Yael Schnell was born in Haifa, Israel. She danced in the Batsheva Dance Co. between 1994-2002. Aside from working regularly with Ohad Naharin, Yael worked also with choreographers such as Jiri Kylian, Paul Selwyn Norton, Tero Saarinen, Angelin Preljocaj and more. After leaving the company, she moved to Berlin. Here Yael worked as a freelancer, creating her own work and dancing with the choreographers Ari Rosenzweig, Jorg Schiebe and Christoph Winkler, among others. In 2007, she joined the Sasha Waltz and Guests Co., and has been working with her ever since, creating and performing many pieces such as Rauchen, Kreatur, Allee der Kosmonauten, Dido & Aneas among many others. Yael is a certified gaga teacher. Gaga is a dance movement developed by the artistic director of the Batsheva Dance Co., Ohad Naharin, and has been teaching parallel to her dancing career.

Yael finished her B.A. in Sociology and is currently doing her Masters in Cultural Studies.