Joan Stevens

Joan Gress Stevens is from the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. She is a practicing family law attorney and an Adjunct Professor at Loyola University of Chicago’s paralegal institute. Joan has more than 40 years of dance experience as a performer, choreographer, director, judge educator and judge adjudicator. She was a four-year member of her high school dance team and as a senior, won first place in the Miss Drill Team Illinois state dance competition and went on to place 15 th out of more than a hundred soloists at the Miss Drill Team USA national dance competition in Los Angeles, California. In college, Joan was a four-year member and captain of the Purdue University Goldduster Dance Line and was the featured dancer in Purdue University’s “All American Music Review.” As a dance adjudicator, Joan has judged all levels of dance from “small-stars” to college, from solos and ensembles to large dance/drill teams and flag corps for over 35 years in Illinois, Indiana, New Mexico and now with Dance Team Union. She previously served as judging coordinator for the Illinois Drill Team Association (IDTA) as well as acting as the organization’s legal counsel. Later she co-founded and served as past-president of Team Dance Illinois (TDI). At both IDTA and TDI she helped develop and refine educationally based score sheets, the core of which is used nationally by many competitive circuits. In the concert dance arena, Joan co-founded and served as past Executive Director and Legal Counsel of River North Dance Chicago, a jazz-based, national touring company. Joan has been featured in “Cheer” and “Purdue Alumnus” magazines. Joan is extremely excited to be judging for DTU Nationals for the first time this year!