Objective: Our aim is to analyse selected portraits of Jane Avril, Moulin Rouge’s most famous dancer, done by Toulouse-Lautrec, in which some features of chorea might be seen.

Background: For more than four centuries, Sydeham’s chorea remains the most common cause of chorea in children and adolescents. Thomas Sydeham coined the term Saint Vitus’ Dance to refer to the involuntary choreic movements displayed by patients, a term that would persist over time in clinical practice.

Method: We review Jane Avril’s diagnosis of Sydenham’s Chorea, how the disease affected her during adolescency and early adulthood, even to the point that it might have influenced her into chosing to become a professional dancer. We also analyse how selected portraits of her done by Toulouse-Lautrec could depict some of her choreic movements.

Results: Jane Avril had a difficult childhood, growing up in an abusive environment, running away from home when she was a teenager. She was admitted to the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, after being diagnosed with Sydenham’s Chorea. During one of the institution’s Bal de Folles (Madwomen’s Ball), she embraced her abnormal movements ad found her true calling as a dancer. She would later become one of Moulin Rouge’s foremost dancers and was Toulouse-Lautrec’s favourite model, portraited in several drawings, paintings and commercial posters. In some of those, features of choreic movements can be discerned.

Conclusion: Diagnosed in her childhood with Sydenham’s Chorea, Moulin Rouge’s most famous dancer and Toulouse-Lautrec’s favourite model, Jane Avril, had some of her choreic movements forever depicted in several of Lautrec’s oeuvres.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/jane-avril-toulouse-lautrecs-favourite-courtisan-and-moulin-rouges-choreic-dancer/