Early life She was born
Jeanne Louise Beaudon on 9June 1868 in
Belleville, a neighborhood in the
20th arrondissement of Paris (though her biographer,
Jose Shercliff—whose account of the dancer's life is highly romanticised—employed the surname “Richepin” in her publication). 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. Avril was raised by her grandparents in the countryside until her mother took her back with the intent of turning her into a prostitute. and was eventually admitted to the
Salpêtrière Hospital in December 1882, with the movement disorder known as "
St Vitus' Dance", with symptoms that included nervous
tics, thrashing of limbs, and rhythmic swaying. Under the care of Dr.
Jean-Martin Charcot, an 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; a modern biography of her argues that this story is unlikely, however, as she was discharged in June 1884, months before any Mardi Gras celebration would take place. She was certainly known for her unusual style, which was described as "an orchid in a frenzy." Using the
stage name Jane Avril, suggested by an English lover, 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"). Lautrec captured her mental and physical absorption in her movements. The popularity of the
can-can became such that Avril travelled with a dance troupe to perform in London in 1896. Graceful, soft-spoken, and melancholic, Avril gave a dance presentation that was the opposite of the very boisterous La Goulue. Nevertheless, the club's patrons adored her, and she became one of the most recognizable names in Parisian nightlife. Unlike most dancers, she frequently performed alone. Avril's elegant performance quality was called "
Botticelli-like" by painter
William Rothenstein. From another liaison, she bore a son, half a century later, the semi-fictionalized character was reinterpreted by
Nicole Kidman in
Moulin Rouge! (2001). 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. ==Notes==