"Les petites girls Anglaises" was the nickname given by a French journalist to the elaborately costumed and rhythmic Tiller Girls troupe. Adjoa Osei is a research fellow at the University of Cambridge and a former performer herself, and she's been exploring the complexities involved in being a dancing girl in 1930s Paris, appearing on stage alongside the likes of Josephine Baker and French nude dancers. Her essay focuses on the lives of Marjorie Rowland and Mignon Harman. You can find another Radio 3 Essay building on Adjoa's research as a BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker called A Brazilian Soprano in Jazz-Age Paris available on BBC Sounds.

Producer: Katy Hickman