Dance class: The master of bodies in motionMost commonly associated with the birth of the Impressionist movement in mid-19th-century Paris, Edgar Degas (1834 1917) in fact defied easy categorization and instead developed a unique style, strongly influenced by Old Masters, the body in motion, and everyday urban life.The elder scion of a wealthy family, Degas cofounded a series of exhibitions of Impressionist art, but soon disassociated himself from the group in pursuit of a more realist approach. His subjects centered on the teeming, noisy streets of Paris, as well as its leisure...