Auguste Vestris

Marie-Jean-Augustin Vestris, known as Auguste Vestris (27 March 1760 to 5 December 1842), was a French dancer. Born in Paris, he was the illegitimate son of the Florentine dancer Gaetan Vestris, who had joined the Paris Opera in 1748, and the French dancer Marie Allard. He was called le dieu de la danse, the god of dance, a title given to the leading male dancer of each generation. He made his debut at the Paris Opera in 1772, became a regular member of the troupe in 1775, a principal dancer in 1778 and premier sujet de la danse in 1780, holding that rank for 36 years. After retiring he trained many of the great dancers of the nineteenth century, among them August Bournonville, Marius Petipa, Lucien Petipa, Fanny Elssler, Jules Perrot and Marie Taglioni. He is not to be confused with his son Armand Vestris.