première danseuse
Appearance
See also: premiere danseuse
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From French première danseuse (unlisted in dictionaries of French); from première, feminine form of premier (“first”) + danseuse, feminine form of danseur (“dancer”); feminine form of premier danseur (“first dancer”).[1][2]
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: prəmyĕr däɴsöz, prĕ'mĭë dŏnsӛzʹ, prĕ'mĭë dänsӛzʹ, prĕ'mĭë dănsӛzʹ, IPA(key): /pɹəmjɛ(ɹ) dɑ̃søz/,[1] /ˌpɹɛmɪɛː dɒnˈsəːz/,[2] /-dɑːnˈsəːz/,[2] /-danˈsəːz/,[2]
- (US) enPR: prəmi.ĕr' dänso͝ozʹ, IPA(key): /pɹəˈmjɛɹ dɑnˈsuz/, /pɹəmiˌɛɹ-/, /-dɑnˈsəz/, /-dɑnˈsʊz/[2]
Noun
[edit]première danseuse (plural premières danseuses)
- (ballet) The lead female dancer in a ballet.
- 1920, National Municipal League, National Civic Review, volume 9, page 152:
- They honestly thought they were doing good with it, and so they were — with what was left after the publicity man and the printer and the première danseuse had been paid.
- 1931, Pierre Key, Irene E. Haynes, Pierre Key’s Musical Who’s who: A Biographical Survey of Contemporary Musicians, volume 1, page 64:
- The School remained under the management of Miss Margaret Curtis. Miss Rita De Leporte was Première Danseuse and Mr. Giuseppe Bonfiglio was Premier Danseur.
- 1943, Albert Ernest Wier, Thesaurus of the Arts: Drama, Music, Radio, Painting, Screen, Television, Literature, Sculpture, Architecture, Ballet, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, page 148:
- […] in 1935 she joined the company formed by Leon Woizikowski, touring Germany, France and Spain, and became première danseuse of the Metropolitan Opera Company, New York.
Synonyms
[edit]- (lead ballerina): première (ellipsis), prima ballerina (Italianate)
Related terms
[edit]- premier danseur (masculine equivalent)
Translations
[edit]lead female dancer — see prima ballerina
References
[edit]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “‖première danseuse” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary, second edition (1989)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 “première danseuse, n.” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary (draft revision, March 2009)
- “première danseuse”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.