Eva Yerbabuena

Eva María Garrido García, known professionally as Eva Yerbabuena, is a Spanish flamenco dancer. She formed her own dance company in 1998 and won Spain's National Dance Award (Premio Nacional de Danza) in 2001. She is considered one of flamenco's leading performers. Yerbabuena was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1970, but fifteen days after her birth was taken by her parents to their hometown of Ogíjares in Granada, Spain, where she grew up with her grandparents until she was ten years old. At age 11 she began her dance career by taking flamenco classes. At the age of 12, she began to dance with Enrique "El Canastero", Angustillas "La Mona" and Mario Maya. Her professional career began at 15.She studied dramatic arts with Juan Furest and Jesús Domínguez. Afterwards she travelled to Cuba to learn choreography from Johannes García. She was given the name "Yerbabuena" by a friend, Francisco Manuel Díaz, after a flamenco singer named Fransquito Yerbabuena. She has collaborated with Manolete, Merche Esmeralda, Javier Latorre, Joaquín Cortés, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Pina Bausch. Eva Yerbabuena Ballet Flamenco was established in 1998 including her guitarist and husband Paco Jarana as musical director.

She is married with the guitarist Paco Jarana, who is part of her shows as a musician and composer. The couple has two daughters.