Various mediums
2004 – ongoing
This project is about French dance performer Jane Avril (1868-1943) who was a model and friend of Toulouse-Lautrec. From the very first time I saw images and photos of her, I’ve felt connected to her personality and artistic expression. It was like finding a soulmate, or a reflection of oneself.
Since 2004, I’ve tried in different ways to get close to her and her era, including reading and researching about her life, recreating her clothing style and wearing it as everyday wear, visiting her places in Paris, staging and interpreting her dancing.
Jane Avril – Solo Cancan Dance and Solo Dance
Two video loops
2018
No filmed recording exists of Jane Avril dancing, but written sources describe her movements as very energetic, erratic and jerky. She is described as having a refined strangeness and elegance. Avril improvised while performing and drew the movements from within herself.
In two video loops I try to channel her while performing and immerse myself in her stage persona. In the first loop I invoke her as the solo cancaneuse with an alluring, seductive smile, but with a hint of madness.
In the second loop she is the sombre slow dancer who improvises her movements as she channels a convulsive power from within, and sinks into a rapid, ecstatic twirl.
Performance documentation
Photographs, 288 x 26 cm, 10 x 113 inches
2004
Documentation of my first attempt at getting close to the movements and feelings of Jane Avril, by performing a self-taught cancan routine in front of an audience at my high school.
Photo documentation of performance in Paris
2006
Photo by Åsa Pröjts
Between 2005-2006, the clothing style of Jane Avril and women of the 1890s was my preferred everyday wear.
The majority of garments were made by me. Sometimes worn in a more performative manner as in the photo from the d’Orsay museum in Paris, but the majority of the time it was just the style I felt most comfortable with wearing since it made me feel connected to Avril.
Work in progress
Video
2019
The video is planned as a loop where I speak about my relation to Jane Avril, from my first performances to more recent work on her.
Part of the work shows my participation in one of choreographer Monika Knap’s cancan dance classes in Paris. The segment shows movements, interaction and gestures of the students and teacher while I speak about my feelings concerning the dance in relation to Jane Avril.