Marie van Goethem
Between 1878 and 1881, Degas drew, painted and sculpted Marie in artworks including "Dancer with Fan", "Dancing Lesson", "Dancer Resting", numerous preparatory sketches, and most famously in "Little Dancer of Fourteen Years". He frequently attended ballet performances at the Paris Opera and often observed classes at the dance school. By posing for Degas, Marie likely earned five to six francs per four-hour sitting.
Peter Sparling
Sparling was commissioned by the Detroit Institute of Arts to create work for both the "Detroit 300: Artists Take on Detroit: Projects for the Tricentennial" and the exhibit, "Degas and the Dance". His solo show, "Bodytalk: A Vaudeville for Dancing Man at Middle Age", premiered at the 2002 Ann Arbor Summer Festival, featuring original text and video as well as a host of distinguished collaborators such as Linda Gregerson, Rudolf Arnheim and Charles Baxter. His video/performance work, "Peninsula", received its premiere at the 2004 Ann Arbor Summer Festival and has toured throughout the state and to the Chicago Humanities Festival. It celebrates the cultural and economic history, geography and diverse landscapes of his home state of Michigan. His videodance, "Babel", was selected for screening at the 2007 NY Dance on Camera Festival at Lincoln Center. It also featured in his new videodance installation, Allegorica in November, 2007. His work, Vox Humana, was premiered by the Grand Rapids Ballet in April 2008. His next project, Climbing Ste.-Victoire, was a full-evening dance/theater work inspired by the late paintings of Cézanne.