Joshua Blake Carter was appointed Artistic Director of Dance Kaleidoscope in 2023 after a 14 year career with Giordano Dance Chicago.
Since joining Dance Kaleidoscope, Carter has reengaged and reinvigorated audiences by inviting a diverse range of choreographers and artistic voices to create new works for the company, he created the Jaffee & Hall Emerging Choreographer Award, and the collaborations with local and national artists that continue to prove Dance Kaleidoscope is a world-class dance organization. Additionally, he implemented a more accessible audition process that reduces socioeconomic barriers and expands opportunities for dancers, enabling Dance Kaleidoscope to attract exceptional talent from across the country. In 2026, Carter was named one of Indianapolis Business Journal’s Forty Under 40.
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, and immediately following graduation, he 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. Carter 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, Carter created nine world premiere works for GII in addition to three world premiere works for GDC. Upon retirement from the stage, Carter was named GDC’s first-ever Operations Manager.
Carter has had a wide-ranging career as a freelance choreographer. In 2009 he won Wonderbound’s dancemakers2.0 choreography competition which launched his choreographic career, and in 2013, he was named a winner of the DanceWorks Chicago DanceMoves choreography competition. Later that year he was awarded the Producers’ Panel Prize from the Ruth Page Foundation for his work Ripen. In 2016, Carter was tapped to choreograph the closing number for the private Chicago event Sing! featuring Elton John. In 2018, he 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, Carter was named an inaugural recipient of the Trillium Arts ACE Fellowship. Additionally, he has choreographed works for Aerial ZDance Chicago, Artifact Dance Project, Dance in the Parks, Mareck Dance Company, Nomi Dance Company, South Chicago Dance Theatre, Viceral Dance Chicago, as well as a project for Embarq with the Joffrey Ballet.
As an educator, Carter served on the faculty of many regional conventions, including Chicago National Association of Dance Masters, Red Rock Dance Festival, Texas Association Teachers of Dancing, and he has been in residence or guest faculty at Brenau University, Illinios State University, Salve Regina University, Southeast Missouri State University, and University of Chicago.
