Paris late 19th century — @ dancers seek wealthy patrons — or become courtesans

With this fresh and vibrantly imagined portrait of the Impressionist artist Edgar Degas, readers are transported through the eyes of a young Parisian ballerina to an era of light and movement. An ambitious and enterprising farm girl, Alexandrie joins the prestigious Paris Opera ballet with hopes of securing not only her place in society but her family’s financial future. Her plan is soon derailed, however, when she falls in love with the enigmatic artist whose paintings of the offstage lives of the ballerinas scandalized society and revolutionized the art world. As Alexandrie is drawn deeper into Degas’s art and Paris’s secrets, will she risk everything for her dreams of love and of becoming the ballet’s star dancer?

Alexandrie is a peasant girl who, after years of ballet lessons, joins the Paris Opera Ballet, with hopes of becoming prima ballerina, as well as the mistress of a wealthy patron in order to secure the financial future of her family. She falls in love with Edgar Degas who is a frequent visitor at the ballet. She models for him for years, resulting in some of his most famous works, yet in the end has to decide what she wants her future to be.

I had expected so much more from this book, although I expect to be in the minority with my opinion. The best part for me was actually the characterization of Degas, which seems to be true to life and was done in a convincing way. Wagner added (invented) incidents that would explain some of his traits and I thought it fitted in well with the story. However, she took other liberties which I feel are way over the top and completely unnecessary, such as the frequently used line about ballerinas who turn 25 having to become prostitutes with the opera functioning as some sort of high-class brothel. Patrons of course chose mistresses from among the dancers, often arranged by the girls' mothers, however the idea the ballet master of the Paris Opera acted as a pimp and women over a certain age were forced to do this if they wished to remain at the ballet is ridiculous.

Overall, I don't think Wagner captured the time and place very well, beyond mentioning the famous names of the day. The writing was a bit patchy, well-written in some parts, rather high school in others. Also, I found it baffling why the author would change the narrative from past to present tense somewhere on page 105, without any reason. My biggest problem though was the main character, who I didn't like from beginning to end, and therefore didn't care what would happen to her. I suppose she was meant to be pure, idealistic and ambitious, but to me she just came across as self-righteous and self-centered.

All told, it was ok, maybe my expectations were too high. ( )

Dancing for Degas by Kathryn Wagner
Genre: Historical fiction, Belle Époque
Rating: ★★★★

It is the Belle Époque ("beautiful era") in France, a period in French history occurring between 1871 and the beginning of WWI, a time of optimism and when literature, music, theater and the visual arts flourished. Alexandrie, an ambitious and talented ifarm girl from Southern France, has auditioned and been accepted as a ballerina into the Paris Opera Ballet. A student of dance from early childhood, working for her classes, she has been driven by a dream to establish herself as a member of society and the financial future for her family. However, her dream is not without its darker side. Even without injury, a ballerina's career can be short-lived. To secure their future, many girls hope for a donation to be made to the ballet to become a mistress to one of the many French businessmen. If this does not occur, the only avenue to financial security is to become a courtesan when the girl turns 25 years old. However, both can be avoided if the woman either marries or becomes the ballet's star dancer. Alexandrie is hoping for both. She has fallen in love with Degas, the French Impressionistic artist, who uses her as a model for many of his famous works. As she works hard to become the prima ballerina, she hopes that Degas will take her as a wife. Degas, Turhowever, appears reluctant to have her in no other capacity than as a muse.

The author describes well the seamier side of the ballet during this period of French history. Although the setting of late 19th century Paris was not well developed, I thought she did do a good job in describing the plight of the young ballerinas. Additionally, the interaction between Degas and Alexandrie motivated me to view with a new eye some of the more famous of Degas' works, especially those of the Opera Ballet.
( )

Alexandrie leaves her small town for Paris in hopes of becoming a ballerina at the Paris Opera Ballet. The fortunes of her family are dependent on her success, but she’s shocked to discover that she will be expected to entertain the gentlemen patrons. If she is lucky and plays her cards right she’ll become a lorette (i.e. mistress) of a wealthy man. If not, she’ll be one of the courtesans engaged in “post-performance” work that is an open secret. Her independent nature and intelligent mind cause her to chafe against these expectations. When she meets artist Edgar Degas and begins to model for him, she begins to dream of a different outcome.

This is entertaining historical fiction that gives us a glimpse into the worlds of the Paris arts community in mid to late 1800s. Wagner took a few liberties with history, but fairly accurately portrayed Degas and other artists in the newly forming Impressionist movement. Alexandrie is a naïve girl, mooning over a man who is apparently interested only in so far as she can benefit his own dreams. I got tired of her, and the repetitive intrigue of catty ballerinas fighting for prominence. I also thought that Wagner gave us a too-pat ending. Still, I was interested in several aspects of the story and it held my attention.
( )

Dancing for Degas. Kathryn Wagner. 2011. This is a fictionalize account of a ballerina who modeled for Degas’ paintings and drawings at the ballet in Paris. Wagner has captured Degas’ personality and his philosophy of painting and I assume her account of the Paris ballet is accurate. It was fascinating to read about what the dancers. I had no idea they were expected to prostitute themselves. I wish there had been more detail about life in Paris at this time and more attention given to Degas’ relations with the Impressionists. I am not sure that this book would be of interest to everyone although I enjoyed it. ( )