Vincenzo Tomasselli was born in
Florence. He studied medicine but then decided to be a dancer and was trained by
Gasparo Angiolini, who was just two years older than Vincenzo. In 1759, he joined the company of Giuseppe Forti, which performed in Venice at the
Teatro San Moisè, with the stage name
Galeotti. In 1761, he joined the dance company of another Venice theatre,
San Benedetto. In 1763, he married the principal dancer Antonia Guidi, who was trained in Stuttgart by
Jean-Georges Noverre. In 1765, at the Teatro San Benedetto, he choreographed his first works. Next season, he worked at the
Teatro San Luca. In 1766–1767, the couple performed in
Torino Opera and in 1767–1769 again in Venice, in
San Benedetto. In 1769–1770 they were in London at the
Haymarket Opera where Galeotti choreographed dances for
Christoph Willibald Gluck's
Orfeo ed Euridice. In 1771–1772 they worked in Milan under direction of Jean-Georges Noverre. In 1772–1773 they went back to Venice, to the Teatro San Moisè and in 1773, moved to Genoa. In 1775, Galeotti was called to
Copenhagen to assume the directorship of the
Royal Danish Ballet, replacing another Italian,
Antonio Sacco. His wife Antonia entered the company a year later but soon left the stage in order to teach. Galeotti remained in Copenhagen for the rest of his life, obtaining Danish citizenship and a lifetime directorship in 1781. Galeotti continued to perform in mime roles until 1812. In that year, very unusually for a performing artist, he was made a Knight of the
Order of the Dannebrog. In 1814, he was also awarded a titulary professorship. Galeotti was the teacher of the noted ballerina
Anine Frølich, making her the star of his innovative choreography. They were also romantically involved, but the relationship ended unhappily. == Works ==