Carina Ari (14 April 1897 – 24 December 1970) was the artistic name of Maria Karina Viktoria Jansson, a Swedish-born dancer.

[1][2] Raised in poverty, with questions of her heritage, due to her swarthy complexion, Jansson dreamed of becoming a dancer from a young age.

Fokine selected Jansson to participate in the corps de ballet for the production of Les Sylphides and the following year chose her for a small role in Scheherazade.

Activities of the ballet company were suspended during World War I, but in 1918 and again in 1919, Jansonn participated with Fokine in two guest appearances over the summer at the theater of Tivoli Gardens.

[5] In 1919, Ari quit the Royal Ballet, borrowed money, and moved to Charlottenlund Denmark to study with Fokine, who had taken a villa there.

She worked as a principal dancer with the Rolf de Maré's Ballets suédois from 1920 to 1923, noted for her flowing arm movements.

[1][8] The first production by the company, Ibéra was composed by Isaac Albéniz, based on Spanish themes suited both Ari's dark appearance and her dancing style.

She also appeared in Jeux and La Nuit de Saint-Jean to acclaim,[9] and then in 1922, Jean Börlin, the other soloist and choreographer, wrote Anitra’s Dance especially for her.

She performed the piece receiving good reviews and calls for encore, but the notice she was getting caused conflict with Börlin, who forbade her to dance it again.

[14] Suffering from rheumatism, Ari traveled to Aix-les-Bains in the south of France where she met Jan Henrik Molzer, one of the principals of the Dutch beverage firm Bols.