Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

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<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
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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
 
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/>
 
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/>
<div style="top:+0.2em; font-size:98%;"> ''Circopedia was originally inspired and funded by the [http://www.sdrubin.org/ Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation]''.</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==
[[File:Maryse_Begary_(Promotional_Picture).jpg|right|400px]]
 
 
===MARYSE BEGARY===
 
 
Born Andrée Auclère on February 20, 1926 in Paris, France, the daughter of a baker, Maryse Begary (1926-2007) was one of the most accomplished and celebrated aerialists of her day, famous for her exceptional handstand on the trapeze bar&mdash;which she could hold for more than one minute&mdash;and her spectacular series of rotating one-arm planches (also known as "dislocations"), with which she emulated her idol, Lillian Leitzel (1892-1921).
 
  
Young Andrée started training on the trapeze on her doctor’s recommendation, to improve a poor health condition. She became apprentice to a celebrated gymnast on horizontal bars, Nicolas Marcoud, who had a successful career with the Marcoud-Banola Troupe. Andrée adopted his name (as was the tradition then, in the circus, when a young performer had apprenticed to a famous master) when she started her performing career. Thus, under the name of Andrée Marcoud, she made her professional debut at Paris’s Cirque Medrano on April 14, 1939; she was thirteen years old.
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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&mdash;sometimes in prestigious venues&mdash;was still a common occurrence).  
  
Andrée Marcoud quickly made a name for herself: Her handstand on her trapeze bar didn’t fail to impress circus professionals and aficionados, and her act continued to improve over the years. After the German occupation of France during World War II, Andrée was featured in 1946 (and again in 1950) at Paris’s (and the world's) oldest permanent circus, the Cirque d’Hiver. The following year, she went on tour with the French Cirque Figuier under her real name, Andrée Auclère: Raymonde Marcoud, Nicolas Marcoud’s niece, was also performing at that time, and Andrée didn’t want to create any confusion.
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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&mdash;a specialty that was very popular between the two World Wars.
  
That same year, 1947, Andrée married Franz Begary, a former pilot in the French Air Force who had just left the military. Andrée Marcoud-Auclère finally became Andrée Begary, and changed her first name for the more romantic Maryse. It is under that name, Maryse Begary, that she continued her career&mdash;thus confusing a few circus chroniclers and historians: Andrée Marcoud and Maryse Begary are sometimes mentioned as "the two only aerialists" who, after the creator of the trick, Miss Fillis (Nicolas Marcoud's daughter), were able to hold a handstand on their trapeze bar! Franz Begary became Maryse’s assistant and manager, a marital partnership that would last until Maryse’s death.
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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.  
  
The amazing Maryse Begary was much in demand in France and Europe. In the winter 1949-1950, she was featured at Bertram Mill’s Circus at London’s Olympia, where she shared the bill with another legendary aerialist, Alma Piaïa. The next winter, she appeared at Circus Carré in Amsterdam, then under the management of the Strassburger family; she was twice featured at Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall in Scotland, and performed at Blackpool’s Tower Circus in England, Cirkus Schumann in Copenhagen, and Circo Americano-Castilla in Spain, among many other prestigious European venues.... ([[Maryse Bégary|more...]])
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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&mdash;France's largest and most successful traveling circus&mdash;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...]])
  
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
  
* [[Little Billy Merchant]], Clown
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* [[Ramón Rampin]], Clown
* [[Jacko Fossett]], Clown
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* [[Elsane]], Aerialist
* [[Circus Ring of Fame]], History
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* [[Nouveau_Cirque_(Paris)/fr|Nouveau Cirque]], History &mdash; Version Française (French Version)
* [[Natalya Jigalova]], Aerialist
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* [[Cirque Medrano (Paris)/fr|Cirque Medrano]], History &mdash; Version Française (French Version)
* [[Guangzhou Acrobatic Troupe]], History
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* [[The Reverhos]], Acrobatic Jugglers
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Knie_Elephant_and_Tigers_Video_(1976)|Louis Knie]], elephants and tigers act (1976)
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* [[Duo_Toldi_Video_(1966)|Duo Toldi]], hand-to-hand balancers (1966)
* [[Bruno_Togni_Video_(2023)|Bruno Togni]], tiger act (2023)
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* [[Evelyn_and_Andre_Video_(1973)|Evelyn & André]], aerial perch (1973)
* [[Rene_Casselly_Jr_Video_(2023)|RenéCasselly, Jr.]], acrobat on horseback (2023)
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* [[Mironov_Video_(2023)|Aleksey Mironov]], comedy juggling (2023)
* [[Ruban_Troupe_Video_(2022)|Anatoliy Ruban Troupe]], teeterboard (2022)
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* [[Trakhtenberg_Video_(c.1980)|The Four Trakhtenbergs]], jugglers (c.1980)
* [[Ayala_Video_(2022)|The Ayala Troupe]], high wire (2022)
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* [[Emilien_Bouglione_Video_(1974)|Émilien Bouglione]], horses at liberty (1974)
  
 
==New Oral Histories==
 
==New Oral Histories==
  
 +
* [[Evelyn_and_Andre_Video_(2015)|Evelyn & André Interview]] on Blikk TV (2015)
 
* [[BAC_Blumberg_Video_(1977)|''For A Moment You Fly'']], The First Season of The Big Apple Circus (1977)
 
* [[BAC_Blumberg_Video_(1977)|''For A Moment You Fly'']], The First Season of The Big Apple Circus (1977)
 
* [[Durov_Documentary_Video_(c.2000)|Vladimir Durov Documentary]] on Russian Television (c.2000)
 
* [[Durov_Documentary_Video_(c.2000)|Vladimir Durov Documentary]] on Russian Television (c.2000)
 
* [[Dolly_Jacobs_Interview_Video_(2018)|Dolly Jacobs Interview]] at The Ringling (2018)
 
* [[Dolly_Jacobs_Interview_Video_(2018)|Dolly Jacobs Interview]] at The Ringling (2018)
 
* [[Pinito_del_Oro_RTE_Video_(1970)|Pinito del Oro's Interview]] on Spanish Television (1970)
 
* [[Pinito_del_Oro_RTE_Video_(1970)|Pinito del Oro's Interview]] on Spanish Television (1970)
* [[Eradze_Video_(2015)|Gia Eradze]]'s Interview on SSU TV (2015)
 
  
 
==Circopedia Books==
 
==Circopedia Books==
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==A Message from the Founder==
 
==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&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.''  
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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&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'''
 
:'''Dominique Jando'''
 
:Founder and Curator
 
:Founder and Curator

Latest revision as of 23:04, 18 April 2025


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

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

  • Duo Toldi, hand-to-handAn acrobatic act in which one or more acrobats do hand-balancing in the hands of an under-stander. balancers (1966)
  • Evelyn & André, aerial perchA hanging perch, from where the performers hang with the help of hand or ankle loops. (French: Bambou - Russian: Bambuk) (1973)
  • Aleksey Mironov, comedy juggling (2023)
  • The Four Trakhtenbergs, jugglers (c.1980)
  • Émilien Bouglione, 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. (1974)

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