From Stage to Soul : The Creative World of Yoni Light

When Yoni Light steps onto a stage, whether she’s dancing, directing, or performing, not only is she creating art, she’s building an experience you can see, hear, and feel deep in your bones. A Minnesota-born visionary, Yoni’s work dances across boundaries, weaving together movement, film, and sound into powerful stories that last long after that final note fades.

From Living Room Moves to Lifelong Passion

For Yoni, the journey began in her parents’ living room. She was just seven when Ciara's One, Two Step dropped — a moment that would become the foundation of her artistic life. “That was the first real moment for me,” she recalls. “I wanted to be a superstar, a movie director, and a lawyer.”

Inspired by icons like Missy Elliott, Yoni’s creativity became a force that could not be contained. By nine, she was the youngest member of her church’s praise dance team, finding her voice through movement and storytelling. Performing in community spaces like the Martin Luther King Center gave her a sense of belonging and purpose.

Finding Her Voice Through Music & Film

While dance was her first love, music and storytelling quickly followed. Growing up surrounded by a musically gifted family — her father a soulful singer — Yoni began writing songs and even launched a rap career in high school under the name King Des. Those early years performing in the Twin Cities built the foundation for everything she would later create.

Film entered the picture in her early twenties, blending seamlessly with her passion for dance. She began producing music videos and narrative films, honing her craft as a director and storyteller.

Ask Yoni where her ideas come from, and she’ll tell you she’s a visual person first. “I see things before I even need to hear music,” she says. “When I see something, I feel something — and then I bring it into the physical.” Her process is cinematic, rooted in her childhood habit of sitting in corners with books, letting her imagination run wild.

Her art is fueled by her ancestors, her community, and especially Black women. “We were given scraps, but we made magic,” she reflects — a mantra that runs through every piece she creates.

Defining Moments on the Journey

Yoni’s creative path is marked by bold moves and community collaboration. As part of the Black femme and queer hip hop dance crew New Black City, she spent years performing locally and nationally. A chance encounter with Brooklyn artist La Kaylee 47 at Afro Punk led to an unexpected creative connection — one that would eventually bring the artist to Minneapolis and open new doors for Yoni’s crew.

These moments, born from courage and connection, have shaped Yoni’s belief that showing up for her city is just as important as creating art.

From navigating cultural narratives to amplifying community voices, Yoni has built a

career on transforming limited resources into powerful artistic statements. Whether she’s producing a music video, directing a stage performance, or mentoring young artists, she’s proof that creativity thrives under constraint.

“I fight for the people I fight for because of where I come from,” Yoni says. “The way I move, the way I dress, the way I talk — it’s infused with my roots.”

Yoni Light’s story is more than a personal success — it’s a testament to the resilience of artists who create in spaces that were never built for them. With every step, every frame, and every beat, she’s not just performing; she’s redefining what’s possible. And if you’ve ever had the chance to see her shine? You already know — you feel it.