Kayoko is Japanese American, and was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, before moving to the United States at age seven, where she began her dance training shortly thereafter at Washington Contemporary Ballet. She received her professional training at the San Francisco Ballet School on a full-tuition scholarship and stipend, and performed with San Francisco Ballet while completing her dance education. Her early training also includes summer programs with San Francisco Ballet School and Pacific Northwest Ballet.
Kayoko began her professional career with Tulsa Ballet under the direction of Marcelo Angelini, where she was first introduced to Nacho Duato’s choreography. Duato’s movement language and musicality immediately resonated with her, inspiring her move to Madrid, where she joined Compañía Nacional de Danza (CND) 2 in 2004 before becoming a member of the main company in 2007. She was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2012 and elevated to Primera Figura in 2020.
Throughout her career at CND, she has worked under the artistic direction of Nacho Duato, José Carlos Martínez, Joaquín De Luz, and currently Muriel Romero, performing a wide repertoire by many of the most influential choreographers of the 20th and 21st centuries.
She is a celebrated interpreter of the works of Nacho Duato, performing in numerous signature ballets including White Darkness, Por Vos Muero, Remansos, Herrumbre, Gnawa, Arcangelo, Multiplicity. Forms of Silence and Emptiness, and Morgen;, created on CND in 2022. Her contemporary repertoire also includes extensive works by William Forsythe, such as In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, Artifact Suite, Herman Schmerman, and Enemy in the Figure, as well as iconic ballets by Jiří Kylián, including Bella Figura, Petite Mort, Falling Angels, Gods and Dogs, Sleepless, Wings of Wax, and Symphony of Psalms.
Kayoko has performed leading roles in numerous narrative works, notably the title role in Johan Inger’s Carmen, Juliet in Goyo Montero’s Romeo & Juliet, Giselle and Myrta in Joaquin De Luz`s Giselle, and Mercedes in José Carlos Martínez’s Don Quijote. Her classical and neoclassical repertoire includes Balanchine’s Apollo and Serenade, Roland Petit’s Le Jeune Homme et la Mort, Jerome Robbins’ In the Night, Peter Martin’s Barber Violin Concerto, Alexei Ratmansky’s Concerto DSCH, and Ricardo Amarante’s Love Fear Loss. She has also been featured in stylistically diverse works like Twyla Tharp’s Sinatra Suite, Mauro Bigonzetti’s Cantata, Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16, and Alexander Ekman`s Flockwork.
In addition to her work with CND, Kayoko has appeared as a guest artist in international dance galas throughout Europe. She is also a long-time model, featured in photographic campaigns and video advertisements for Mercedes-Benz, Adolfo Domínguez, Shiseido, Sephora, Desigual, Pepe Jeans, Cortefiel, and Freixenet, among others. With a career spanning over two decades, Everhart is respected for her enduring contribution to the artistic legacy and ongoing evolution of Compañía Nacional de Danza.
Instagram: @kayoko.everhart