Desperate character sure to look silly as ballet performer (7)

I believe the answer is:

danseur

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'ballet performer' is the definition.
'danseur' can be an answer for 'performer' (male ballet dancer). I am not sure about the 'ballet' bit.

'desperate character sure to look silly' is the wordplay.
'desperate character' becomes 'dan' (I've seen this in other clues).
'to look silly' indicates anagramming the letters (I've seen this in other clues).
'sure' with letters rearranged gives 'seur'.
'dan'+'seur'='DANSEUR'

'as' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for danseur that I've seen before include "Man in ballet" , "Entertainer" , "Male ballet performer" , "Ballet star" , "Maybe Nureyev" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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