Though his parents met as dance instructors, Joe Donato never had aspirations for being a dance teacher growing up. Coming from a background in music and Video production, he decided to explore teaching Ballroom as a part time job. In 2001, after two weeks of “boot camp” at the local studio, he told his teacher that it just “feels right” and started down a life-altering path. During his 3 year stint at Arthur Murray, he received training from local ballroom and rhythm professionals, along with private instruction from professional ballroom dancers Bob and Julia Powers, John Clark, Cynthia Long, Nick and Elena Kosovich (one of the professional teams from Dancing with the Stars) and Gene LaPierre. He received awards for Top Specialist, and successfully led students from their journey of never having danced before, to choreographed exhibitions and competitions.

After his time at Arthur Murray, he continued to teach throughout the greater Philadelphia area and New Jersey, working for many ballroom, tango and salsa studios including the Peppermint Dance Club, Dance Music, Salsa in the Suburbs, Tango 411, La Maison, Delaware County Community College. In addition, he continued to fuel his passion with private Argentine Tango lessons, workshops, and even an intense experience on a “Tango At Sea" cruise. “We were stuck out on the sea for 3 days as Hurricane Wilma ravaged the Caribbean. So instead of going stir crazy, I mastered the Tango.” 

It was at the annual Church of the Savior beach weekend in Ocean City, New Jersey where Joe met Julie Martyn, a devoted swing dance enthusiast, classically trained flutist and beloved piano teacher. Unbeknownst to each other, they were both building their own makeshift dance floors in their own basements from materials they found at Home Depot! They began their two year courtship exploring all dance venues throughout the Northeast, including Manhattan swing dance hot spots like Frim Fram and the annual Midsummer Night Swing festival. Their travels range from the Flurry Festival in Saratoga Springs NY to the Ballroom on High in Pottstown PA, to the Spanish ballroom at Glen Echo, Maryland. You may have seen them in Philadelphia at the local PSDS dances, Salsa in the Suburbs, the Peppermint Dances, the Collegeville Tango, America Shall We Dance? or Mostly Waltz, among other places.  In the Hudson Valley, you can catch them at the local HVCD swing dances, or numerous other hotspots.

After several years of commuting back and forth between Philadelphia and New York, Joe took the plunge, relocated to the Hudson Valley and married Julie. Together they opened up Hudson Valley Dance Depot, just outside of Poughkeepsie. The studio is now in their third year, and they just relocated to a larger space where they laid down their own professional hardwood floating dance floor with special cushioning for dancers.

Since meeting Julie, Joe began intensive interest in mastering and teaching all forms of swing, including the original Lindy Hop, East Coast swing, West Coast swing, Balboa, and Charleston.  In addition to numerous performances as a couple, they have performed with Nathan Bugh's "Swingamajigs" as well as the Hudson Valley Dance Depot's very own "Queen City Stompers" choreographed by Nelson Rodriguez.