Yoko Taira was born in Oviedo, where she started her ballet classes at the age of five. In 1985 she moved to Madrid to study with Luis Fuente. She danced with his group in different cities of Spain for two years. Later she worked with Marika Besobrasoba, Lola de Ávila, Carmen Roche, Paco Morales and Igor Ivanov, amongst others.
Since January 1988 she has become part of the Compañía Nacional de Danza (then called Ballet Lírico Nacional) where she danced many roles in classical and neoclassical ballets. Since January 1990 she has been dancing as solo and first dancer under the direction of Nacho Duato in most of his creations, as well as in works of choreographers of international prestige such as Jiri Kylián, Mats Ek, Ohad Naharin, William Forsythe and Hans van Manen, among others. In 1989 she finished her studies with honours from the Real Conservatorio de Música y Danza in Madrid, and in 1995 she started to give classes of contemporary dance there and created two choreographies with her students. Since 1996, while continuing to dance at the CND, she has also worked as Choreograph Assistant for its Artistic Director, Nacho Duato. She has replicate Nacho Duato’s choreographies to many companys such as Netherlands Dance Theater, Opera de Paris and Göteborg Dance Company, among others. She has also choreographed the operas Così fan tutte, Don Pasquale, El rapto en el serrallo, Trouble in Tahiti, Bonhomet y el cisne, as well as musical videos. As a rehearsal coach she has worked with renowned choreographers Nacho Duato, Mats Ek, Johan Inger and Marcos Morau, as well as replicate pieces by Forsythe, Kylian and Naharin, among others. In 1999 and 2000 Taira created her first ballets for the Compañía Nacional de Danza’s Workshop: Reconstrucciones and Kosamai. Later, she premiered another two works for the Compañía Nacional de Danza 2: Érase una vez…(Once upon a time…) (2001) and Ni un Alma (Not a Soul) (2002), and her latest choreographic work is Nasciturus (2003) created for the main company of the CND.
