In 1999 Joseph Cipolla and his wife, Catherine Batcheller, co-founded the WashAshore Dance Ensemble on Cape Cod, (now known as Configuration). Since the groups conception, they have performed pieces from such choreographers as Balanchine, Ashton, Forsythe, Bintley, and McEldowney, as well as new works by Royston Maldoom, Yuri Zhukov, Ivan Cavallari, and Daniela Kurz.

He has taught for the Royal Ballet School, American Academy of Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet Summer School, Ilkley Summer School, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Studio 878 on Cape Cod. In 2002, Joseph was appointed the chair of the dance department at the Academy of Performing Arts, also on Cape Cod.

Joseph was born in New York and began studying ballet in 1977 at the American Academy of Ballet. He joined Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1979 and performed principal roles in Frederic Franklin’s production of Swan Lake and Giselle; Balanchine’s The Four Temperments, Square Dance, Agon, Serenade, and Stars & Stripes; Glen Tetley’s Voluntaries; Arthur Mitchell’s Manifestation, Fete Noir and Holberg Suite; Domy Reiter-Soffer’s Equus; Agnes de Mille’s Fall River Legend; Valerie Bettis’ A Streetcar Named Desire; John Taras’ Firebird; Madame Danilova’s Paquita; Lichine’s Graduation Ball; Billy Wilson’s Mirage, and Robert North’s Troy Game.

He joined Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet in October 1986 (soon to become the Birmingham Royal Ballet in 1990) and has since danced leading roles in many of the company’s productions including Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake, Franz in Coppelia, Colas in Ashton’s La Fille mal Gardee, Albrecht and Hilarion in Giselle, Prince Florimund in The Sleeping Beauty, the Prince and Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker, and both Romeo and Tybalt in MacMillan’s Romeo & Juliet.

Other roles include: Ashton’s Two Pigeons; Kenneth MacMillan’s Solitaire, Elite Syncopations, and Las Hermanas; Bintley’s Flowers of the Forest; Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky pas de deux, Divertimento No. 15, Agon, Orpheus, and Symphony in Three Movements; Captain Belaye in John Cranko’s Pineapple Poll; Leonide Massine’s Choreartium; Kurt Jooss’ The Green Table, William Tuckett’s License My Roving Hands, and Hans Van Mannen’s Five Tangos, Grosse Fuge, and Twilight.

Joseph has created many roles in David Bintley’s repertoire including: Fred Beenstock in Hobson’s Choice, Orion in Sylvia, Lust Filled Seminarian in Carmina Burano, Farmer Boldwood in the full-length ballet Far From the Madding Crowd. Floreador in The Nutcracker Sweeties, Mortimer for the British premiere of Bintley’s highly acclaimed and controversial ballet Edward II, Othello in The Shakespeare Suite, and Merlin in Arthur Part I.

Other noteworthy appearances include Margot Fonteyn’s The Magic of Dance, A Streetcar Named Desire shown on Channel Four in the UK, Hobson’s Choice, The Nutcracker, and The Nutcracker Sweeties for the BBC.

Joseph danced at the White House for Mrs. Thatcher’s first visit there and took part in the the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. He was nominated for a prestigious Olivier Award in 1993 and was invited to perform in the 1994 and 1995 Olivier Awards ceremonies.

He has an entry in Who’s Who in America and People of Today.