Jane Avril | |
---|---|
Born | Jeanne Louise Beaudon 9 June 1868 Belleville,
20th arrondissement of Paris,
Île-de-France, France |
Died | 17 January 1943 | (aged 74)
Resting place | Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France |
Nationality | French |
Occupation | Can-can dancer |
Jane Avril (9 June 1868 – 17 January 1943) was a French can-can dancer made famous by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec through his paintings. Extremely thin, "given to jerky movements and sudden contortions", she was nicknamed La Mélinite, after an explosive. [1]
She was born Jeanne Louise Beaudon on 9 June 1868 in Belleville, in the 20th arrondissement of Paris [2] [3] (though her biographer, Jose Shercliff—whose account of the dancer's life is highly romanticised—employed the surname “Richepin” in her publication). [4] Her mother Léontine Clarisse Beaudon was a prostitute who was known as "La Belle Élise", and her father was an Italian aristocrat named Luigi de Font who separated from her mother when Avril was two years old. [5] [6]: 16 Avril was raised by her grandparents in the countryside until her mother took her back with the intent of turning her into a prostitute. [4]
Living in poverty and abused by her alcoholic mother, she ran away from home as a teenager, [a] and was eventually admitted to the Salpêtrière Hospital in December 1882, [8] with the movement disorder known as " St Vitus' Dance", with symptoms that included nervous tics, thrashing of limbs, and rhythmic swaying. [7] [9] Under the care of Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot, the expert on " female hysteria", she received various kinds of treatment, and claimed in her biography that, when she discovered dance at a social ball for employees and patients at the hospital celebrating Mardi Gras, she was cured, although a modern biography of her argues that this story is unlikely, as she was discharged in June 1884, months before any Mardi Gras celebration would take place. [4]
Regardless, she incorporated some of the mannerisms into her dance style, but it is unclear if she was actually afflicted by the condition [b] or if it was simply a marketing strategy, as nervous conditions such as hysteria were associated with elegance by writers of the time (or both), [10] She was certainly known for her unusual style, which was described as "an orchid in a frenzy". [7] The Belgian author Frantz Jourdain described her as "this exquisite creature, nervous and neurotic, the captivating flower of artistic corruption and of sickly grace". [10]
On leaving the hospital, after a failed romance with a doctor, Avril pondered committing suicide, but was taken in by Parisian prostitutes. [4] Working at whatever day jobs were available, including as a secretary to Arsène Houssaye, [6]: 25 as a rider or acrobat at the Hippodrome de l'Alma and as a cashier at the Exposition Universelle in 1889, [5] at night, she pursued a career in dancing by performing at local dance halls and cafés-concerts. In 1888, she met the writer René Boylesve (1867–1926) who became her lover. [11] Using the stage name Jane Avril, suggested by an English lover, [12] she built a reputation that eventually allowed her to make a living as a full-time dancer. During this time, she became known by various nicknames: La Mélinite after an explosive, L'Etrange ("The Strange One"), and Jane la Folle ("Jane the Crazy"). [7] [5]
Hired by the Moulin Rouge nightclub in 1889, within a few years, she headlined at the Jardin de Paris, one of the major cafés-concerts on the Champs-Élysées. To advertise the extravaganza, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec painted her portrait on a poster that elevated her stature in the entertainment world even further. [13] The popularity of the can-can became such that Avril travelled with a dance troupe to perform in London in 1896. [12]
In 1895, Louise Weber, known by her stage name La Goulue ("The Glutton") and the most famous dancer in Paris, left the Moulin Rouge, and Avril was chosen to replace her. [14] [15] Graceful, soft-spoken, and melancholic, Avril gave a dance presentation that was the opposite of the very boisterous La Goulue.[ citation needed] Nevertheless, the club's patrons adored her, and she became one of the most recognizable names of the Parisian nightlife. A younger dancer, May Milton, arrived in Paris in 1895 and she and Avril had a short but passionate affair. [16] From another liaison, she bore a son, [2] and beginning in 1901, appeared in theatre, taking roles in Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt, as well as a stage adaptation of Claudine at School by Colette. [5]
In 1905, she retired from performing altogether and married the French artist, Maurice Biais (1872–1926) in 1911, who adopted her son. They moved to a home in Jouy-en-Josas at the outskirts of Paris. However, Biais suffered from lung disease and the couple separated in the 1920s, with Biais moving to the south of France, where he died. [2] She was bankrupted by the Great Depression and died on 17 January 1943 (aged 74) in poverty and obscurity. [5] [3] She was interred in the Biais family plot in Paris' Père Lachaise Cemetery. [2]
Zsa Zsa Gabor portrayed Avril in the original Moulin Rouge (1952); [17] half a century later, the semi-fictionalized character was reinterpreted by Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge! (2001). [18] Avril is one of the characters in Per Olov Enquist's book The Book of Blanche and Marie, which portrays the lives of Marie "Blanche" Wittman and Marie Curie. [19]
'It is to Lautrec', said Jane Avril, 'that I owe my fame.'