In this time of craziness in the world it’s often suggested to “Dance like no one is watching”. A call to self-expression and empowerment. However here in Jules Perrot’s dance class we are presented with the stern dance master who beats time on the floor with his baton. If you look closely the ballerina in front of him has her fingers crossed perhaps hopeful that his criticisms may not burn too deeply. This is a room full of exhausted dancers at the end of a rehearsal. They stretch, scratch their backs, fiddle about with their costumes and in the back corner there appears to be an emotional collapse into tears. It’s a room full of stories.

It’s a room that at first glance seems like a sweetly coloured party, beautifully balanced by the satin bows of the tutus. Until you look closer at the details and see the bows are a little frayed, their hands red and worn, their faces sometimes forlorn. They were largely working class young women often called “petite rats” who worked gruelling hours at the Paris Opera.

Degas paints their labour rather than their performance. When I recreated his painting within my painting I looked for his signature and found it quietly placed on the green watering can in the left hand corner. It was used to moisten the floor to prevent slipping. I wonder if Degas was so humbled by these women that he placed his signature here rather than the more obviously bold gesture of the right hand corner.

The floor itself is almost its own character within the painting. The French poet, Paul Valery wrote, “Degas is one of the very few painters who gave the ground its true importance. He has some admirable floors.” The floor creates the drama dividing the room between the enormous space taken up by the dance master and the women gathered on the edges but they are not anonymous. Degas has given them specific identities. He has honoured all of them and even placed the two dancers in the foreground, larger than their teacher. He manages to suggest their lowliness but elevate them at the same time.

In this way I too have reflected this homage to these extraordinary women and surrounded them with the joy and beauty that they would eventually give their audience when the show began. This is a painting about what it takes behind the scenes to make a performance look effortless. I hope too that when they were on the stage it was their moment of freedom when they really were able to dance to like no one was watching, when these lower class women were able to stretch their wings and dance like flamingos at their own beautiful, exotic parties.