Sentence:  Alarmed at what was to be performed there, New York's clergy had been threatening hellfire and damnation for weeks to all who went to see the dozens of beautiful <WSD>coryphées</WSD> imported from Milan, Berlin, Paris, and London in "as little as the law allows" promised by the management. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A ballet dancer ranking above a member of the corps de ballet and below a soloist.