Marie-Jean-Augustin Vestris, known as Auguste Vestris (27 March 1760 – 5 December 1842), was a French dancer. He was born in Paris, the illegitimate son of Gaétan Vestris and Marie Allard. His father was a Florentine dancer who had joined the

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

in 1748, his mother was a French dancer in the same theatre. He was dubbed "le dieu de la danse", (''the god of dance''), a popular title bestowed on the leading male dancer of each generation (previous 'Gods of the Dance' included his father Gaétan and Gaétan's teacher, Louis Dupré). He made his debut at the Paris Opéra (as had his mother, Marie Allard) in the third

divertissement ''Divertissement'' (from the French 'diversion' or 'amusement') is used, in a similar sense to the Italian 'divertimento', for a light piece of music for a small group of players, however the French term has additional meanings. During the 17th an ...

of the

pastorale Pastorale refers to something of a pastoral nature in music, whether in form or in mood. In Baroque music, a pastorale is a movement of a melody in thirds over a drone bass, recalling the Christmas music of ''pifferari'', players of the traditi ...

''La Cinquantaine'' (written by

Desfontaines-Lavallée François-Georges Fouques Deshayes (1733, Caen - 25 November 1825), known as Desfontaines or Desfontaines-Lavallée, was a French writer and playwright. Before the French Revolution he worked as a royal censor, secretary and librarian. He cooper ...

and set to music by

Jean-Benjamin de La Borde Jean-Benjamin François de la Borde (5 September 1734 – 22 July 1794) was a French composer, writer on music and '' fermier général'' (farm tax collector). Born into an aristocratic family, he studied violin under Antoine Dauvergne and composi ...

) in 1772 and was immediately recognized for his talent. He was accepted as a regular member of the troupe in 1775, became a soloist in 1776, a "premier danseur" (

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be either gender. The position is similar to that of ''Soloist (ballet), solois ...

) in 1778, and finally he was appointed "premier sujet de la danse" (roughly corresponding to modern étoile) in 1780, holding this rank in the company for the next 36 years. After his retirement he trained many famous dancers of the 19th century including

August Bournonville August Bournonville (21 August 1805 – 30 November 1879) was a Danish ballet master and choreographer. He was the son of Antoine Bournonville, a dancer and choreographer trained under the French choreographer, Jean Georges Noverre, and the ne ...

Marius Petipa Marius Ivanovich Petipa (; born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa; 11 March 1818) was a French and Russian ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. He is considered one of the most influential ballet masters and choreographers in ballet history ...

Lucien Petipa Lucien Petipa (22 December 1815 – 7 July 1898) was a French ballet dancer during the Romantic period, and the elder brother to Marius Petipa, the famous ballet master of the Russian Imperial Ballet. He was born in Marseille and died in Versai ...

, Fanny Elssler,

Jules Perrot Jules-Joseph Perrot (18 August 181029 August 1892) was a French dancer and choreographer who later became Ballet Master of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia. He created some of the most famous ballets of the 19th century including ' ...

and

Marie Taglioni Marie Taglioni, Comtesse de Voisins (23 April 1804 – 22 April 1884) was a Swedish-born ballet dancer of the Romantic ballet era partially of Italian descent, a central figure in the history of European dance. She spent most of her life in t ...

. It was with Taglioni in 1835 that he performed a minuet at the age of 75. Auguste Vestris is not to be confused with his son, Armand Vestris, who married the English actress-manager

Lucia Elizabeth Vestris Lucia Elizabeth Vestris (''née'' Elizabetta Lucia Bartolozzi; 3 March 1797 – 8 August 1856) was a British actress and a contralto opera singer, appearing in works by Mozart and Rossini, among others. While popular in her time, she was more ...

in 1813. Both Armand and a cousin Charles Vestris, son of a brother of Auguste's, were also dancers.Philip H. Highfill et al, ''A biographical dictionary of actors, actresses, musicians, dancers, managers & other stage personnel in London, 1660–1800'', Carbondale (USA), Southern Illinois University Press, 1993, XV, pp. 149–150, ; Henry Sutherland Edwards, ''History of the Opera, from its Origin in Italy to the present Time'', Londra, Allen, 1862, I, p. 302 (accessible for free online a
Google Books
.

Notes

External links

Thomas Gainsborough’s ‘Lost’ Portrait of Auguste Vestris (Tate Museum)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vestris, Auguste 1760 births 1842 deaths Vestris French male ballet dancers Place of death missing Burials at Montmartre Cemetery 18th-century French ballet dancers 19th-century French ballet dancers Musicians from Paris French people of Italian descent Vestris family