Difference between revisions of "Paulina Schumann"

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PAULINA SCHUMANN

Acrobat and Equestrienne

By Raffaele De Ritis

Paulina Luisa Andreu Busto is the elder daughter of the famous Catalan clownGeneric term for all clowns and augustes. '''Specific:''' In Europe, the elegant, whiteface character who plays the role of the straight man to the Auguste in a clown team., Charlie Rivel (Josep Andreu), and Carmen Busto, herself the daughter of a clownGeneric term for all clowns and augustes. '''Specific:''' In Europe, the elegant, whiteface character who plays the role of the straight man to the Auguste in a clown team.. Paulina was born February 17, 1921 in Barcelona, Spain, and baptized in its cathedral when the Andreu family's circus, Circo Reina Victoria, was performing in that town.

Early Days

At age 5, Paulina began to appear in her father's comedy trapeze act, in which he did an impersonation of Charlie Chaplin; Paulina was dressed like Jackie Coogan in the movie The Kid. In November 1926, during a family engagement at Paris's Empire Circus-Theatre, young Paulina performed a parody of Josephine Baker, with her younger brother, Juanito, playing the percussions. The family grew larger with the birth of two other brothers, Charlie Junior, and Valentino. In 1930, the Rivels embarked upon a long tour of Argentina, where Paulina learned to dance the tango and developed a dance act duet with Juanito. In 1932, in Vienna, she and Juanito impressed the Austrian audiences with their stage rendition of the Blue Danube waltz.

In the 1930s, the Rivels toured Europe, appearing in every imaginable circus and variety house. Then Charlie Rivel, who had performed his trapeze act with his brothers, and had created with them a very successful clown trio, the Andreu-Rivels, decided to go his own way. He started a solo career, with the help of his wife and sons. For these family engagements, Paulina developed a remarkable tight wireA tight, light metallic cable, placed between two platforms not very far from the ground, on which a wire dancer perform dance steps, and acrobatic exercises such as somersaults. (Also: Low Wire) act, which she would perform for about thirty years. Before WWII, the Rivel family were a major feature in the vast German circuit of variety theatres, which were frequented by the top political and social personalities of the time: during an evening show, Paulina was asked to present flowers to Nazi leader Hermann Goering, who was sitting in box.

At the outset of the war, the family moved to neutral Scandinavia, where Charlie Rivel began a series of return engagements with the Schumann family, owners of the famous Cirkus Schumann—and who were already renowned for their equestrian presentations. There, Paulina met Albert Maximilian Schumann (son of the circus's director, Oskar Schumann), and they married on November 28, 1946. Meanwhile, Paulina's brothers began a brilliant international career with an acrobatic/dance act, The Charlivels, while their father, Charlie Rivel, continued his ascension to international stardom as a solo clownGeneric term for all clowns and augustes. '''Specific:''' In Europe, the elegant, whiteface character who plays the role of the straight man to the Auguste in a clown team..

Equestrian Diva

After the birth of her two sons, Benny (b.1945) and Jacques (b.1947), her father-in-law asked Paulina to present a "liberty"Liberty act", "Horses at liberty": Unmounted horses presented from the center of the ring by an equestrian directing his charges with his voice, body movements, and signals from a ''chambrière'' (French), or long whip." act with six horses, even though she had no equestrian experience. She answered, "I will do it, but I will do it my way." The former variety dancer and acrobat was determined to bring the eclectic education she had acquired in the aesthetics and crafts of variety shows into the much more conservative, academic world of classic equestrian circus. She began to introduce an uncommon sophistication in musical arrangements, lighting, thematic presentations, and costume design, demanding what was then unusual financial investments, especially in costumes.

The year of Paulina's equestrian debuts, in 1947, British producer Tom Arnold and director Clement Butson decided to start a huge winter circus show at the Harringay Arena in London. The Schumanns had just ended a ten-year collaboration with Bertram Mills' Circus, the other (and foremost) great London winter circus. They began a new association with Tom Arnold, which helped them to establish their reputation as the world's foremost equestrian family.

The new producers were impressed by Paulina's ideas and sense of showmanship, and they accepted to invest in her expensive costumes and staging concepts. The results of this financial collaboration could be seen each year in the fully produced, brilliantly themed equestrian acts they presented in the circuses of Stockholm, Göteborg, Copenhagen, and at Harringay. The possibility to work year-round in a circuit of circus buildings, with long stands in each, gave Paulina and Albert a comfortable laboratory where they were able to constantly experiment with new concepts for their equestrian presentations.

Inspired by international folklore themes, Paulina designed acts that were enhanced by Butson's staging gifts. They created a host of high-schoolA display of equestrian dressage by a rider mounting a horse and leading it into classic moves and steps. (From the French: Haute école) riding presentations and liberty"Liberty act", "Horses at liberty": Unmounted horses presented from the center of the ring by an equestrian directing his charges with his voice, body movements, and signals from a ''chambrière'' (French), or long whip. acts, combining horses of different breeds and robes, and some unusual novelties, such as an "Equestrian Potpourri" with 40 horses in the ring! Among other remarkable achievements were the production of Fiesta en Sevilla (1951), which included the bareback riding troupe of Enrico Caroli; Madame Bovary in the Bois de Boulogne; Carnival in Venice; The Troika, etc. Her association with Tom Arnold's Harringay shows lasted until 1954.

By the winter of 1958, the Schumann family appeared again in London, this time anew with the Bertram Mills' Circus at the Olympia of Kensington (where the Schumanns were featured from 1937 to 1946, before Paulina's arrival). The Schumanns's acts included then Albert and Paulina, their sons Benny and Jacques, Albert's brother, Max, with Max's wife Vivi and their daughter Katja, and Douglas Kossmeyer. Benny was also integrated in Paulina's tight-wire act.

Paulina became at that time the director-choreographer in title of the Schumanns's equestrian acts, mostly inspired, through the 1960s, by the great movies of the era, musically as well as for the costuming. Always alternating high-schoolA display of equestrian dressage by a rider mounting a horse and leading it into classic moves and steps. (From the French: Haute école) and liberty"Liberty act", "Horses at liberty": Unmounted horses presented from the center of the ring by an equestrian directing his charges with his voice, body movements, and signals from a ''chambrière'' (French), or long whip. acts, the Schumanns staged superb equestrian impressions of Doctor Zhivago, My Fair Lady, Robin Hood, Gigi, as well as Schumanns in Mexico (1963), Feria de Primavera (1964), From The Good Old Days: Paris 1900 (1965).

In 1965, Paulina's most remarkable achievement was a liberty"Liberty act", "Horses at liberty": Unmounted horses presented from the center of the ring by an equestrian directing his charges with his voice, body movements, and signals from a ''chambrière'' (French), or long whip. act based on Gershwin's Rapsody in Blue: It still stands as a seminal presentation, with the use of "naked" horses, smoke effects, and a poetry rarely seen in equestrian acts. With a lavish high-schoolA display of equestrian dressage by a rider mounting a horse and leading it into classic moves and steps. (From the French: Haute école) act based on My Fair Lady, the Schumanns performed their last season with Bertram Mills in 1967, when the legendary British circus gave its final performances.

The Royal Families of Sweden and Denmark always attended the Schumann opening nights in Stockholm or Copenhagen; in London, Queen Elizabeth II never missed their performance, always visiting the stables with Paulina and Albert after the show. In Sweden, Paulina also appeared in two movies: Gøngehøvdingen (1961) and Dronningens vagtmester (1963).

Last Years In The Ring

The Cirkus Schumann itself didn't survive much longer, closing in 1969. By then Paulina and Albert had separated, and Paulina retired definitely from equestrian arts, and turned to a new circus career. In 1972 she began to act as "straight woman" to her father, Charlie Rivel, during the last decade of the rich international career of the legendary clownGeneric term for all clowns and augustes. '''Specific:''' In Europe, the elegant, whiteface character who plays the role of the straight man to the Auguste in a clown team.. After Charlie Rivel's death in 1983, Paulina retired from performing.

From her beginnings at her father's side, to her return with him at the end of a 60-year career, she had closed the circle. Paulina Schumann retired in Cubelles, Spain, the village where her father was born in a circus wagon. In 2007, she received the Medalla de Oro de las Bellas Artes from the hands of H.M. Juan Carlos of Bourbon, King of Spain; and in 2008 she was the recipient of Catalogna's Culture High Award for the Circus Arts.

Image Gallery

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  Paulina Schumann

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  Paulina Schumann (c1955)

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  Paulina Schumann and Bertram Mills (1960)

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  Paulina Schumann and Albert Schumann, Cirkus Schumann

See Also

• Biography: Paulina Schumann