author
Giovanni-Andrea Gallini
1728–1805
An Italian-born dancer and impresario who helped shape London’s 18th-century stage, he brought together performance, criticism, and theatre management in one remarkable career. He is also remembered for an early English-language book that treats dance as a serious expressive art.
1 Audiobook
A Treatise on the Art of Dancing
by Giovanni-Andrea Gallini
About the author
Born in Florence on January 7, 1728, Giovanni-Andrea Gallini trained in Paris before moving to England in the 1750s. In London he first made his name as a ballet dancer at the Opera House in the Haymarket, and over time became a well-known figure in the city’s theatrical world.
Gallini’s reputation rests not only on performance but also on writing. His A Treatise on the Art of Dancing argued that dance was more than ornament or display: it could convey feeling and meaning. That idea gives his work a special place in dance history and makes him an interesting voice for listeners curious about how 18th-century artists thought about movement and expression.
Later in life he became an influential theatre manager and was associated with the King’s Theatre in London. He died there on January 5, 1805, leaving behind a career that linked European dance training, London stage culture, and some of the period’s most thoughtful writing about ballet.