Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

From Circopedia

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<div style="font-size:165%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Welcome! ✫ Bienvenue! ✫ Willkommen! ✫ Добро Пожаловать!</div><div style="font-size:165%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Bienvenida! ✫ Benvenuto! ✫ 歡迎 ! ✫ Vítejte! ✫ Καλώς ήρθατε!</div><div style="font-size:165%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Üdvözöljük! ✫ Добре Дошли! ✫ Welkom! ✫ Ласкаво Просимо!</div><div style="font-size:165%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Velkommen! ✫ Tervetuloa! ✫ Дабро Запрашаем! ✫ Välkommen!</div><br/>
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<br><div style="font-size:175%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Welcome! ✫ Bienvenue! ✫ Willkommen! ✫ Добро Пожаловать!</div><div style="font-size:175%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Bienvenida! ✫ Benvenuto! ✫ 歡迎 ! ✫ Vítejte! ✫ Καλώς ήρθατ
<div style="top:+0.2em; font-size:110%;"> Circopedia was originally created with the support of [http://www.bigapplecircus.com/ Big Apple Circus],<br />and has been inspired and funded by the [http://www.sdrubin.org/ Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation].</div>
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ε!</div><div style="font-size:175%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Üdvözöljük! ✫ Добре Дошли! ✫ Welkom! ✫ Ласкаво Просимо!</div><div style="font-size:165%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Velkommen! ✫ Tervetuloa! ✫ Дабро Запрашаем! ✫ Välkommen!</div><br/>
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<div style="top:+0.2em; font-size:98%;"> ''Circopedia is an independent educational website, originally created as a project of the non-profit [[Big Apple Circus]]''.</div><br/>
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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
  
===ARTURO CASTILLA===
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===ALEXANDRE PALISSE===
[[File:Arturo_Castilla.jpg|right|250px]]
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In post-WWII Europe, the Spanish impresario Arturo Castilla (1916-1996) was one of the most active and successful advocates of the circus’s integration into the modern entertainment industry. In this, he followed a few other visionary mavericks such as Jérôme Medrano and Bertram Mills, and preceded Jean Richard, Bernhard Paul, Pierrot Bidon, and others. Castilla’s major achievements were the introduction of theatrical aesthetics into the traveling circus performance, a modern approach to public relations and marketing, his foresight of the emerging sport arenas’ potential, and the pioneering of trans-national synergies between major European circuses.
+
  
With his partner and brother-in-law, Manuel Feijóo (1897-1969), Castilla produced circus shows in Spain and abroad, managed the legendary Circo Price building in Madrid, organized circus festivals and congresses, and presented foreign circus companies in Spain. These activities, added to his remarkable talent at establishing connections with the media and the political establishment of Francisco Franco’s Spain, helped him build a conservative aesthetic of the circus as a celebration of diverse "national" identities, and as a tool for "cultural" propagandistic exchanges, which would be widely emulated.
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[[File:Palisse_in_costume.png|350px|right]]In the first half of the twentieth century, Alexandre Palisse (1876-1932) managed one of the best circuses touring the French provinces (and some bordering countries); in addition, his traveling equipment, which he conceived, was extremely innovative at the time and would inspire some of his competitors' way of touring. Palisse was also a clown, well known in Europe and South America for his spectacular costumes, his impeccable makeup, and his talent for training small animals. After his death in 1932, Jérôme Medrano bought and continued to exploit his elegant and revolutionary touring circus.  
  
Arturo Castilla Rodriguez was born in Bilbao, Spain, on October 22, 1916. His father, Raimundo, was a journalist. Arturo was thirteen years old, in 1929, when Raimundo took him to see the colossal German circus Krone, which was visiting Bilbao. This visit triggered Arturo’s fascination with the circus world. Arturo Castilla eventually studied fine arts at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios de Atxuri, in Bilbao, and joined at the same time an amateur circus club. Circus eventually took precedence over painting, and Arturo formed a clown act with three old friends of his: Carlos Izquierdo, Pedro Talavera, and Esteban Galdós. Together, as the Hermanos Cape, they went on to perform for various Spanish circuses. (Clowns have always been very popular in Spain—a country that has produced over several generations a remarkable number of outstanding clown stars.).... ([[Arturo Castilla|more...]])
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Alexandre François Palisse was born in a circus family on November 17, 1876, during a family stay in Saint-Chamond, an early industrial town in the Rhône-Alpes region of France. His father was Louis-Marius Palisse (1856-1891), an acrobat; his mother, Louise (1859-1895), née Bertoletti, was an equestrienne. Alexandre, who had a younger brother, Nicolas (1879-1938, an acrobat), was fifteen when he lost his father, and his mother died four years later: He had to help supporting his family at a young age, which developed in him earnestness and a sense of responsibility that was in no small part the reason of his success in life.
  
==New Biographies==
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He was a good acrobat and tumbler, and had a knack for training small domestic animals, notably dogs. This led him to clowning, since small animal training was at the time regarded as the domain of clowns (which was spectacularly demonstrated by many of them, notably Anatoly and Vladimir Durov). Palisse worked either alone or with partners such as Pierre Perié (who will also create his own, successful circus) and Leonardo Ceratto, with whom he worked extensively in Spain and Portugal, and even in Argentina, where he had an enormous success with his trademark trained bulldogs.
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* [[Zhejiang Acrobatic Troupe]], Chinese Acrobatics
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Around 1903-1904, Palisse was performing at the Cirque Plège, a popular French traveling circus of the period, which was showing at the annual fair of Amiens, in the north of France. Also at the fair was the ''Théâtre Grenier'', a well-known traveling theater created by Ernest Grenier (1855-1920), which presented a mixture of short films (a great novelty then) and variety acts. Adrienne Grenier (1882-1959), the owner's daughter, fell in love with Palisse, whom she went and see perform every day after her own performance at the Théâtre Grenier. Palisse reciprocated her feelings, and they were married in Caen, Normandy, on April 9, 1904&mdash;just before the start of this port city's annual fair. Then, in the summer of 1906, Palisse was touring in South America with Adrienne when, on July 4 in Montevideo, Uruguay, she gave him a son whom they named after his maternal grandfather, Ernest.
* [[Gene Mendez]], High Wire Artist
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* [[Franz Czeisler (Tihany)]], Magician, Circus Owner
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Now that he was Ernest Grenier's son-in-law, Palisse became a regular fixture of the Théâtre Grenier's programs. Grenier liked Palisse as a clown, but he also appreciated his seriousness; Palisse was helpful, hard-working, and a good addition to the family. The Théâtre Grenier was a successful business and, as an insider, Palisse had the opportunity to learn how to run efficiently a traveling entertainment organization; furthermore, not a simple employee anymore, he enjoyed his new status as member of a performing family that ran its own business, and he began entertaining the possibility of creating his own traveling circus. He eventually shared his aspirations with his father-in-law, who was willing to help finance his project..... ([[Alexandre Palisse|more...]])
* [[Cirque_Medrano_(Paris)|Circuses Fernando and Medrano]], History
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* [[Kannan Bombayo]], Rope Dancer
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==New Essays and Biographies==
 +
 
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* [[Francis Brunn]], Juggler
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* [[Tereza Durova]], Animal Trainer
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* [[Alessandro Guerra]], Equestrian, Circus Director
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* [[Jimmy Scott]], Clown
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* [[Alexis Gruss, Jr.]], Equestrian, Circus Owner
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Flying_Vazquez_BAC_1991_Video|The Flying Vazquez]], Flying Trapeze (1991)
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* [[Cyclopes_Video_(2024)|Trio Cyclopes]], jugglers (2024)
* [[Canestrelli_Video_(1977)|The Canestrellis]], Trampoline Act (1977)
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* [[Triple_Breath_Video_(2023)|Triple Breath]], high wire act (2023)
* [[Francis_and_Lottie_Brunn_Video_(1948)|Francis & Lottie Brunn]], Jugglers (1948)
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* [[Evsukevich Video (2010)|Pavel Evsukevich]], juggler (2010)  
* [[Survivors_Video_(1985)|The Survivors]], Aerial Cradle (1985)
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* [[Acroart_Video_(2024)|Duo AcroArt]], Cyr wheel (2024)
* [[Lucien_Gruss_Video_(1987)|Lucien Gruss]], Horses at Liberty (1987)
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* [[Koechlin_Video_(2024)|Stephanie & Valerie Koechlin]], aerial hoop (2024)
  
==Featured Oral Histories==
+
==New Oral Histories==
  
* [[Jean_Richard_Video_(1979)|Jean Richard and Jean-Pierre Richard]] at the Cirque jean Richard - Christian Boner Interview (1979)
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* [[BAC_Blumberg_Video_(1977)|''For A Moment You Fly'']], The First Season of The Big Apple Circus (1977)
* [[Buster_Keaton_Video_(1947)|Jérôme Medrano about Buster Keaton]] at the Cirque Medrano (1947)
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* [[Durov_Documentary_Video_(c.2000)|Vladimir Durov Documentary]] on Russian Television (c.2000)
* [[Moira_Orfei_Video_(2012)|Moira Orfei]], Circus Owner - Davide Maggio Interview (2012)
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* [[Dolly_Jacobs_Interview_Video_(2018)|Dolly Jacobs Interview]] at The Ringling (2018)
* [[Oleg_Popov_Circus_Legends_Video_(2014)|Oleg Popov]], clown - Russian Television Feature (2014)
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* [[Pinito_del_Oro_RTE_Video_(1970)|Pinito del Oro's Interview]] on Spanish Television (1970)
* [[Albert_Fratellini_Interview_(1957)|Albert Fratellini]], clown - French Television Interview (1957)
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* [[Eradze_Video_(2015)|Gia Eradze]]'s Interview on SSU TV (2015)
  
==A Message from the Editor==
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==Circopedia Books==
  
''CIRCOPEDIA is a constantly evolving and expanding encyclopedia of the international circus. New videos, biographies, essays, and documents are added to the site on a weekly&mdash;and sometimes daily&mdash;basis. So keep visiting us: even if today you don't find what you're looking for, it may well be here tomorrow! And if you are a serious circus scholar and spot a factual or historical inaccuracy, do not hesitate to [[Special:Contact|contact us]]: we will definitely consider your remarks and suggestions.''
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* [[Circopedia Books|Philip Astley & The Horsemen who invented the Circus]], by Dominique Jando (2018)
  
:'''Dominique Jando'''
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==A Message from the Founder==
:Editor/Curator
+
  
* '''Circopedia''' has been named ''World's Best Circus Website'' by BEESKER ([http://www.beesker.com Beesker.com])
+
''CIRCOPEDIA is a constantly evolving and expanding archive of the international circus. New videos, biographies, essays, and documents are added to the site on a weekly&mdash;and sometimes daily&mdash;basis. Keep visiting us: even if today you don't find what you're looking for, it may well be here tomorrow! And if you are a serious circus scholar and spot a factual or historical inaccuracy, do not hesitate to [[Circopedia:Contact|contact us]]: we will definitely consider your remarks and suggestions.''  
 +
 
 +
:'''Dominique Jando'''
 +
:Founder and Curator

Revision as of 20:15, 30 October 2024


Welcome! ✫ Bienvenue! ✫ Willkommen! ✫ Добро Пожаловать!
Bienvenida! ✫ Benvenuto! ✫ 歡迎 ! ✫ Vítejte! ✫ Καλώς ήρθατ ε!
Üdvözöljük! ✫ Добре Дошли! ✫ Welkom! ✫ Ласкаво Просимо!
Velkommen! ✫ Tervetuloa! ✫ Дабро Запрашаем! ✫ Välkommen!

Circopedia is an independent educational website, originally created as a project of the non-profit Big Apple Circus.

In The Spotlight

ALEXANDRE PALISSE

Palisse in costume.png
In the first half of the twentieth century, Alexandre Palisse (1876-1932) managed one of the best circuses touring the French provinces (and some bordering countries); in addition, his traveling equipment, which he conceived, was extremely innovative at the time and would inspire some of his competitors' way of touring. Palisse was also 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., well known in Europe and South America for his spectacular costumes, his impeccable makeup, and his talent for training small animals. After his death in 1932, Jérôme Medrano bought and continued to exploit his elegant and revolutionary touring circus.

Alexandre François Palisse was born in a circus family on November 17, 1876, during a family stay in Saint-Chamond, an early industrial town in the Rhône-Alpes region of France. His father was Louis-Marius Palisse (1856-1891), an acrobat; his mother, Louise (1859-1895), née Bertoletti, was an equestrienneA female equestrian, or horse trainer, horse presenter, or acrobat on horseback.. Alexandre, who had a younger brother, Nicolas (1879-1938, an acrobat), was fifteen when he lost his father, and his mother died four years later: He had to help supporting his family at a young age, which developed in him earnestness and a sense of responsibility that was in no small part the reason of his success in life.

He was a good acrobat and tumbler, and had a knack for training small domestic animals, notably dogs. This led him to clowning, since small animal training was at the time regarded as the domain of clowns (which was spectacularly demonstrated by many of them, notably Anatoly and Vladimir Durov). Palisse worked either alone or with partners such as Pierre Perié (who will also create his own, successful circus) and Leonardo Ceratto, with whom he worked extensively in Spain and Portugal, and even in Argentina, where he had an enormous success with his trademark trained bulldogs.

Around 1903-1904, Palisse was performing at the Cirque Plège, a popular French traveling circus of the period, which was showing at the annual fair of Amiens, in the north of France. Also at the fair was the Théâtre Grenier, a well-known traveling theater created by Ernest Grenier (1855-1920), which presented a mixture of short films (a great novelty then) and variety acts. Adrienne Grenier (1882-1959), the owner's daughter, fell in love with Palisse, whom she went and see perform every day after her own performance at the Théâtre Grenier. Palisse reciprocated her feelings, and they were married in Caen, Normandy, on April 9, 1904—just before the start of this port city's annual fair. Then, in the summer of 1906, Palisse was touring in South America with Adrienne when, on July 4 in Montevideo, Uruguay, she gave him a son whom they named after his maternal grandfather, Ernest.

Now that he was Ernest Grenier's son-in-law, Palisse became a regular fixture of the Théâtre Grenier's programs. Grenier liked Palisse as 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., but he also appreciated his seriousness; Palisse was helpful, hard-working, and a good addition to the family. The Théâtre Grenier was a successful business and, as an insider, Palisse had the opportunity to learn how to run efficiently a traveling entertainment organization; furthermore, not a simple employee anymore, he enjoyed his new status as member of a performing family that ran its own business, and he began entertaining the possibility of creating his own traveling circus. He eventually shared his aspirations with his father-in-law, who was willing to help finance his project..... (more...)

New Essays and Biographies

New Videos

  • Trio Cyclopes, jugglers (2024)
  • Triple Breath, high wireA tight, heavy metallic cable placed high above the ground, on which wire walkers do crossings and various acrobatic exercises. Not to be confused with a tight wire. act (2023)
  • Pavel Evsukevich, juggler (2010)
  • Duo AcroArt, Cyr wheel (2024)
  • Stephanie & Valerie Koechlin, aerial hoopA heavy metallic hoop used as a variance of trapeze, usually with contortion moves. (Also called Cerceau.) (2024)

New Oral Histories

Circopedia Books

A Message from the Founder

CIRCOPEDIA is a constantly evolving and expanding archive of the international circus. New videos, biographies, essays, and documents are added to the site on a weekly—and sometimes daily—basis. Keep visiting us: even if today you don't find what you're looking for, it may well be here tomorrow! And if you are a serious circus scholar and spot a factual or historical inaccuracy, do not hesitate to contact us: we will definitely consider your remarks and suggestions.

Dominique Jando
Founder and Curator