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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
  
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===ALEXANDRE PALISSE===
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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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[[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.  
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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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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.
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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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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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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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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.
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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...]])
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==New Essays and Biographies==
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
  
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* [[Elsane]], Aerialist
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* [[Nouveau_Cirque_(Paris)/fr|Nouveau Cirque]], History — Version Française (French Version)
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* [[Cirque Medrano (Paris)/fr|Cirque Medrano]], History — Version Française (French Version)
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* [[The Reverhos]], Acrobatic Jugglers
 
* [[Francis Brunn]], Juggler
 
* [[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==
  
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* [[Cyclopes_Video_(2024)|Trio Cyclopes]], jugglers (2024)
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* [[Mary_Chipperfield_Video_(1974)|Mary Chipperfield]], horses & zebras at liberty (1974)
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* [[Triple_Breath_Video_(2023)|Triple Breath]], high wire act (2023)
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* [[Rampin_Risley_Video_(2006)|The Rampin Brothers]], Risley act (2006)
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* [[Evsukevich Video (2010)|Pavel Evsukevich]], juggler (2010)  
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* [[Rafael_and_Lucy_Video_(c.1980)|Rafael & Lucy]], sword balancing (c.1980)
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* [[Acroart_Video_(2024)|Duo AcroArt]], Cyr wheel (2024)
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* [[Addis_Abeba_Video_(2024)|Addis Abeba Troupe]], basket acrobatics (2024)
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* [[Koechlin_Video_(2024)|Stephanie & Valerie Koechlin]], aerial hoop (2024)
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* [[Yasmine_Smart_Video_(c.1971)|Yasmine Smart]], horses at liberty (1971)
  
 
==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.''  
+
''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

Latest revision as of 02:57, 2 April 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

  • Mary Chipperfield, horses & zebras 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. (1974)
  • The Rampin Brothers, Risley actAct performed by Icarists, in which one acrobat, lying on his back, juggles another acrobat with his feet. (Named after Richard Risley Carlisle, who developed this type of act.) (2006)
  • 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)

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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