Graduation Spotlight Series: Bringing Business to Dance
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Joy Xu in the Maya Lin Arts Plaza at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts. Photo by Diana Kalaji.
Joy Xu ’26, bachelor of arts in dance and business economics
By Christine Byrd
Joy Xu has been practicing her pivot. The double major in dance and business economics discovered that the focus on deadlines and efficiency that brought her success as president of the Undergraduate Business Association was not going to yield the same results as co-director of the Bare Bones Dance Theater’s annual showcase.
“With a student-run production of dancers and artists, you have to be more flexible, resourceful, push deadlines, adjust to last-minute surprises, and learn how to pivot really fast,” said Xu. “It was like putting together 30,000 puzzle pieces while also being in school and working — but it was worth it.”
Xu has been putting together pieces of a puzzle throughout her years at UC Irvine, balancing her love of math and dancing with internships in both arts and business, while building a future that includes both.
“I chose UC Irvine because I knew they had a strong business program and they had a strong dance program, and I was thinking that in the future I could be a dance entrepreneur and continue dancing and innovating,” said Xu. “I’ve never looked back. It’s been awesome.”
Xu pursued ballet from a young age, adding jazz, hip hop and contemporary/lyrical in high school dance. Then, at UC Irvine, she joined the campus hip-hop crew Project Renegade and Bare Bones Dance Theater, which welcomes performances from any genre.
Joy Xu (center) performs in "Free Your Mind," choreographed by Jaden Mooney, as part of the Department of Dance's Physical Graffiti 2026. Photo by Sam Zauscher.
Xu’s opportunities started “snowballing” after an internship during her second year with the Merage School of Business’s Todd and Lisa Halbrook Center for Investment and Wealth Management. Building on that experience, she applied to the Arts Launch program, which offers year-long, paid internships in arts management. Through Arts Launch, she helped organize events, showcases and networking opportunities for ArtsOC’s Emerging Arts Leaders OC program.
“I'm super grateful for that opportunity,” said Xu. “It taught me a lot, and it gave me a lot of connections beyond the dance world, to museum and theater leaders.”
Xu parlayed that experience into a summer internship at the technology firm Western Digital, and was so successful that they offered her a full-time position in a year-long rotational program after she graduates.
But she’s not hanging up her dance shoes. Through Varsity Spirit, Xu coaches high school dancers at summer camps and sets choreography for school dance teams. Earlier this year, she choreographed California Lutheran University’s hip-hop routine for national competition, something she hopes to do more of in the future.
Joy Xu in Studio 4 at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts. Photo by Diana Kalaji.
Xu also lends her business acumen as the volunteer administrative director for Orange County-based G.O.O.D. Dance Company, a competitive hip-hop team of professionals who work outside of the arts but continue training and performing. Like them, Xu plans to balance her full-time job in business while still pursuing a career as a choreographer and professional dancer after graduation.
“I have always thought about starting my own company or starting a dance collective in the future, and having that business background to me is really useful,” shared Xu. “I'm super excited for what I can do in the future.”
To learn more about the Department of Dance, visit arts.uci.edu/dance.
