Elna Lassen (1901 – 1930) was a Danish ballerina who served as the premiere danseuse (principal dancer) of the Royal Danish Ballet from 1925 until her death.
Born on August 27, 1901, in Lyngby, Denmark, she was the fifth daughter of a weaver. Lassen began her ballet training at the age of nine at the Royal Danish Theatre's ballet school under the guidance of Valborg Borchsenius. She made her breakthrough in 1918 performing a solo in August Bournonville's Valkyrien.
From 1921 to 1924, Lassen studied ballet in the United States and Paris, France, where she was tutored by the renowned choreographer Michel Fokine. Upon returning to Denmark, she was ranked first in the Danish ballet and became the premiere danseuse of the Royal Danish Ballet. She was married to a Copenhagen physician. Among her admirers was the influential theatre director Max Reinhardt.
Lassen suffered from diabetes. On the morning of September 20, 1930, she was found dead in her Copenhagen apartment. A revolver was discovered by her bedside, and her death is believed to have been a suicide. She was 29 years old.
