Jovanna Burke

Jovanna Huguet was born to a Peruvian mother and Canadian father. Growing up in Vancouver, Canada she had the privilege of learning English and French in school, while speaking Spanish at home with her family. Her mother who had always loved dance, noticed Jovanna's natural ability to move at a young age, and enrolled her in Ballet at 5 years old. Loving every second, Jovanna quickly realized that she could express herself emotionally through movement and tell stories. She spent a lot of time at home annoying her little sister with her made up ballets and plays. Her first performance on stage was a milestone, when she realized that she loved communicating through entertaining people. Jovanna joined the choir and theater program at school, and participated in every school play, musical and recital, always wanting more time on stage. Focusing her energy on dance after being accepted to the prestigious Royal Winnipeg Ballet School at the ripe age of 9. She worked hard and finishing all her RAD examinations with honors, and was then accepted with a merit scholarship to the Walnut Hill School in Natick, Massachusetts, where she was a principal dancer in their company the National Youth Ballet, and got to work with the prestigious Boston Ballet as a result. After 3 years of hard work in Boston, Jovanna was struck with an unfortunate injury that would change the course of her life as a ballet dancer. A new chapter started in her life when she moved to New York City. Being the dance capital of the world, she went there looking for inspiration. She found it first working with Ellen Jacobs Associates, a publicity firm that represented some of the most amazing dance choreographers and companies in the US and worldwide. While there, Ellen took Jovanna under her wing and showed her the ropes. Every night at the theater watching a new amazing performance and mingling with the likes of Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Merce Cunningham...on a daily basis, Jovanna felt as though she had found a new niche. But watching the entertainers every night slowly tore away at her heart, and she realized that she had to get back on that stage. Auditioning for a scholarship at a film and television studio, against hundreds of other actors, Jovanna won the scholarship and began her training as an actor at the Weist-Barron Studio. Realizing that she could tell the stories she had always wanted to tell, through a different medium, she left her life in NYC as a publicist - and with no Plan B, moved back to Vancouver to study full time at the Vancouver Film School. Upon graduation, Jovanna had never been happier about her decision to come back to her roots and tell important stories to entertain and inspire people. She knew it was the right decision when she booked the lead in a feature film right out of school, and as a result secured an agent, and has continuously worked on TV series, MOWs and feature films since. Jovanna prides herself on learning about who she is everyday, so that she can be the most truthful actor, storyteller and friend. "Life is too short to do things that you don't love." Jovanna continues to study and work hard at her craft daily and finds great inspiration from her peers, friends and especially her family. Jovanna lives in Vancouver with her husband Andrew.