreographer at Conservatório Nacional de Valencia (ES).

As a choreographer, she created “If only this was about food” (2021) that premiered at the Teatro Municipal do Porto and was also presented in The Netherlands and Luxembourg. In November 2021, she also premiered her latest solo “Sinto muito”, that presented in several cities in Portugal and had its international premiere in the Festival Deltebre Dansa 23, where it was presented for +700 people. She edited a book-format arquive which documents the creation process and it travels on tour alongside the show.
In 2022 she starts collaborating with Leo Calvino in the creation of “Apneia”, that premiered in Teatro Municipal do Porto and toured 6 districts in Portugal. The creation was invited to be part of the circulation cycle Segunda Casa, of the Instável-Centro Coreográfico. Together with Leo Calvino, they created the Cerca Trova collective – a platform that serves all their creative partnerships. In April 2025, they premiered their latest collaboration in Festival DDD \ corpo+cidade, a duet called “Budô” with the co-production of TMP/Balleteatro and the support of Direção Geral das Artes – dgArtes.

Joana co-created with Beatriz Sarmento the multidisciplinary Festival Súbito, that promoted activities between multidisciplinary emergent artists since 2021. The Órbita Residency Program (part of Súbito) had 5 editions and supported +40 young artists.

In 2023 she as well starts collaborating with Aura and Ana Rita Xavier, as an invitation from Instável Centro Coreográfico, and together they start the project Deseclipse – a cycle of conversations about the current state of culture in Portugal, open to anyone interested.

____________<extra>_____________ Besides her artistic interests, she has a Bachelor Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Porto. She was Associative Director at the junior company nowScience, as member of the Board, and at the National Association of Pharmacy Students (APEF), where she was a collaborator in the commercial and multimedia department. She was also the Commercial Director of the magazine REFlexus in the year of 2020.