JANNE ERAKER is a tap dancer with a background in modern and contemporary dance. She works as a musician and dance artist in projects in Norway and abroad. Eraker also hosts the concert series the Salon and the improvisation training called Stepperiet. Everything she does has to do with tap dance and it's traditional expression, new possibilities and artistic potential. Eraker’s drive and passion starts from a strong wish to really be in the music, and to actually express the rhythm with her whole body.
In her work, Eraker’s focus is one of it's core elements: improvisation. She uses her dancing body as an instrument, and improvises with the rhythms and tonalities of tap dance. It’s a musical and a bodily expression at the same time. Where the emphasis lies depends on the moment, the context and the project. She loves to explore and challenge what tap dance can express, especially when working with collaborators from other areas. Fruitful, inspiring and mind blowing things happen when she meets musicians from all genres, contemporary dancers, visual artists, dramaturges, slam poets and directors.
Both out of practical necessity and artistic curiosity, Eraker investigates the possibilities of amplifying, modifying and recording the sound of tap dance. Much like an acoustic guitar becoming an electric guitar, this results in new sounds and ways of using the instrument. In the duo Øy and the performance installation Tap Noir she goes further to trigger samples, sounds and light via contact microphones on the floor. She has also “played” the full size organ of Stavanger Concert House via wireless microphones attached to her shoes. In 2022 Eraker will record an album together with 11 musicians, and one of the goals will be to find different and satisfying ways to record the sound of tap dance.
Eraker received a 3 year Artist grant from The Norwegian Arts Council (2015-2017), and is the first tap dancer to be included as a musician in the Norwegian Jazz Forum and to be employed by the Alliance for Actors and Dancers. She's also leading the studio collective Dansens Haus, which resides in a 70m2 studio in the heart of Oslo.
Photo: Martine Petra