Edgar Degas is known for his study on the fluidity of the human form. He was very intrigued by the balance and motion of the body, and found that the emotional expression in dance was very powerful. He started painting them because they inspired him to look closer into how the body and emotional life are connected.
He strived to capture this in his work - his ballerinas evoke passion, exhaustion, beauty, love, grace, fluidity and movement...they are not at all stagnant. This was his goal. Also, you may notice that many of his dancer scenes do not reflect clear depictions of the dancer's face. It more about the body and the way a human form can move through a space, or fill a space in connection to the kinesthetic emotion that is created from that movement.
Also, the form of "painting" he did moved away from the Impressionist style alone. He began to change the meaning of "impressionism" and blended a "realism" style with his training as an "impresssionist."
