Hi. Can you give me some advice?

[cyclonefence]

13. Were the ballet dancers kept by these men?

I wonder, if the can-can dancers of the same period were "naughty girls" for showing their underpants when they danced, were ballet dancers who sort of showed *their* underwear when they danced, just as naughty? Did they have reputations as, well, prostitutes? I mean, when you think of how covered up regular women of the time were, even in the summertime, the garb of the dancers Degas painted must surely have been shocking. I wonder if the ballet were a high-class entertainment back then the way it is now? I bet it wasn't.

I'm really glad you posed your question--you've given me a project of my own, and that's important in these awful times! Thanks.

Edited to add: https://www.history.com/news/sexual-exploitation-was-the-norm-for-19th-century-ballerinas