première danseuse

• premiere danseuse

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]

• (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]

première danseuse (plural premières danseuses)

1. (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.

• (lead ballerina): première (ellipsis), prima ballerina (Italianate)

• premier danseur (masculine equivalent)

• “première danseuse”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.