Yadi Nieves

Born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, Yadi began dancing at four years old. By nine, she was already choreographing for school and theatre productions a distinction that set the trajectory of everything that followed. She trained formally at the prestigious School of Bellas Artes de Carolina, immersing herself in ballet, jazz, Afro-Caribbean, and modern dance while performing and choreographing for established artists including Oscar de León, De La Ghetto, Andy Montañez, Dalex and many others. By 16, Yadi had become an official dance teacher. She went on to join the Arthur Murray Dance Studio franchise, where she deepened her expertise into ballroom dancing and earned certifications in nine distinct styles trained and certified under world-renowned ballroom champions Jaana Kunitz, Bob Powers, and Julia Korchakova. She also competed as a ballroom dancer throughout her training. She continued teaching at additional studios including New York Basic Ballroom before establishing two of her own "Dance to the Beat" in Florida, where she continued teaching, performing, and choreographing for artists while building a presence in commercials, television, radio, and press interviews. Alongside her dance career, Yadi pursued several parallel paths. She competed in Miss America Puerto Rico, placing fifth and earning the title of Miss Congeniality. She performed as an MC at prestigious Latin nightclubs in Orlando. She explored songwriting, releasing two original songs and co-writing for additional artists. Her passion for acting began in middle school, and by 14 she had confirmed her calling for filmmaking developing personal projects with friends, leading school drama productions, and performing in plays from middle school through college, where she studied film and television production. She continued her acting training with independent schools including Art Sake, Truthful Acting, Drama Inc, and GetScene. Around the same age, she began training in combat sports starting with boxing and expanding into capoeira, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and Muay Thai deliberately building the physical and technical foundation the film industry would demand of her. After closing her dance studios to fully commit to the screen, the stunt industry opened its doors first. Yadi went on to perform in major Hollywood productions, including a standout fight sequence alongside Mark Wahlberg and Iko Uwais. Throughout her stunt career she never stopped creating. She wrote, directed, produced, shot, and action-designed her own independent films. Her first short film submission was selected by the Women International Film Festival and screened at a movie theater in Times Square, New York City. She continues her career today as a filmmaker, actress, stuntwoman, and action designer.