Joseph Shumate received his early training in ballet at the California  Ballet School. At age 14, he was made a company apprentice and promoted to Company Dancer at age 16. Joseph attended the University of California, Irvine, where he graduated in 2002 with a Bachelors of the Arts in Dance and Drama. He spent the next eight years as a working actor, performing nationally and internationally in musical theater productions, and is an active member of the Actors' Equity  Association. Returning to his roots in ballet, Joseph has come home to the California Ballet Company where he is currently a Company Dancer, on the administrative staff, and teaches a weekly workshop in musical  theater for the California Ballet School.