View source for Armand Gruss

From Circopedia

← Armand Gruss

You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reason:

The action you have requested is limited to users in the group: Users.

You can view and copy the source of this page:

[[File:Armand_Gruss.jpg|right|350px]]
==Equestrian, Clown, Acrobat==

''By Dominique Jando''


Born in Paris into one of France's most celebrated and respected circus families, Armand Gruss (1974-1994) was the son of [[Alexis Gruss, Jr.|Alexis]] and [[Gipsy Gruss]] (née [[The Bouglione Family|Bouglione]]). His birth (January 16, 1974) practically corresponded to that of the ''Cirque à l'ancienne'', the circus his father had created under the aegis of the famous French actress, Silvia Monfort, as part of her "Nouveau Carré," the Paris Cultural Center&mdash;which was to encompass Alexis Gruss's circus as well as the first French professional circus school.

The second son in a family of four children, Armand began training as an equestrian, his father's specialty, at age four. He made his  official debut in the ring in 1984, at age ten, presenting his father's elephant, Toffy. The following year, he performed a hand-balancing act with his cousin, [[Eddy Ringenbach]]. By then, Armand was already showing an innate talent for clowning, undoubtedly inherited from his grandfather, the famous auguste [[André Gruss|Dédé Gruss]].

Immediately, Armand participated in several editions of the [[Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain]] in Paris (which were for a long time hosted by his family's circus), each time with a different act. Among other awards, he won a Silver Medal in 1984, for his first participation with his elephant act&mdash;which included hand-balancing on the pachyderm's head&mdash;and then a Bronze Medal in 1987, as a clown with his cousin, Eddy Ringenbach 

Over the years, Armand developed his talents as a clown in the family circus, while continuing to work as an acrobat, an elephant trainer, and as a remarkable jockey and acrobat on horseback with his brother, [[Stephan Gruss|Stephan]], and his cousins Eddy and [[Isabelle Ringenbach]]. Imaginative and highly artistic, Armand became increasingly involved in the creative aspects of his father's productions&mdash;until his untimely death on June 16, 1994, at age twenty. That year, the circus world lost one of his most promising talents.

==See Also==

* History: [[The Gruss Dynasty]] 
* Biographies: [[Alexis Gruss, Jr.]], [[Gipsy Gruss]]
* Video: [[Armand_Gruss_and_Toffy_(1984)_Video|Armand Gruss and the elephant ''Toffy'']] at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain, Paris, 1984.

[[Category:Artists and Acts|Gruss, Armand]][[Category:Equestrians|Gruss, Armand]][[Category:Clowns|Gruss, Armand]][[Category:Acrobats|Gruss, Armand]]

Return to Armand Gruss.

Retrieved from "http://www.circopedia.org/Armand_Gruss"

View source for Armand Gruss

From Circopedia

Topics

Archives

Tools

Circopedia

Search

Toolbox