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

“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 • Jun. 24, 2019

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 • Oct. 24, 2017

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 • Apr. 27, 2017

In the absence of an actual superhero, Stefan Vinke, energetic and bullish, will do, but his tenor doesn't ping off the walls of the dress circle.

From The Guardian • Sep. 30, 2012

But this, the original stage, the dress circle, the giant chandelier set with a Star of David and made to resemble the sky at twilight...there was nothing like it.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny