1. Edgar Degas and the Dance By Theodore Reff Presentation by Kasey Clark and Jackeline Hernandez and Edited By Laura Pratt and Dr. Kay Picart “Ballet Class”

2. Edgar Hilaire-Germain Degas (1834-1917) Parisian who was familiar with ballet as an integral part of the elite contemporary scene First exposed to dancers in costume through Opera Confidant Edmond de Goncourt empathized with Degas’ struggle to depict themes of modern urban life in dance, while still creating scenes that are “aristocratic in manner, elegant in taste”(218) on the surface Wanted to evoke the splendor of the human form as in classical Greek art, yet recognize the imperfections and realities of body strain through dance in a naturalistic fashion

3. Ballet Accessible Off Stage Paintings find similarities in the _________ of dancers and ordinary people “...He has fallen in love with modern life, and of all subjects…he has chosen washerwomen and ballet dancers.” (217-218) What does Degas share with the patron and experience that accompany the performance? “It was just this dichotomy…[describing] the dancer on the stage ‘ in the splendor of her somewhat artificial beauty, in her glorification under electric lights, breathless with fatigue, her features sagging, muscles of her calves and thighs bulging, the lines of her body graceless and almost brutal…’” (218-219)

4. “Here he could observe the young dancers struggle for professional success or maneuver, at the prompting of ambitious mothers, to capture a husband or ‘protector’ among the gentlemen who circulated freely backstage.” (218)

5. Transcending Class Through Dance “It is a world of pink and white, of female flesh in lawn and gauze, the most delightful pretexts for using pale, soft tints.” (218) What is costuming an indicator of? “DancerAdjusting her Slipper”

6. “Dancer” “Laundresses Carrying Linen to Town”

7. What particular elements and characteristics of the paintings make the human form seem realistic and the dance appear accessible to the layman?

8. Behind the Tutus “To create beauty out of dreariness was essential to his naturalist conception of modern art.” (219) What are the majority of Degas’ sketches and paintings done from?

9. “After the Bath”“Bathers on the Grass”

10. Final Thought Ordinary people were his muses in order to represent the paradox that is the highly esteemed notion of ballet as performed by dancers who were typically far from aristocratic According to Degas, “there is no arguing among the muses. They work all day,very much on their own. In the evening, work finished, they get together and dance.”(223)

11. Works Cited “Center Stage." No date. Online image. Internet Movie Database. 6 February 2005. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210616/. Center Stage. Dir. Nicholas Hytner. Perf. Amanda Schull, Zoe Saldana, Susan May Pratt, and Peter Gallagher. Columbia Pictures, 2000. Copeland, Roger and Cohen, Marshall., ed. What is Dance?. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983. Degas, Edgar. “Ballet Class." No date. Online image. Expo-Shop.com. 6 February 2005. http://www.expo- shop.com/2_1.cfm?artist=989886815&type=2&theme=*&style=*&musee=*. Degas, Edgar. “Before the Entrance of Stage.” No date. Online image. Expo-Shop.com. 6 February 2005. http://www.expo-shop.com/2_1.cfm?artist=989886815&type=2&theme=*&style=*&musee=*. Degas, Edgar. ”Waiting." No date. Online image. Expo-Shop.com. 6 February 2005. http://www.expo- shop.com/2_1.cfm?artist=989886815&type=2&theme=*&style=*&musee=*. Degas, Edgar. ”Resting." No date. Online image. Expo-Shop.com. 6 February 2005. http://www.expo- shop.com/2_1.cfm?artist=989886815&type=2&theme=*&style=*&musee=*. Degas, Edgar. ”Dancer Adjusting her Slipper." No date. Online image. Expo-Shop.com. 6 February 2005. http://www.expo-shop.com/2_1.cfm?artist=989886815&type=2&theme=*&style=*&musee=*. Degas, Edgar. ”Dancer." No date. Online image. Expo-Shop.com. 6 February 2005. http://www.expo- shop.com/2_1.cfm?artist=989886815&type=2&theme=*&style=*&musee=*. Degas, Edgar. ”Laundresses Carrying Linen in Town." No date. Online image. Expo-Shop.com. 6 February 2005. http://www.expo-shop.com/2_1.cfm?artist=989886815&type=2&theme=*&style=*&musee=*. Degas, Edgar. ”Bathers on the Grass." No date. Online image. Expo-Shop.com. 6 February 2005. http://www.expo- shop.com/2_1.cfm?artist=989886815&type=2&theme=*&style=*&musee=*. Degas, Edgar. ”After the Bath." No date. Online image. Expo-Shop.com. 6 February 2005. http://www.expo- shop.com/2_1.cfm?artist=989886815&type=2&theme=*&style=*&musee=*.