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==In The Spotlight== | ==In The Spotlight== | ||
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| − | + | ===STRUPPI HANNEFORD=== | |
| + | [[File:Princess_Tajana_Portrait.jpg|right|300px]] | ||
| + | Struppi Hanneford (1931-2014) was a major star aerialist before becoming a high-wire dancer, a wild animal trainer, and eventually, one of the United States’ foremost circus producers along with her husband, Tommy Hanneford (1927-2005). Her circus career, both as an artist and a producer, spanned the entire second half of the twentieth century and the first decade of the twenty-first. | ||
| − | + | She was born Gertrude Zimmerman on September 26, 1931 in Speyer, a small town in Rhineland-Palatinate, near Mannheim in Germany. Her family had no connection with the circus or the performing arts: Her father was a baker, and her mother a homemaker. Yet at a very young age, Gertrude showed a keen interest for gymnastics and all things physical, which was strongly encouraged by her parents—in a country where, at the time, physical education was kept in very high regard. | |
| − | + | As a little child, Gertrude used to hang from a bar that her father held with his hands; she enjoyed it, and created little routines of her own. When she was seven, her mother heard of a former trapeze artist whose husband was in the military, and who gave trapeze lessons to augment the family income. Thus Gertrude (Trude) Johann entered the life of Gertrude Zimmerman and became her trapeze teacher. | |
| − | + | Trude Johann is also credited with giving Gertrude the nickname under which she would be known for the rest of her life, "Struppi." It was a diminutive of ''Struppigel'', a made-up word that is hard to translate, but would mean something like "hedgehog turned wild," perhaps a good description of what Gertrude’s character was like then—and indeed in adulthood Struppi was a very strong woman, in all meanings of the term. | |
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| + | Little Struppi showed good dispositions for trapeze, and eventually Trude built an act for her. She believed Struppi was ready to perform, but WWII had broken out and it was not the best time to start a career if you were not born into the business: The project didn’t come to fruition. Furthermore, as the war dragged on, life became increasingly difficult in Germany, and Struppi and Trude’s worlds eventually drifted apart. | ||
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| + | Nonetheless, Struppi continued training in gymnastics, took ballet classes, and dreaming of participating one day in the Olympics (which had been held in Berlin in 1936 and had left a strong impression on the five-year-old girl she was then), she also began to train in Competitive Diving. Meanwhile the Wehrmacht had drafted Struppi’s father; some time later he was killed in action.... ([[Struppi Hanneford|more...]]) | ||
==New Essays and Biographies== | ==New Essays and Biographies== | ||
Latest revision as of 21:22, 1 February 2025
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In The Spotlight
STRUPPI HANNEFORD
Struppi Hanneford (1931-2014) was a major star aerialistAny acrobat working above the ring on an aerial equipment such as trapeze, Roman Rings, Spanish web, etc. before becoming a high-wire dancer, a wild animal trainer, and eventually, one of the United States’ foremost circus producers along with her husband, Tommy Hanneford (1927-2005). Her circus career, both as an artist and a producer, spanned the entire second half of the twentieth century and the first decade of the twenty-first.
She was born Gertrude Zimmerman on September 26, 1931 in Speyer, a small town in Rhineland-Palatinate, near Mannheim in Germany. Her family had no connection with the circus or the performing arts: Her father was a baker, and her mother a homemaker. Yet at a very young age, Gertrude showed a keen interest for gymnastics and all things physical, which was strongly encouraged by her parents—in a country where, at the time, physical education was kept in very high regard.
As a little child, Gertrude used to hang from a bar that her father held with his hands; she enjoyed it, and created little routines of her own. When she was seven, her mother heard of a former trapeze artist whose husband was in the military, and who gave trapeze lessons to augment the family income. Thus Gertrude (Trude) Johann entered the life of Gertrude Zimmerman and became her trapeze teacher.
Trude Johann is also credited with giving Gertrude the nickname under which she would be known for the rest of her life, "Struppi." It was a diminutive of Struppigel, a made-up word that is hard to translate, but would mean something like "hedgehog turned wild," perhaps a good description of what Gertrude’s character was like then—and indeed in adulthood Struppi was a very strong woman, in all meanings of the term.
Little Struppi showed good dispositions for trapeze, and eventually Trude built an act for her. She believed Struppi was ready to perform, but WWII had broken out and it was not the best time to start a career if you were not born into the business: The project didn’t come to fruition. Furthermore, as the war dragged on, life became increasingly difficult in Germany, and Struppi and Trude’s worlds eventually drifted apart.
Nonetheless, Struppi continued training in gymnastics, took ballet classes, and dreaming of participating one day in the Olympics (which had been held in Berlin in 1936 and had left a strong impression on the five-year-old girl she was then), she also began to train in Competitive Diving. Meanwhile the Wehrmacht had drafted Struppi’s father; some time later he was killed in action.... (more...)
New Essays and Biographies
- Nouveau Cirque, History — Version Française (French Version)
- Cirque Medrano, History — Version Française (French Version)
- The Reverhos, Acrobatic Jugglers
- Francis Brunn, Juggler
- Tereza Durova, Animal Trainer
New Videos
- Pieric and Djuboudiep, clowns (1993)
- Duo Disar, strap actAerial act performed hanging from a pair of fabric or leather straps. (See Aerial Straps.) (2024)
- Anvar Sattarov & Nikolai Konovalov, clowns (2023)
- The Kolev Sisters, hand-to-handAn acrobatic act in which one or more acrobats do hand-balancing in the hands of an under-stander. balancing (2024)
- Taisiya Demidova, hand-balancer (2024)
New Oral Histories
- For A Moment You Fly, The First Season of The Big Apple Circus (1977)
- Vladimir Durov Documentary on Russian Television (c.2000)
- Dolly Jacobs Interview at The Ringling (2018)
- Pinito del Oro's Interview on Spanish Television (1970)
- Gia Eradze's Interview on SSU TV (2015)
Circopedia Books
- Philip Astley & The Horsemen who invented the Circus, by Dominique Jando (2018)
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
