Aged 8 he was in the revived production of the ballet "Psyché" by Pierre Gardel, put on at the Opéra de Paris five years earlier. His débuts are only known from the programme of ballets and in a petition addressed by his father to the minister of the interior in 1799 with a view to obtaining one year's leave for his children, who were studying at the Opéra's dance school. Shortly afterwards young Petipa was enrolled in the troupe of Filippo Taglioni which criss-crossed Europe from 1807 after the closure of many Parisian theatres by imperial decree. The troupe set up a base in Kassel from 1810 to 1812 but left this city when France invaded Prussia on the eve of the invasion of Russia. It then went to look for other engagements, staying in Vienna and Naples.