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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
  
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===STRUPPI HANNEFORD===
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===ELSANE===
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[[File:Elsane_Handstand.jpg|right|300px]]
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The remarkable German trapezist Elsane (1906-1997) had a meteoric circus career: After only ten years performing high under the cupola, a bad fall obliged her to abandon her trapeze; she had been until then a true circus star whose ballet training and her past as an acrobatic dancer had made her a headliner in circuses and on variety stages all over Europe, North Africa, and even the Middle East (at a time when performing there—sometimes in prestigious venues—was still a common occurrence).
  
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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.
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She was born Else Jaekel on October 26, 1906, in Kossakau in Pomerania, near Danzig (today Gdansk), in what was then Eastern Prussia (Kossakau is today Kosakowo, in Poland). She didn't belong to a circus family, but she was attracted at an early age to ballet and studied it, before meeting Rudolf von Laban (1879-1958), an Austro-Hungarian pioneer of modern dance considered to be the "founding father of expressionist dance." This led Else to evolve toward acrobatic dance—a specialty that was very popular between the two World Wars.
  
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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.
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When she began performing in the early 1920s, right after WWI, German names were not always well received in Europe, so Else gave a French flavor to hers: Else Jaekel became Jacqueline Elsane. Very attractive, with a beautiful figure and a natural grace that came from her ballet training, she had no difficulty finding engagements in the variety circuit, either in dancing companies or as a solo performer. She eventually made a name for herself and worked in many of Europe’s major variety theaters. In 1932, to promote her act, she ordered a personal poster to the trendy Spanish designer Tito-Livio de Madrazo (1899-1979), which is still very much sought after by collectors today.  
  
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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.
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With her French name, Jacqueline Elsane became quite popular in Paris, where she performed her acrobatic dance act in such prestigious venues of the time as the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, the Palace, and the Casino de Paris. In 1936 at the famous Empire Music-Hall Cirque, which was managed then by the brothers Amar, owners of the Cirque Amar—France's largest and most successful traveling circus—she was surrounded by the dancers of the Empire ballet in a piece titled ''Symphonie en Bleu'' ("Symphony in Blue"), choreographed by the Ballet Master of the Paris Opera, Léo Staats (1877-1952).... ([[Elsane|more...]])
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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.
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Trude, too, had lost her husband. To survive, she had opened a small gymnastics school in Speyer, and in 1945, as the War came to an end, Struppi returned training with her. But the immediate post-war situation in Germany was abysmal, and Trude, who had two children of her own, needed to make a better living; so did Struppi, whose family didn’t fare much better. Therefore Trude decided to resume her performing career, and she built a new aerial act for her and her best student, Struppi.
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Thus the Luvas Sisters were born. The name had been invented from scratch, and if they were not really sisters, they were both certainly good-looking and talented. They performed a combination act involving aerial cradle, trapeze, and upside-down loop walking, which was novel and spectacular enough to ensure them work. It was not that easy, however: Germany, which had been the epicenter of the circus and variety business in Europe before the War, laid now in ruins—its many circus buildings and variety theaters destroyed, and most of its traveling circuses unable to resume their activities. If the rest of Europe could manage a little better, money was still scarce, and German acts were not welcome everywhere.... ([[Struppi Hanneford|more...]])
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==New Essays and Biographies==
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
  
 +
* [[Elsane]], Aerialist
 
* [[Nouveau_Cirque_(Paris)/fr|Nouveau Cirque]], History — Version Française (French Version)
 
* [[Nouveau_Cirque_(Paris)/fr|Nouveau Cirque]], History — Version Française (French Version)
 
* [[Cirque Medrano (Paris)/fr|Cirque Medrano]], History — Version Française (French Version)
 
* [[Cirque Medrano (Paris)/fr|Cirque Medrano]], History — Version Française (French Version)
 
* [[The Reverhos]], Acrobatic Jugglers
 
* [[The Reverhos]], Acrobatic Jugglers
 
* [[Francis Brunn]], Juggler
 
* [[Francis Brunn]], Juggler
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* [[Tereza Durova]], Animal Trainer
 
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
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* [[Pieric_Video_(1993)|Pieric and Djuboudiep]], clowns (1993)
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* [[Rafael_and_Lucy_Video_(c.1980)|Rafael & Lucy]], sword balancing (c.1980)
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* [[Duo_Disar_Video_(2024)|Duo Disar]], strap act (2024)
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* [[Addis_Abeba_Video_(2024)|Addis Abeba Troupe]], basket acrobatics (2024)
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* [[Sattarov_Konovalov_Video_(2023)|Anvar Sattarov & Nikolai Konovalov]], clowns (2023)
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* [[Yasmine_Smart_Video_(c.1971)|Yasmine Smart]], horses at liberty (1971)
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* [[Kolev_Sisters_Video_(2024)|The Kolev Sisters]], hand-to-hand balancing (2024)
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* [[Berousek_Troupe_Video_(c.1980)|The Berousek Troupe]], teeterboard (c.1980)
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* [[Taisiya_Demidova_Video_(2024)|Taisiya Demidova]], hand-balancer (2024)
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* [[Fomenko_Trio_Video_(c.1980)|Fomenko Trio]], foot jugglers (c.1980)
  
 
==New Oral Histories==
 
==New Oral Histories==
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==A Message from the Founder==
 
==A Message from the Founder==
  
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''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 [[Circopedia:Contact|contact us]]: we will definitely consider your remarks and suggestions.''  
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''CIRCOPEDIA is a constantly evolving and expanding archive of the international circus, maintained by reliable circus historians and specialists. 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 [[Circopedia:Contact|contact us]]: we will definitely consider your remarks and suggestions.''  
  
 
:'''Dominique Jando'''
 
:'''Dominique Jando'''
 
:Founder and Curator
 
:Founder and Curator

Revision as of 19:01, 31 March 2025


Welcome! ✫ Bienvenue! ✫ Willkommen! ✫ Добро Пожаловать!
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Circopedia is an independent educational website, originally created as a project of the non-profit Big Apple Circus.

In The Spotlight

ELSANE

Elsane Handstand.jpg

The remarkable German trapezist Elsane (1906-1997) had a meteoric circus career: After only ten years performing high under the cupola, a bad fall obliged her to abandon her trapeze; she had been until then a true circus star whose ballet training and her past as an acrobatic dancer had made her a headliner in circuses and on variety stages all over Europe, North Africa, and even the Middle East (at a time when performing there—sometimes in prestigious venues—was still a common occurrence).

She was born Else Jaekel on October 26, 1906, in Kossakau in Pomerania, near Danzig (today Gdansk), in what was then Eastern Prussia (Kossakau is today Kosakowo, in Poland). She didn't belong to a circus family, but she was attracted at an early age to ballet and studied it, before meeting Rudolf von Laban (1879-1958), an Austro-Hungarian pioneer of modern dance considered to be the "founding father of expressionist dance." This led Else to evolve toward acrobatic dance—a specialty that was very popular between the two World Wars.

When she began performing in the early 1920s, right after WWI, German names were not always well received in Europe, so Else gave a French flavor to hers: Else Jaekel became Jacqueline Elsane. Very attractive, with a beautiful figure and a natural grace that came from her ballet training, she had no difficulty finding engagements in the variety circuit, either in dancing companies or as a solo performer. She eventually made a name for herself and worked in many of Europe’s major variety theaters. In 1932, to promote her act, she ordered a personal poster to the trendy Spanish designer Tito-Livio de Madrazo (1899-1979), which is still very much sought after by collectors today.

With her French name, Jacqueline Elsane became quite popular in Paris, where she performed her acrobatic dance act in such prestigious venues of the time as the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, the Palace, and the Casino de Paris. In 1936 at the famous Empire Music-Hall Cirque, which was managed then by the brothers Amar, owners of the Cirque Amar—France's largest and most successful traveling circus—she was surrounded by the dancers of the Empire ballet in a piece titled Symphonie en Bleu ("Symphony in Blue"), choreographed by the Ballet Master of the Paris Opera, Léo Staats (1877-1952).... (more...)

New Essays and Biographies

New Videos

  • Rafael & Lucy, sword balancing (c.1980)
  • Addis Abeba Troupe, basket acrobaticsSee Banquine. (2024)
  • Yasmine Smart, horses at 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. (1971)
  • The Berousek Troupe, teeterboardA seesaw made of wood, or fiberglass poles tied together, which is used to propel acrobats in the air. (c.1980)
  • Fomenko Trio, foot jugglers (c.1980)

New Oral Histories

Circopedia Books

A Message from the Founder

CIRCOPEDIA is a constantly evolving and expanding archive of the international circus, maintained by reliable circus historians and specialists. 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
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