Degas used an elongated frieze format for more than forty rehearsal scenes made over the course of two decades. This is one of the first such works; it was preceded by The Dance Lesson?(ca. 1879, National Gallery of Art, Washington). Here, the angled wall in the foreground sets off the striking juxtaposition of a double bass and a seated dancer, bent over to tie the laces of her slipper. Technical analysis reveals that Degas painted the complex composition in virtually a single campaign with only minor revisions.�