Dressed Ballet Dancer, 1880/1881 by Edgar Degas, National Gallery, Washington.
Degas spent a great deal of time observing the world of the ballet. This statue represents the young girls in training, known as the "rats."
Speak softly...
La classe de danse (The Dancing class), c.1873-75 by Edgar Degas, Museé d'Orsay, Paris.
Degas had access to all areas of the dancer's world and took advantage of this capturing them at rest, rehearsing, performing and dressing. They were a subject he returned to frequently over the years.