Avril, Jane (1868–1943)

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Avril, Jane (1868–1943)

French dancer. Name variations: Jeanne Richepin. Born Jeanne Richepin, June 1868, in Montmartre, France; died Jan 16, 1943, in Paris, France.

Though she received little professional dance training, was considered one of the major popular dancers of La Belle Epoque; won recognition throughout Europe as a specialty dancer at the Moulin Rouge in Paris where she performed "La Mélanite," an improvised waltz act; performed the same act at numerous venues in major European cities, including the Théâtre de Champs Elysees (1894), Folies-Bergère (1897) and Paris Exposition of 1900; performed in the theatrical production of Lugne-Poé's Peer Gynt at his Nouvelle Theatre; gained lasting fame through the paintings of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.