Vestris, Gaetano-Appolino-Balthazar

Vestris, Gaetano-Appolino-Balthazar DIT Gaëton (1728, Florence; 23 September 1808, Paris), dancer, was known as “Vestris premier” or “Le beau Vestris” to distinguish him from his brothers and son, who also pursued careers in the theatre. Financial troubles forced him and his family to emigrate to France, and an inattentive customs officer altered his name from Vestri to Vestris at the moment of his entry into Paris, where he passed the dancing examination of 1748 at the Opéra. That same year…