Entertainment
Born and raised in Minnesota, Yonna started dancing at Larkin Dance Studio at the young age of 3 and continued her training while teaching at 4th Street Dance Centre. Sports were also a dominant factor within her family and she grew up as an all-around athlete in gymnastics, soccer, track and speed skating, but slowly gravitated to her passion and love for Dance.The importance of academics was a high priority as she pursued her education and achieved a Bachelors Degree in Accounting at the University of MN and University of St. Thomas. Her continued fascination for accounting eventually lead her to specialize in tax preparation for the entertainment industry, a perfect combination of two professions. While in Minnesota, she followed her dreams of becoming a professional dancer and performed for local recording artists, choreographed fashion shows, danced for the Minnesota Timberwolves, the North Stars Hockey Team and most notably, danced for the musical genius Prince. To further her career, she moved to California and quickly adapted to the hustle & bustle of Hollywood. Landing an Agent aided her in booking shows, commercials & videos, but her big break came when she had the opportunity to tour with The Godfather of Soul -- Mr. James Brown. She toured all over the world from Australia, Istanbul, Japan and all over Europe for 6 years up until the day Mr. James Brown passed on Christmas of 2006. Throughout those highlighted years, she performed on the BET Awards, VH1 & BBC TV features, LIVE 8 Concert in Scotland, the Olympic Torch Ceremony in London, joined amazing artists for the Pavarotti & Friends Benefit in Italy and was a featured dancer in the movie The Tuxedo with Jackie Chan. Touring with such a legend and icon in the music business taught Yonna, not only discipline, dedication and perseverance, but the true meaning of ‘the hardest working man in show business’. She will cherish & treasure this inspiring life long journey forever. Yonna Kari continues to keep his legacy alive in collaborating with the James Brown family and upcoming works in progress. Other accomplishments include numerous fitness video’s such as; Dance off the Inches-Latin, La-TinVa Dance & Fitness, Booty Slide, Body by Jake Print Ads, Choreographer & Motion Capture for The Bratz & Lil’ Bratz DVD’s and martial arts with the Kung Fu Femmes. For the past 13 years she has also performed at the historic El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood doing live Disney shows such as Wreck it Ralph, Brave, Tangled, Up, Bolt and Monsters Inc., just to name a few. Currently, she performs in Master’s of Illusion with Darren Romeo & James Brandon and also with the Bohemia Dance & Entertainment Co., an international dance company that specializes in Belly Dance, Persian, Armenian, Samba, Latin, Arabic, Bollywood and all other styles of dance. Love & Light,
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Yonna Kari
