Noëlla Roos works with modern and traditional dancers and her work displays a range of emotion and movement, as well as strong evidence of her classical education in figurative drawing. Her work would not exist without the inspirational works of artists such as Michelangelo, Käthe Kollwitz, or the modern dance choreographer Pina Bausch, who challenged the boundaries between “traditional” and “modern emotional” dance.

Her drawings do not need much explanation: they are what you see. However, Noëlla’s drawing is distinctive in its technique, artistry and her use of dancing, dynamic models.

When drawing her dancing models Noëlla draws as quickly as they move, in perfect harmony with the dancer and his/ her movements. The dancers inspire her. She translates their movement and emotion into abstraction and into her drawings—and later into her paintings. Dance is a very personal way of expressing emotion, and this is what Noëlla tries to capture in a figurative drawing. Working with dancers gives her the freedom to play with composition, and to respond to the emotion of the dancer.

The drawings are made on acid-free paper (Canson), with compressed charcoal. Noël’s drawings are compressed charcoal on large format (140 by 170 cm) Canson acid free paper 224 grams, mounted on foam board. Noël also has smaller drawings, mostly portraits. Learn more about how Noëlla works with charcoal