dress circle

American  

noun

1. a circular or curving division of seats in a theater, opera house, etc., usually the first gallery, originally set apart for spectators in evening dress.

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dress circle British  

noun

1. a tier of seats in a theatre or other auditorium, usually the first gallery above the ground floor

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Etymology

Origin of dress circle

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

It has no dress circle, chandeliers or Champagne - but a lot of grey concrete.

From BBC

“England is in the gallery, the tropics in the upper circle, Australia on the dress circle and the antarctic in the pit,” he wrote.

From The New Yorker

The woman in the red dress circles the Belle.

From Literature

She laughs, and you can hear the elasticity of her vocal cords—the suppleness of a slingshot ready to lob a High C into the dress circle at any moment.

From Time

She said ticket price cuts in the balcony and upper circle had boosted audiences, and would be extended to the dress circle this year.

From BBC