Galeotti Vincenzo, born V. Tomaselli, *5 March 1733 Florence, †16 December 1816 Copenhagen, Italian dance, choreographer and teacher. A pupil of G. Angiolini. Between 1759 and 1765, he was a dancer on Italian stages; for a time he performed in Stuttgart, working under the direction of J.-G. Noverre. From 1765 to 1769, he was principal dancer and choreographer of his own company at the San Benedetto Theatre in Venice; from 1769 to 1770, he was choreographer at the King’s Theatre in London; and from 1770 to 1775, at the San Moise Theatre in Venice. From 1775, he was choreographer at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen; he was ennobled in 1812 upon his retirement. Working as a choreographer and teacher, he laid the foundations of Danish ballet. Initially, he staged ballets in the style of G. Angiolini and J.-G. Noverre (Didone abbandonata, 1777; Don Juan, 1781; Semiramis, 1787), later developing his own style by introducing Scandinavian themes (Lagherta, 1801; Rolf Blaaskaeg, 1808) – both with music by C.N. Schall – and early Romantic themes (Inez de Castro, 1804; Romeo and Juliet, 1811 – also with music by C.N. Schall). The most popular of his ballets, Les Caprices de Cupidon (music by J. Lolle, 1786), remains in the repertoire of the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen to this day, as its oldest production.
