Rodin tried to capture the essence of the body in movement. Unlike Degas, who obviously comes to mind when looking at this series, classical ballet did not much interest Rodin who found it stilted and conventional. He was more interested in different forms of dance which he considered to be more authentic or more modern: such as the dances of King Sisowath of Cambodia's dancers, but also Loïe Fuller, Isadora Duncan, Nijinsky and French Cancan dancers.
