JoAnn M. Hunter

JoAnn M. Hunter is an American theatre choreographer and director. She began her career as a Broadway performer before working as a dance captain and associate choreographer, and later moved into choreography and directing.

Early life

Hunter was born outside Tokyo, Japan, to a Japanese mother and American father. She moved to the United States at age four and was raised in Coventry, Rhode Island, where she began dancing by around age 10.

Hunter later received a scholarship to study dance in New York City under Charles Kelly and moved to New York at age 17. She made her Broadway debut in 1989 in Jerome Robbins' Broadway.

As a performer, Hunter worked with choreographers including Rob Ashford, Rob Marshall, Kathleen Marshall, Bill T. Jones, Peter Gennaro, Ann Reinking and Christopher Chadman. She identified Jerome Robbins, with whom she worked on three productions, as a major choreographic influence. A review in London Theatre noted that Hunter expanded several musical numbers into dance breaks, including a tap sequence in "Potiphar", and described the first-act finale for "Go, Go, Go Joseph" as "spectacular".

Hunter also choreographed the West End and Broadway productions of Cinderella, later titled Bad Cinderella on Broadway.

In 2023, Hunter directed and choreographed the musical SuperYou, which had previously been presented in concert at Carnegie Hall.

In 2024, Hunter was named director of the Broadway-aimed musical Jo – The Little Women Musical.

Hunter later directed Karen Zacarías' play Native Gardens at Westport Country Playhouse.