An international ballerina, director and choreographer, Yana Lewis was born in the UK, and has lived in India since 1998. Her dancing career began at the age of 2 in London, and from that moment on dance has been not just been a passion but a way of life. She is also a dedicated practitioner of Iyengar yoga for more than 20 years. She came to India on the 80th birthday of her guru, Shri B. K. S. Iyengar, a visit that sparked off a lasting and deep-seated affinity to India and the beginning of in-depth research into Indian culture and dance.

Yana considers yoga as a medium to travel deep inside and practices and teaches it regularly. She has developed her own signature style by marrying her love for yoga with ballet. She has also made a contribution to ‘Iyengar, The Yoga Master’ book through a chapter on ‘The Dancer’s Posture’.

Yana has performed extensively both on stage and on TV, and has produced and directed her own shows in the UK and India. Her work covers a broad spectrum – from modern dance companies to classical ballet solos playing principal roles in ‘Sleeping Beauty’, ‘Coppelia’, ‘Swan Lake’ and ‘Peter and the Wolf’. Her work also includes choreographer or feature artiste for numerous music videos, with Elton John, Bryan Adams, Phil Collins and Ray Parker Junior from Ghostbusters. Yana has performed extensively for BBC TV’s longest running music show. Her TV credits also include ‘A Proper Nureyev’ and ‘The Young Ones’.

In 2002, she founded the Yana Lewis Dance Company in India, specialising in classical ballet and jazz, with a diverse repertoire including Hawaiian, African tribal and street jazz. Biannually, she stages and choreographs large-scale dance productions featuring her Company and Academy.