LANI YAMANAKA

Lani Yamanaka is a San Diego native. As a young athlete, her training focused on versatility and discipline. She competed in Dance at Carlsbad Dance Centre and Judo under her father and sensei with San Shi Judo Club. Lani continued her movement research at UC Irvine, where she graduated with BFAs in Dance Performance and Choreography. While graduating, she launched into the professional dance world as an ensemble member in PEARL, a multimedia production based on the life and contributions of Pearl S. Buck, directed and choreographed by Daniel Ezralow. Lani has danced professionally with Akram Khan, Entity Contemporary Dance, ODC/Dance, Kambara+, and as Dance Captain for Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise, an off-broadway production for The Shed NYC. She is featured in the Netflix doc-series MOVE, highlighting her time with Akram Khan Company in Dhaka, Bangladesh, directly before the world lockdown. In 2020, Lani co-created, directed, and danced in Blank State, a dance film born from the loss of creative spaces to gather in person. Therefore, collaborators Lani Yamanaka and Megumi Iwama made their own on-screen. Blank State was selected for screening at Door Kinetic Arts Festival. Lani has taught worldwide, exploring this medium of human communication and connection, and aims to deepen the artistry and education of upcoming generations. Lani is signed with Go 2 Talent Agency, and is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer.