Definition
A female performer who plays a minor role in ballet, opera, or theater; the feminine form of figurant.
Etymology
From French 'figurante' (feminine form), derived from Latin 'figura' (figure, form). French grammar added the '-ante' feminine ending to distinguish female performers from their male counterparts.
Kelly Says
In the hierarchical world of classical ballet, a figurante was traditionally at the bottom of the dancer rankings, but Swan Lake and other ballets needed entire corps of figurantes to create those magical crowd scenes that make the principal dancers shine.
Translations
AMአማርኛ
ተዋረዳ ተዋናይ
te-wa-re-da te-wa-nay
ARالعربية
مُمَثِّل ثانوي
mu-ma-thil tha-nawi
BNবাংলা
পটভূমিকা
po-ta-bhumi-ka
CACatalà
figurant
fi-gu-rant
CSČeština
komparz
kom-parz
DEDeutsch
Statist
ʃta-tist
ELΕλληνικά
κομπάρσος
kom-parsos
ESEspañol
figurante
fi-gu-ran-te
FAفارسی
بازیگر زمینه
ba-zi-gar zami-ne
FISuomi
sivurooli
si-vu-ro-oli
FRFrançais
figurant
fi-gu-rɑ̃
GUGU
પાર્શ્વભૂમિકા
pa-rsh-v-bhu-mi-ka
HAHA
yar wasa a baya
ya-r wa-sa a ba-ya
HIहिन्दी
पृष्ठभूमि अभिनेता
prashthabhoomi abhineta
HUMagyar
statiszta
sta-tisz-ta
IDBahasa Indonesia
pemeran tambahan
pe-me-ran tam-ba-han
IGIG
onye na-eme ihe nkiri n'azụ
o-nye na-e-me i-he n-ku-ri n-a-zu
ITItaliano
comparsa
kom-pa-rsa
JA日本語
エキストラ
e-ki-su-to-ra
KKKK
фондық актер
fon-di-k ak-ter
KMKM
តួអង្គផ្ទៃក្នុង
tua aknong phteak nung
KO한국어
엑스트라
e-ke-seu-te-ra
MRMR
पार्श्वभूमिका
pa-rsh-v-bhu-mi-ka
MSBahasa Melayu
pelakon latar
pe-la-kon la-tar
MYမြန်မာ
အကြောင်းပါနေသူ
a-kyaw-ng-pa-ne-shu
NLNederlands
figurant
fi-gu-rant
PLPolski
statysta
sta-ti-sta
PTPortuguês
figurante
fi-gu-rɐ̃-tɨ
RORomână
figurant
fi-gu-rant
RUРусский
фигурант
fi-gu-rant
SVSvenska
statist
sta-tist
SWKiswahili
mwigizaji msaidizi
mwi-gi-zaji m-sa-i-dzi
TAதமிழ்
பின்னணி நடிகர்
pin-nani na-ti-kar
TEతెలుగు
నేపథ్య నటుడు
ne-pa-thya na-tu-du
THไทย
นักแสดงประกอบ
nak-sa-dan-ba-kob
TRTürkçe
figüran
fi-gu-ran
UKУкраїнська
фоновий актор
fo-no-vi ak-tor
URاردو
پیش منظر اداکار
pe-sh man-za-r ada-kar
VITiếng Việt
diễn viên phụ
diễn vi-ên phụ
YOYO
òṣèré aláwọ̀dùdú
o-she-re a-la-wo-du-du
ZH中文
临时演员
lín shí yǎn yuán
ZUZU
umlingisi wesithathu
u-mli-ngi-si we-si-tha-thu
Ethical Language Guidance
Gender History
In ballet and theater terminology, 'figurante' (feminine) and 'figurant' (masculine) maintained gendered role distinctions, with 'figurante' historically denoting a secondary female dancer, encoding assumptions about women's professional positioning in performance hierarchies.
Inclusive Usage
Use 'figurant' as a gender-neutral term for dancers in secondary roles, or specify role titles independently of gender suffixes.
Inclusive Alternatives
["dancer","company member","corps dancer"]
Empowerment Note
Women dancers who performed as figurantes were essential to major ballet works, yet terminology erased individual artistry through gendered reduction to 'supporting roles'—their technical contributions were foundational.