For Prince Lyons, movement isn’t just art. It’s identity.

The St. Louis–born dancer, model, director and producer has built a career that moves fluidly and is ever-evolving. A visual movement artist and storyteller, Prince strives to create spaces where the full spectrum of the human experience is welcomed. His work has taken him worldwide, dancing with renowned companies such as Rambert and Gallim, and sharing stages with artists like Madonna, Kylie Minogue and Jessie Ware. Nevertheless, Prince has found exceptional meaning in producing independent, community-driven projects.

Sparked by the civil unrest during the Covid-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd, Prince Lyons and Kameron Saunders co-produced The K/P Project, a dance collective set to examine and generate dialogue about racial injustices, police brutality, sexuality, gender norms, ableism, and minority experiences. The K/P Project was a successful, community-driven campaign, generating $30,000 through crowdfunding and sponsorships.
In 2022, Prince made his directorial debut with a short film, We’re All Pretty Broken, through a St. Louis-based arts residency.

“Those projects reinforced my genes as a director and producer and reminded me that all these things - wearing nice products, dancing to great music, and collaborating with other talented artists, can all exist together, with dance as the focal point.”

For Prince, movement was his first language, and is how he understands the world. It has
allowed him to tap into and elicit emotion, shining light on what otherwise may be pushed down or hidden away.

“It has made me a bit of a rebel, in a way, even without wanting to be sometimes.”
“Movement teaches you how to understand culture, differences, time and space. Dance
is a very difficult vocabulary to understand.”

However, a difficult vocabulary does not mean exclusive. Prince firmly believes that dance is engrained in humanity and is an accessible form of literacy.

“Movement is how we understand each other. If you have a body, you can move.”
The language of movement for Prince extends beyond the stage or screen. It is spoken from within and is captured by each of the senses.

“For me, dance has always been a full-body, full-sense experience. Vision drives how I compose and connect — I’m always seeing shapes, spacing, energy, and story. Hearing is everything; rhythm and tone shift how my body responds, how movement breathes. Smell and taste bring me back to memory — sweat, hairspray, the air of a rehearsal room — they root me in realness, in the human part of the work. Touch is what ties it all together. The pressure of the floor, fabric against skin, another dancer’s presence — those are my cues for emotion, tension, and release. Movement, for me, is how the senses translate into language. It’s how feelings form.”

Prince is candid about how movement and dance have challenged his understanding of
masculinity in a field where men are often chosen based on their physical traits and masculinity is defined as the absence of emotion.

“For me, I feel that often masculinity is a prison. I want masculinity to mean effort and
care — the same effort women show in everything they do. I feel most masculine when
I’m decisive and sure, and when I trust that things will go well.”

His perspective underscores how strength and power come from inviting, not suppressing, the full spectrum of emotion into creative spaces. Furthermore, by inviting these emotions, barriers are broken, definitions are expanded, underrepresented stories are told, and true creativity actually occurs.

Currently in Los Angeles, Prince is focused on producing and collaborating, all while navigating the city’s entrepreneurial rhythm. While navigating the ebbs and flows of the city, one thing remains constant: he keeps creating.

“I create to share what is close to me, to share perspective and to give a voice to people who do not have one. I also want to feel. I want to feel sadness, love, and joy. Dance allows me to do that, and I want to invite those sensations into spaces for others. That is why I create.”

Written by Jura Daubenspeck-Holm

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