Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art presents Encore Degas! Ballet, Movement, and Fashion

At the turn of the twentieth century, the circumstances of a changing modern world were visible on the stage of the Paris ballet. Social classes mixed in this public setting, where some of the city’s poorest young women pirouetted across the stage for paying audiences. The dancers’ internationally influenced costumes often reflected larger cultural exchanges. Edgar Degas became a regular visitor to the ballet at the Paris Opera, which appealed to his interest in classical beauty and modern life. His studies of the ballet over four decades inspired generations of artists to take up the subject.