Joanna Numata moved to Manhattan at the age of 17 to attend Hunter College. During her winter break, her old tap teacher advised her to take classes at Broadway Dance Center. It was at this studio where Joanna continued her studies in ballet, tap and jazz and began her study of Hip-Hop. After devoting much of her time to improving her craft, Joanna's tenacious efforts paid off. She was invited to become a member of Rhapsody James's company. This opportunity allowed her to gain the experience and training she would need for the commercial dance world. Almost one year after she began training at BDC, Joanna started dancing professionally. During the summer of 2004, she was requested to sub classes at BDC, and has been teaching there ever since.
Joanna has had the privilege of working with such artists as Fergie, Busta Rhymes, P.Diddy, Nelly, Pharrel, Black Eyed Peas, and Cassie. Some other credits include the feature film "I Am Legend," the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, "Fashion Rocks," "MTV VMA's," "SNL," "Law & Order," and industrials for L'Oreal, Nexxus, Nike, Adidas, Sobe Lifewater and Equinox.