Joanne Clifton
| Joanne Clifton | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Joanne Kirsty Clifton 24 October 1983 Waltham, Lincolnshire, England, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Caistor Grammar School |
| Occupation | dancer, presenter, actress and singer |
| Years active | 1983 - present |
Joanne Clifton (born 26 October 1983), also known as Jo or JoJo, is a British professional dancer, presenter, actress and singer born in Waltham, Lincolnshire. She won the World Ballroom Showdance Championship in 2013 and also won the European Professional Ballroom Championship and World Dancesport Games. She has been a professional dancer on the BBC TV series Strictly Come Dancing since 2014, winning the Christmas Special in 2015 with Harry Judd who was series 9 champion and the fourteenth series in 2016 with Ore Oduba. Also appearing as an expert presenter on Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two in 2015. She is also an actress and singer, and will play the title role of Millie in the UK tour of Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2017.
Clifton started dancing ballroom and Latin as a child in her home village of Waltham, taught by her parents, former World number ones Keith and Judy Clifton. She competed nationally and internationally as a child, initially partnering her brother Kevin. Later, she chose to specialise in ballroom so as not to directly compete against her brother. She has competed in both ballroom and Latin since the age of 4 and has been a British Champion five times, Italian Champion three times, Professional Ballroom European Champion in 2012 and Professional World Dancesport Games Champion in 2013.
In 2000, Clifton moved to Bologna, Italy, to train with Team Diablo, the biggest dance school in Europe. She was initially partnered with Marco Cavallaro, reaching sixth in the world in amateur rankings with him. She moved to professional competition when she was chosen to partner Paolo Bosco in 2011. In 2013, they were amongst ten other professional dancing couples to be invited to perform at the Kremlin. She and her partner became champions of the World Dancesport Games in Taiwan in 2013 and won the World Professional Ballroom Showdance Championships in Merano, Italy, later that year. Clifton danced with Bosco competitively until his retirement on 15 December 2013. She retired from competitive dancing on 19 December 2013.
From April to May 2014, she joined her brother as a dancer in the Burn the Floor Dance Company, performing in the show’s tour of Australia and Japan.
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