Dance and Movement

"I find myself fascinated by people in general, but in particular by the human form and the way it moves through space. In dance, the extreme focus of the dancer upon their own physical control and their relationship to each moment and movement in space through their concentrated senses is very powerful and - to me - seductive.
For many years, I have studied the figure; as static models, in my sketchbooks and by working extensively with performers in dance and theatre, in rehearsal, workshop and on stage. My studies and practice enable me to take a kind of mental snapshot of the form in space, and to freeze the image until I have captured it. There is no sense of time, or of conscious 'left-brain' thinking involved in this process; I cannot, for example, wonder if a hand has enough fingers! I also find it hard to process speech when I am working this way. My knowledge of anatomy and confidence in my technique has to override all other concerns so that I can simply recreate what I see as best I can, as fast as I can, before the vision fades. It is difficult to put into words, but I can 'feel' into the way my subjects body is feeling - its stretches and contortions, tensions and weight.
I find no joy in working with photographs, or even working from my own sketches; for me the whole reason for doing things this way is the challenge of capturing precious moments in time, celebrating our incredible human abilities. I feel I am touching the essence Life itself using as many senses as possible in the purest, most direct way I can. My paintings are prayers to the amazingness of our human bodies and to the sheer love of being alive!"

Dance Hybrid Malta
annual workshops

Francesca Tranter, Assistant Lecturer / Dance Practitioner at the University of Malta School of Performing Arts and also the Artistic Director and Choreographer at Contact Dance company asked if I would like to paint at the annual Dance Hybrid workshops.

July in Malta is HOT- and the energy in the studio is blazing.
This just adds to the challenge of trying to capture the sheer enthusiam and flexibilty of fit young people pushing their bodies to the absolute limits; it's wonderful to witness the human body at its peak of fitness, being revelled in through the love of dance and music.

It's an honour to take part in this cycle by capturing as much as I can on paper. The only way I know is to watch the action in front of me until I can identify with it and develop a feeling for the rhythm and flight of it. Something, some beautiful shape will strike me, and I then need to take a kind of mental photo, an instant snapshot in my mind. It's like pulling the image out of the air and putting it on the paper before it fades. I can't look back until it takes form, and then I can move on to another. I don't really 'see' the pictures as I produce them, and they often surprise me afterwards.

the paintings laid out at the performance

at the workshop..

I use gouache for these works as I love the fluidity and versatility of the medium. Gouache is similar to watercolour, but has more body to it. It can be used as solid colour or in thin washes. For linear definition I like to use either brown walnut ink or Neopastel soluble crayon which again gives me the choice of wet or dry drawings. Where it touches the washes of colour, it dissolves and fuses with the paint, which I feel adds to the sense of movement and action.

Dance Hybrid Malta July 2017

I painted at sessions run by twins Kristina Alleyne and Sade Alleyne, who really put the students through their paces

Dance Hybrid Malta, July 2015

I sat in on sessions held by the dynamic Yen-Ching Lin, visiting choreographer of international repute.

Mu Danzas Boleras
Manoel Theatre 2014

The above Flamenco paintings were created at a memorial performance for the dancer and choreographer Sharon Sapienza.
I used gouache and ink to capture the movement and energy. They are all sold.

Puerto Flamenco
Opera House, Valletta June 30th 2013

4. White ink on black paper. Framed with black mat and white box frame to 45 x 66 cms. 150 euro

5. White ink on black paper. Framed with black mat and white box frame to 45 x 66 cms. 150 euro

Akasha

This series was painted at rehearsals and the performance of ‘Akasha’ at the Manoel Theatre, Valletta, Malta in 2012.

Guided by the inspired and inspiring Malaysian choreographer Mavin Khoo,
a small group of dancers and actors collaborated in a powerful and thought-provoking piece.

6. 69 x 52 cms with white mat and white wooden box frame. 120 euro

2. sold

9. 69 x 52 cms with white mat and white wooden box frame. 120 euro

Dancers

Dance sketches from the Central Dance Academy 2011
There are nine of these sketches in all, measuring 50 x 25 cms. They have been framed in sets of three, with the total framed size of
65 x 100 cms. They are 400 euro each; 1,000 for all three.

"Two Roomed Apartment"
performance at the Phoenicia Hotel, Malta, 10/11th July 2013

From di-ve.com news....
"Malta resident, British artist and tutor Jeni Caruana, has provided a number of paintings to international dance performers Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor. They were in Malta on the first leg of their global tour that takes them to New York, Paris and China to perform their latest piece "Two Room Apartment" which made its European debut during the Malta Arts Festival at the Phoenicia Hotel Grand Ballroom venue. Ms. Caruana selected to capture the Israeli dancers with a live painting given her professional interest as a painter in the nude form which is part of the complexity of this performance. Ms.Caruana's paintings from the two performances ensure that this ground-breaking avant-gardé dance has been concretised for posterity, living on in the beautiful canvases rather than in just the minds of the audience or the bodies of the performers, and will no doubt enjoy great appeal amongst art collectors as well as collectors of rare Melitensia.

Titled "Nudes in Motion" Ms Caruana's paintings complement the event’s theme by celebrating key moments during the performance when the two professional dancers create intimate moments with the audience. Physically-demanding and requiring high-energy the "Two Room Apartment" dance choreography is characterised by synchronicity and repetition of movement, suggestive and provocative body movements, and the dancers' manipulation and lifting of their collective identity as a couple. Acrobatic and full of energy and grace, both Niv and Oren are regarded by their contemporaries as “the incarnation of modern Israeli urban dance.”

Many of Jeni Caruana's paintings are painted live, such as her jazz paintings, which, like the paintings for "Two Room Apartment", are originals composed in the moment as the event unfolds and not working from photos or sketches. The works are therefore immediate impressions created on the spot, which is what lends the paintings a unique and distinctive character"