Jovonna parks

Dancer

JoVonna Parks (NY, NY) is a Philadelphia native where she began her intense formal training in Ballet, Horton and Graham techniques. She attended Ailey/Fordham under the direction of Ana Marie Forsythe and graduated with her BFA in dance in 2012. She has had the pleasure of working with and performing works by Camille A. Brown, Ronald K. Brown, Donald McKayle, Hofesh Shector, Robert Battle, Jill Echo and many others. JoVonna has also had the opportunity and pleasure to work with Ty Jones and The Classical Theatre of Harlem in their productions of MacBeth (soldier/ensemble), The Three Musketeers (Kitty/ensemble), Antigone (ensemble) and served as Dance Captain for their production of A Christmas Carol in Harlem. JoVonna performed with Elisa Monte Dance under the direction of both Elisa Monte and Tiffany Rea-Fisher from 2014-2019. Whether performing or creating, she also teaches ballet, modern and contemporary techniques in the greater NYC and New Jersey areas.

Presently, she teaches at Essential Elements Dance Studio in Hazlet, NJ.  She is currently a freelance dance artist in NYC with Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company, Clymove, Konverjdans and has been a guest artist with Ballet Vero Beach. Her own creations have been performed at Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company: Solo Suites as well as the all female collaborative choreography festival CounterPointe in 2019, 2022 and 2023. 

She recently made an appearance in Season 2 of HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness. JoVonna is a recipient of the NYFA City Corps Grant as well as a recipient of the 2021/2022 UMEZ grant from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture as choreographer in collaboration with Nite Bjuti. She is also the recipient of a microgrant from The Map Fund in its first microgrant initiative. JoVonna has also choreographed for Brooklyn Ballet’s Spring Season 2024.

She is an original member of Clymove since 2019, served as Founding Board Secretary 2021-2023, and is currently Clymove’s first commissioned Choreographer and Rehearsal Director.

Photo Credit:
Pascal Sonnet Photographie (In Rehearsal)
Wade Watson (B&W Headshot)