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Janne Eraker is a tap dancer who works full-time as a musician and dance artist in projects in Norway and abroad. Born in Germany and raised in Norway, she moved on to get her dance education in Oslo, Rotterdam and New York. Eraker is fascinated by the sound of tap dance, and has worked a long time to create all kinds of music with it. Her work spans from improvised concerts to choreographed dance pieces, collaborating with a wide range of artists. As a performer she also dances in the Sebastian Weber Dance Company in Germany.
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 she released her first album Gol Variations with One Small Step, and in 2023 she released the album Movements for Listening, recorded with 11 musicians in 10 different locations. Eraker has received a 3 year Artist grant from Arts Council Norway two times (2015 and 2024), and is the first tap dancer to be included as a musician in the Norwegian Jazz Forum. She is 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: Marie Sjøvold
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Interviews
Dansens Hus' Podcast about tap and Tap Noir (in Norwegian)
Relative Rhythms, about tap, improvisation, dance, music and the album Movements for Listening.
Kontekst, about Dansens Haus and tap dance (in Norwegian)
Insounder, about the music scene in Norway, and my plans for my solo album.
Volkskrant, about me and my projects (in Dutch).
Norsk Shakespearetidsskrift, a Norwegian theater magazine, about Tap Noir, Dansens Haus and tap dance in Norway (in Norwegian).
Danseinformasjonen, about my background and current work (in Norwegian).
Musikkultur.no, about the way I relate to sound (in Norwegian).
Now's The Time, about tap dance and what's happening in Oslo (in Norwegian).
Radio and podcasts (all in Norwegian)
Podcast with Kristoffer, about our project Øy.
Studio2, P2, about tap dance and Movements for Listening.
H17 podcast, about tap dance, life as a tap dancer, the album and more, incl. listening samples.
Musikklivet radio, about the album Gol Variations with One Small Step and the electronic music project Øy.
Nils snakker med, a podcast by Nils m/Skils (in two parts, second part here), about tap dance and life.
BluesAsylet radioprogram with Knut Reiersrud, about historical tap dance recordings.
Dansens Hus' Podcast about tap and Tap Noir (in Norwegian)
Relative Rhythms, about tap, improvisation, dance, music and the album Movements for Listening.
Kontekst, about Dansens Haus and tap dance (in Norwegian)
Insounder, about the music scene in Norway, and my plans for my solo album.
Volkskrant, about me and my projects (in Dutch).
Norsk Shakespearetidsskrift, a Norwegian theater magazine, about Tap Noir, Dansens Haus and tap dance in Norway (in Norwegian).
Danseinformasjonen, about my background and current work (in Norwegian).
Musikkultur.no, about the way I relate to sound (in Norwegian).
Now's The Time, about tap dance and what's happening in Oslo (in Norwegian).
Radio and podcasts (all in Norwegian)
Podcast with Kristoffer, about our project Øy.
Studio2, P2, about tap dance and Movements for Listening.
H17 podcast, about tap dance, life as a tap dancer, the album and more, incl. listening samples.
Musikklivet radio, about the album Gol Variations with One Small Step and the electronic music project Øy.
Nils snakker med, a podcast by Nils m/Skils (in two parts, second part here), about tap dance and life.
BluesAsylet radioprogram with Knut Reiersrud, about historical tap dance recordings.
...undoubtedly Norwegian jazz' most exquisite tap dancer... Audun Vinger, NTT
However, the idea that tap can be a musical instrument and interact musically with other instruments and that dance is not a fixed form, but a process, a technique, that can evolve and be used in a creative (and not just functional context) is new and Janne Eraker is, in this respect, a forerunner. Gonçalo Falcão, Jazz.pt
She's an iconoclast creating original, innovative tap dances in a wholly unique way. David Parker, The Bang Group
Janne has a creative mind; she’s smart, playful and unpredictable. She effortlessly switches from pragmatism to poetry, from trivial to profound. SWDC