Despreaux, Des Préaux, Jean-Étienne, *31 August 1748 Paris, †26 March 1820 Paris, French dancer, poet, playwright and composer. His wife was the famous Paris Opera ballerina Marie-Madeleine Guimard (1743–1813). From 1763 to 1781, he was premier danseur noble at the Paris Opera; until 1787, he served as master of dance at the royal court; from 1791 to 1793, he was director of the opera and a professor at the École royale de musique et de déclamation. Author of the poem Mes passe-temps. Chansons, suivies de l’art de la danse… (Paris 1806) and the memoir Souvenirs de J.-E Despreaux, danseur de l’Opéra et poète chansonnier (Paris 1894).
