The present painting of a female figure tying her corset captures the world behind the scenes of the Palais Garnier's ballet productions. Degas' sensitivity to the existential condition of this lone dancer is evident, singled out among the many young women of the company anticipating their turn or resting after an exhausting performance. No other artist of his t.mes was able to present this exclusive atmosphere so convincingly or capture the often overlooked beauty of its informality. As the contemporary critic Jules Claretie wrote, "he knows and depicts the backstage world of the theater like no-one else, the dance foyers, the essential appeal of the Opéra rats in their bouffant skirts" (quoted in Jill De Vonyar & Richard Kendall, Degas and the Dance (exhibition catalogue), The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit & The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, 2002-03, p. 63).

Degas was keenly aware of the humanity of the dancers beyond their glamorous cost.mes s and make-up. Like many upper-class Parisians of his day, Degas had a subscription at the Paris Opera. As an abonné, he became a member of an elite, all-male club that enjoyed special privileges such as the free run of the theater including the backstage areas, its maze of corridors, dressing rooms, dance classes, rehearsal studios, corridors and the foyer de dance or green room where the ballerinas would mingle with the often predatory abonnés.