This sculpture belongs to a group of small dance studies Rodin modeled in 1910–1911. These remarkably experimental works reveal that even as an older artist in his seventies, Rodin still pushed the limits of his medium. Unlike Degas, who focused on the ballet, Rodin was attracted to modern dances such as the popular cancan. He reportedly worked using models, who danced in his studio while he sought to rapidly capture their gestures. Rodin prepared rolls or “snakes” of clay in various sizes in advance and then, relying largely on tactile sensations, combined and adjusted these pieces to record the poses and movements of the dancers. The spontaneity of this technique and the absence of fine detail suggest the everchanging form of the dancing pair, as they shift from one position to the next. Rodin experimented further by making multiple casts of a dancing figure. Here he combines two identical casts of the dancer, placing one directly behind the other so each mimics the other’s pose. Together they perform a pas de deux (a dance for two) as each figure executes an impressive high kick.