Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
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[[File:Ali_Hassani.JPG|Ali Hassani|right|300px]]
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[[File:Alessandro_Guerra_(1838).jpg|right|350px]]
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===ALI HASSANI===
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===ALESSANDRO GUERRA===
  
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For some thirty years, Ali Hassani (1927-2010) ran the world's most famous troupe of Moroccan tumblers—and one of the best indeed in the entertainment business—before becoming a circus owner and producer in his adopted England. Yet, this highly respected artist and impresario came to the circus quite by accident, and in very unusual circumstances.
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The Italian equestrian Alessandro Guerra is one of the most important figures of the 19th century equestrian circus. A remarkable horseman whose vigorous, aggressive style (as well as his fiery temper) won him the nickname of "Il Furioso," he was also a versatile performer, a gifted circus director, a pioneer who managed a very talented company and traveled with it far and wide all over Europe with enough success to catch attention and leave his mark wherever he went.
  
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Ali Hassani was born Ali Houssain in a village on the outskirts of Marrakech, in Morocco, on March 7, 1927. Morocco has an age-long tradition of itinerant troupes of acrobats specializing in tumbling and building human pyramids, which for centuries have traveled from market places to village squares. They have been part of the circus practically since its inception, and can still be seen today in the ring, performing their traditional acrobatic skills in a style of presentation that has remained by and large unchanged.  
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He was born in 1782 in the historic town of Rimini, on the Adriatic coast, in what was then the Papal States, at the southern end of the Emilia-Romagna region. His parents were Mauro Guerra and Clementina, née Bordini. His family’s origins are not known, but beside his striking equestrian talents, Alessandro was a multi-talented artist: acrobat, juggler, musician, and actor in pantomimes—which leads us to believe that he came from a stock of traveling entertainers, although this is just an assumption; his brother, Rodolfo Guerra, a talented equestrian in his own right, would hold a significant part in his future company.
  
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Ali belonged to a poor family of thirteen children, and he and his siblings were often left to their own devices to scrap some food or make a few dirhams in the streets of Marrakech. One day, as he was watching a group of tumblers on Djama Al Ifna, a square in Marrakech, Ali, who was seven at the time, was abducted by the acrobats, who saw him as an ideal "top mounter"—the light acrobat who stood at the top of their human pyramids.  
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Guerra had been a pupil of the celebrated Italian equestrian and circus pioneer Luigi Guillaume, in whose company (the ''Gran Circo Olympico'') he performed, touring the rich Italian "circuits" of theaters, open-air arenas, and ''politeamas''—these polyvalent theaters that served as circuses as well as theaters. Then he joined Christoph de Bach's company, at Vienna's Circus Gymnasticus in 1815, where the local press first singled out Alessandro Guerra as an exceptional trick-rider: By 1817, he was a major star of de Bach’s company. On May 17, 1818, at age thirty-six, Alessandro married nineteen years old Adelheid Elisa de Bach (Adelaïde, 1798-1832), Christoph de Bach’s daughter from his first wife, Rosalia, née Masson (1755-1820).  
  
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It must be stressed, though, that Ali was not an unwilling participant; according to his daughter Zayna, "He used to run and watch as a child and the tumblers said 'do you want to do this?' and he was quite cheeky apparently and said 'yes' and they actually took him away with them." Nonetheless, his life changed forever, and he was never to see his parents or siblings again, in spite of his attempts at tracking them years later when he returned to Morocco.
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Besides Vienna, de Bach’s company had a great reputation in the German and Italian states, which they visited regularly. The circus season in Vienna began traditionally on Easter Monday and lasted generally six months. The company traveled extensively the rest of the year: In 1826, for instance, they appeared in Naples, Rome, Florence, Genes, Turin, Milan, Venice, Innsbruck, Munich, Augsburg, Nuremberg, Frankfurt-am-Main, Darmstadt, Stuttgart, and Prague.  
  
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The tumbling troupe, with young Ali in tow, found engagements in neighboring Spain, where they remained through the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and WWII, since Spain was neutral  in the conflict. As an apprentice to the troupe, Ali was not paid: he was just given food and shelter, and the bare necessities of life. Yet, he enjoyed his new life and over the years, he became an excellent tumbler, eventually moving from a light top-mounter to a sturdy bottom man as he grew up.... ([[Ali Hassani|more...]])
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That same year, during the 1826 season at the Circus Gymnasticus, a Viennese newspaper wrote about Alessandro Guerra: "He stands quite freely on one foot on an unsaddled horse, not running at a canter as usual, but at full gallop, in various positions, playing the guitar with as much ease as if he were sitting leisurely in an armchair." The breakneck speed at which he presented his exercises, notably his remarkable juggling on horseback, was one of his characteristics—one which helped him earn his now-famous nickname, ''Il Furioso'' ("The furious").... ([[Alessandro Guerra|more...]])
  
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
 
==New Essays and Biographies==

Revision as of 01:43, 1 August 2024


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Circopedia was originally inspired and funded by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.

In The Spotlight

Alessandro Guerra (1838).jpg

ALESSANDRO GUERRA

The Italian equestrian Alessandro Guerra is one of the most important figures of the 19th century equestrian circus. A remarkable horseman whose vigorous, aggressive style (as well as his fiery temper) won him the nickname of "Il Furioso," he was also a versatile performer, a gifted circus director, a pioneer who managed a very talented company and traveled with it far and wide all over Europe with enough success to catch attention and leave his mark wherever he went.

He was born in 1782 in the historic town of Rimini, on the Adriatic coast, in what was then the Papal States, at the southern end of the Emilia-Romagna region. His parents were Mauro Guerra and Clementina, née Bordini. His family’s origins are not known, but beside his striking equestrian talents, Alessandro was a multi-talented artist: acrobat, juggler, musician, and actor in pantomimes—which leads us to believe that he came from a stock of traveling entertainers, although this is just an assumption; his brother, Rodolfo Guerra, a talented equestrian in his own right, would hold a significant part in his future company.

Guerra had been a pupil of the celebrated Italian equestrian and circus pioneer Luigi Guillaume, in whose company (the Gran Circo Olympico) he performed, touring the rich Italian "circuits" of theaters, open-air arenas, and politeamas—these polyvalent theaters that served as circuses as well as theaters. Then he joined Christoph de Bach's company, at Vienna's Circus Gymnasticus in 1815, where the local press first singled out Alessandro Guerra as an exceptional trickAny specific exercise in a circus act.-rider: By 1817, he was a major star of de Bach’s company. On May 17, 1818, at age thirty-six, Alessandro married nineteen years old Adelheid Elisa de Bach (Adelaïde, 1798-1832), Christoph de Bach’s daughter from his first wife, Rosalia, née Masson (1755-1820).

Besides Vienna, de Bach’s company had a great reputation in the German and Italian states, which they visited regularly. The circus season in Vienna began traditionally on Easter Monday and lasted generally six months. The company traveled extensively the rest of the year: In 1826, for instance, they appeared in Naples, Rome, Florence, Genes, Turin, Milan, Venice, Innsbruck, Munich, Augsburg, Nuremberg, Frankfurt-am-Main, Darmstadt, Stuttgart, and Prague.

That same year, during the 1826 season at the Circus Gymnasticus, a Viennese newspaper wrote about Alessandro Guerra: "He stands quite freely on one foot on an unsaddled horse, not running at a canter as usual, but at full gallop, in various positions, playing the guitar with as much ease as if he were sitting leisurely in an armchair." The breakneck speed at which he presented his exercises, notably his remarkable juggling on horseback, was one of his characteristics—one which helped him earn his now-famous nickname, Il Furioso ("The furious").... (more...)

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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
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