Corps de ballet

[4] In 1866, Théophile Gautier (author of Giselle), published an essay entitled Le Rat, a fond and humorous description of the habits of these young dancers.

Rat is what we, at the Paris Opera, call the young girls who are training to become dancers, and who appear in the crowd scenes, the backgrounds, the flights, the set pieces and other situations where their size can be excused by a limited view.

The foyer de la danse where dancers warmed up before performances also functioned as a kind of men's club, where wealthy male opera subscribers (abonnés) could conduct business, socialize, and proposition the ballerinas.

Because many "petit rats" came from working-class backgrounds, and due to the power structures in place, they would have had financial and career incentive to submit to the affections and propositions of these subscribers.

Throughout the 21st century, the demands on corps dancers have changed, calling for them to be "more versatile and virtuosic as individuals" and causing them to "face more emotional and physical challenges than ever, amplified by heavy work schedules".