Eva Yerbabuena
Who is Eva Yerbabuena?
Eva María Garrido García, known as Eva Yerbabuena, was born in 1970 in Frankfurt, the daughter of Spanish emigrants who soon returned to Granada, where she grew up in Ogíjares in an environment she herself has described as decisive for her artistic training. She began studying dance at twelve with teachers such as Enrique “El Canastero,” Angustillas, Mariquilla and Mario Maya, completed her choreographic training with Johanes in Havana, and studied dramatic art in Seville with Juan Furest and Jesús Domínguez. She made her professional debut at fifteen in Rafael Aguilar’s company.
Career
In her early years she shared the bill with bailaores such as Javier Barón, Javier Latorre, Manolete, Merche Esmeralda and Joaquín Cortés, and in 1998 she danced alongside Mikhail Baryshnikov in Wuppertal, as part of a tribute to Pina Bausch’s company. Around that same time she founded her own company, whose musical direction was taken on by guitarist Paco Jarana, her artistic and life partner with whom she has built much of her repertoire, and with whom she has also collaborated with cantaores such as Arcángel and Miguel Poveda.
With her company she has premiered titles such as “Eva” (1998), “5 Mujeres 5” (2000), “La voz del silencio” (2002), “A cuatro voces” (2004), “El huso de la memoria” (2006), “Lluvia” (2009) and “Federico según Lorca” (2011), taking them to international stages such as the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris and the City Center in New York. She has also worked in film and television, appearing in Mike Figgis’s documentary “Sensaciones de mujeres” (1997) and in the film “Hotel” (2001), alongside John Malkovich and Salma Hayek.
Style
Her way of understanding dance seeks to unite the purest flamenco tradition with a living stage language capable of dialoguing with other arts, combining emotional depth and technical precision; many of her shows culminate in combinations of soleá and bulerías.
Legacy
She has received, among many other honors, the Premio Nacional de Danza (2001), several Flamenco Hoy awards (1999, 2000 and 2001), the Time Out London award (2001), the Giraldillo for Best Bailaora at the Bienal de Sevilla (2002), several Premios Max and the Medalla de Andalucía, and in 2022 King Felipe VI presented her with the Giraldillo Ciudad de Sevilla in recognition of her constant search for new languages and her work teaching and passing on the dance. She remains active, combining creation with teaching new generations of bailaoras.