Joshua Blake Carter was appointed Artistic Director of Dance Kaleidoscope in 2023 after a 14 year career with Giordano Dance Chicago. 

Originally from Atlanta, GA, Joshua began his dance training at the Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts at age 14. He continued his dance education at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he received his BFA in Dance. During his time in Arizona, Joshua’s work Moura-Sion for the UA Dance Ensemble secured him as a finalist in Ballet Nouveau Colorado’s (BNC) dancemakers2.0 choreography competition. In the spring of his senior year, Joshua created Mothertongue for BNC, marking his first ever professional commission. The work went on to win the competition, landing him his second commission and launching his choreographic career.

Immediately following graduation, Joshua relocated to Chicago, where he joined Giordano II. His talents were nurtured under the artistic direction of Nan Giordano, daughter of the late jazz pioneer Gus Giordano, and he was promoted to the main company, Giordano Dance Chicago (GDC) after one season. Joshua toured the world with GDC from 2010-2017, performing in Austria, Germany, Guatemala, Israel, Latvia, and Turkey, as well as theaters in communities across the United States. He had the privilege of working with choreographers Peter Chu, Autumn Eckman, Alexander Ekman, Liz Imperio, Roni Koresh, Ray Leeper, and Ray Mercer, as well as performing classic repertoire by Gus Giordano, Nan Giordano, Mia Michaels, and more.

In 2013, Joshua was appointed Director of Giordano II (GII). During his decade-long tenure, he helped to redefine the presence of the company of early career professionals by expanding their performance opportunities and reintroducing the Giordano on Giordano program to the company’s season. Joshua created nine world premiere works for GII and three world premiere works for GDC. Upon retirement from the stage, Joshua was named GDC’s first ever Operations Manager, becoming an integral part of the administration team.

Joshua has had a wide-ranging career as a freelance choreographer. In 2013, he was named a winner of the DanceWorks Chicago DanceMoves choreography competition, and later that year he was awarded the Producers’ Panel Prize from the Ruth Page Foundation for his work Ripen. In 2016, Joshua was tapped to choreograph the closing number for the private Chicago event Sing! featuring Elton John. In 2018, Joshua was a finalist in the Capezio A.C.E. Awards in NYC, and in 2019, he choreographed an Equity production of Newsies at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, IL, receiving a Jeff Award nomination and a Regional Broadway World nomination for Best Choreography. In 2020, Joshua was named an inaugural recipient of the Trillium Arts ACE Fellowship. Additionally, he has choreographed works for Aerial Dance Chicago, Artifact Dance Project, Dance in the Parks, Mareck Dance Company, Nomi Dance Company, South Chicago Dance Theatre, Visceral Dance Chicago, as well as a project for Embarq with the Joffrey Ballet.

As an educator, Joshua served on the faculty of several Chicagoland dance institutions, including Visceral Dance Center. He has been part of many regional conventions, including Chicago National Association of Dance Masters and Texas Association Teachers of Dancing, and he has been in residence or guest faculty at Brenau University, Illinois State University, Salve Regina University, Southeast Missouri State University, and University of Chicago.