Joelle Santiago is a New York based dance artist and maker whose work acts as a vessel for social critique and world-building. She is currently the Assistant Director of the NY performance collective, Wet Hairy Women. Joelle graduated Cum Laude from Barnard College of Columbia University (B.A., Dance), and has performed work by Davalois Fearon, Caroline Fermin, Jody Oberfelder, and Nathan Hirschaut, among others. She was a member of improvisation ensembles including Philip Hamilton’s Sunday Brunch Improv, and Promptus (New York). She is grateful to have received mentorship from Gibney Dance (Gilbert T. Smalls, Alexandra Wells), and the Columbia Ballet Collaborative Choreographic Program (Janice Rosario). Joelle pulls from her leadership experience with the Student Advisory Council of Lincoln Center, where she assisted with the curation of the 2018 season at the Rubenstein Hall. She has guest-taught at the NYU Tisch Future Dancers and Dancemakers Program, and co-taught with Caroline Fermin in the Dance Project of Washington Heights/ Wilson College Community Dance Forum. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Joelle organized and taught within an emergency volunteer tutoring program for NYC students in need. Joelle is an avid yogi, and a stubborn New Yorker, who fiercely loves her afternoon naps.