Emily Joan Miller

Emily Joan Miller, lovingly known as “Miss Joan,” was the artistic director and founder of the Palm Beach Ballet Center. Miss Joan, a cherished pillar of the arts community, gracefully completed her earthly journey on November 15, 2025, leaving behind a legacy of inspirational teachings and love that precede her.

As Dance Magazine wrote, the Palm Beach Ballet Center has had “over a half century of excellence.” Miss Joan herself was a true “dance icon,” establishing a “signature level of professionalism” that became her hallmark. Her influence still resonates across studios far and wide, where former students—now teachers, directors, and leaders—carry forward the standards she set and the artistry she instilled.

For nearly six decades, Miss Joan shaped thousands of young dancers with unwavering discipline, devotion, and a deep, selfless love for the performing arts. Her legacy endures through the dancers, teachers, and creative professionals around the world who credit her for their careers, their opportunities, and their passion. Her life was a testament to purpose, leadership, and profound impact—touching hearts on and off the stage through exceptional teaching, inspirational mentorship, and steadfast selfless service to her community.

If you loved dance—and if you were committed—Miss Joan ensured you had every opportunity to pursue it, whether or not you could afford to. When she staged a production, no expense was spared; she delivered professional-caliber performances to the community purely for the joy of giving and out of love. Those who lived through the golden era of the Palm Beach Ballet Center remember the countless nights she slept at the studio, the thousands of costumes she sewed by hand, and the endless full-length ballets and polished productions she offered to the public… freely, generously, and always from love.

Her school and her legacy, holds a singular, and honored place in local history: the Palm Beach Ballet Center was the oldest continuously operating business in Lake Park, and Miss Joan ran it with formidable grace at a time when women rarely owned or directed prominent businesses. She was a pioneer—a visionary leader, an artistic force, and an icon whose presence elevated not only her dancers but her entire community.

The studio was the first-ever cover feature of Dance Magazine of Florida, and later, the school was named one of the top ten dance schools in the nation by Dance Magazine. Miss Joan’s students went on to dance with many of the world’s most prestigious companies and schools, including the Bolshoi Ballet in Russia, American Ballet Theatre (ABT), New York City Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Vienna City Opera Ballet, the Royal Ballet, Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, Boston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, and many others. She also trained Broadway performers who lit up the stage in Dancin’, Wicked, Moving Out, Fosse, Cats, Chicago, A Chorus Line, Grease, Billy Elliot, The King and I, and more. Her dancers—and their children—can now be found with Disney, Cirque du Soleil, on cruise lines, on Broadway, in world-class ballet companies, and in the movies.

Over the years, Miss Joan and her dancers were invited to perform at the Super Bowl, the Orange Bowl, and for the Archdiocese of Miami before Pope John Paul I—an event attended by more than 80,000 people. The Palm Beach Ballet Center was not only a professional-caliber school but also home to a thriving student company performing under her nonprofit, the Children’s Ballet Theatre.

Born and raised in Lake Worth, Miss Joan began studying dance at an early age with Grace Thomas. After graduating from Lake Worth High School, she began teaching at just 18 years old at the Homer Babb Dance Studio on Park Avenue in Lake Park, all while attending Palm Beach Junior College. During summers, she honed her performance skills in stock productions of Carousel and Annie Get Your Gun, and she danced as a soloist with the Palm Beach County Ballet under Artistic Director Flanders Holland at the Norton Art Gallery in the 1960s. Some of her earliest advanced students were members of the corps de ballet. Even then, she was guiding, mentoring, and inspiring young dancers to become their best selves—whether their futures lay in professional ballet or another path. But for those who dreamed of dancing professionally, Miss Joan was the teacher to study with. She led by example and taught all whom she touched that reaching one’s potential was not merely an aspiration but an obligation.

For more than 57 years, she trained the professional dancers of her generation and quite possibly produced more working dancers worldwide than any teacher of her era. Her legacy lives on in her teachings, her students, and in the hearts of all who were shaped by her strength, generosity, inspiration, and unparalleled dedication.

Though Miss Joan’s memory was eventually overtaken by Alzheimer’s disease, her teachings, her school, and her legacy remain— unforgettable. There will never be another Miss Joan Miller.

Miss Joan is survived by the legacy she built through her art, her teachings, and the many students and teachers she considered family. Among them was former ballet student Carissa Kranz, who shared a particularly meaningful bond with her. For the last 12 years of Miss Joan’s life, Carissa welcomed her into her home, offering devoted care, companionship, and the love of family. Their enduring connection—both in the studio and in life—brought Miss Joan comfort and joy through her final years. She passed peacefully, her hand gently held by Carissa. Miss Joan was an only child and the daughter of Elmer and Emily Miller.

Her celebration of life is Wednesday, December 17, 2025 at 6:30pm. Location: Ballet Palm Beach. 10357 Ironwood Rd, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the dance scholarship fund created in her memory. Checks may be made payable to Ballet Palm Beach, with Joan Miller on the memo line. Ballet Palm Beach is a nonprofit organization, EIN 82-0569013.

Donate online at BalletPalmBeach.org and note that the donation is for the Joan Miller Scholarship Fund.