Gardel, Pierre-Gabriel (4 February 1758, Nancy; 18 October 1840, Paris), dancer and choreographer, was born into a family of dancers: his father was for a time ballet master at the Court of King Stanislas of Poland, and his elder brother became dancing master at the Royal Academy of Music in Paris. He arrived in the French capital as a young man and was successful as a humble student in 1774, an ambitious dancer in 1776, premier danseur in 1780, and adjunct master dancer in 1780. He was…