Joy Alpuerto Ritter was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. In her youth she was trained at the Ballettschule Armin Krain and learned Philippine Folk Dance in the cultural dance group led by her mother. In 2004 Joy graduated at the Palucca School in Dresden, Germany with a dance diploma. She started working as a freelance dancer with choreographers like Christoph Winkler, Heike Hennig, Wangramirez and Yui Kawaguchi. Her passion for the communal aspect of dance made her connect to the street and club culture scene in Berlin. 

In 2011 she joined Cirque du Soleil as a dancer and aerial artist for the Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour. 

Since 2013 she has been a dancer, rehearsal director and movement advisor of the Akram Khan Company where she continues her touring life all around the world. In 2016 she was nominated as “Outstanding Female Dancer” (Modern) for her performance in AKC’s Until the Lions by the National Dance Awards UK.

Since 2016 she has found international success as a choreographer and creates works for film and own dance theatre pieces. Her signature is finding an interesting fusion of movement vocabulary that come from different cultural backgrounds. 

Joy’s body of work develops as she leads on the direction and production of collaborative cross-pollinated performances with an array of talented artists and creatives like Farooq Chaudry, Akram Khan, Hannes Langolf, Ballett Black, Rushil Ranjan, Viviane Durante, Vincenzo Lamagna, Florence & The Machine and many more.

Her generosity of sharing her experience and knowledge made her work as a teacher and coach in academic institutions and international festivals around Europe and Asia.