QUEENS COLLEGE–Recognized by his iconic psychedelic ponytail and quirky dance moves, Joe “The Dancer” Ferrante is a cornerstone of the community at Queens College’s Aaron Copland School of Music. Whenever music students frequent a performance on campus, their eyes scour the seats to see if Ferrante is in attendance. Victoria Bartunek, an undergraduate saxophone performance major, says, “It’s honestly really comforting always having Joe in the audience. Even if you think your performance may not have a large audience, you can always count on Joe to be there supporting you.”
Ferrante, 74, is a New York City native. He was born in Manhattan in 1949 and moved to Flushing in 1958, where he has resided ever since. He’s a Queens College alumnus, having taken classes interspersedly between 1967 and 1973, with an interruption from 1969 to 1971 when he served in the Vietnam War.
