Juli Yamanaka
Dept. Head: Jazz

Juli began dancing at Carlsbad Dance Centre at the age of 4, but she took a few more years to really find her passion for dance. She trained in many different genres of dance including Tap, Jazz, Ballet, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Acro, Musical Theater, Clogging, and Pointe.. Juli was on the CDC Competition Team for 11 years, competing in various group routines along with solos, duets, and trios. She was a 4 year member of the Nationally Championship Carlsbad High School Varsity Dance Team “Lancer Dancers” and the team received 4 national titles in 2003, 2004 with a double win in 2006.  Along with her two sisters, Juli also choreographed the Lancer Dancers national hip hop routines in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
Juli attended University of California, Irvine receiving a BA in Dance and Education, and was a member of their collegiate hip hop team, Kaba Modern from 2007 to 2010. While on Kaba Modern she competed with her team at various urban dance competitions, such as Vibe, Bodyrock, Fusion, and Hip Hop Internationals. She continued to dance with the alumni team KM Legacy in 2010 and served as the administrative director for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. While on Kaba Modern & KM Legacy, she focused on many hip hop dance styles including, Breaking, Popping, Locking, and Whacking. She was also a member of the all-girl Whacking group “Style to Kill”.
Juli has been teaching since she was 18 years old, starting with subbing classes at Carlsbad Dance Centre and other studios in North County. She has choreographed for many high schools, colleges, and studios across the United states for routines in jazz, contemporary, and hip hop. In 2009, while still in college, she began teaching at Cal Elite Kids in Rancho Santa Margarita. She became their competitive dance team director in 2013 and was instrumental in helping the program flourish. She also assisted with the direction of many of their gym wide holiday and spring shows, and choreographed many routines for their competition dance and acro programs.
Juli lives in in South Orange County with her husband Eric and pup of her life, Lucy. She enjoys spending time with her loved ones, napping, reading, lettering, and crafting when she is not dancing or teaching. She’s extremely excited to be back home again at CDC, and wants to give a huge loving shout out to Jana & Ron for supporting her every step of her career.