Joana Couto is a creator and performer from Oporto. She trained at Escola de Dança Ginasiano and continued her studies at ArtEZ University of the Arts in the Netherlands. As a dancer, she highlights her collaborations with Guy Nader & Maria Campos, Helder Seabra, Roberto Olivan, Victor Hugor Pontes, Christine Hassid, Gilles Baron, São Castro, and António Cabrita, among others.
She started teaching in Portugal in 2020, and she has been invited to teach in Bulgaria, the Netherlands (Fontys School of the Arts), and Spain.
As a choreographer, she has created If only this was about food (2021), the solo Sinto muito, which had an archive book of the creative process, and Apneia, her most recent work co-created with Leo Calvino, currently on tour in Portugal. Her partnership with Leo Calvino resulted in the creation of the Cerca Trova collective, and they will premiere their next work, Budô, in 2025. She co-created and directed Súbito Festival and the Órbita artist-in-residence program, which had five editions and hosted over 40 young artists. In 2023, she co-created the conversation series Deseclipse.
