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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
 
<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:Ali_Hassani.JPG|Ali Hassani|right|300px]]
 
===ALI HASSANI===
 
  
For some thirty years, Ali Hassani (1927-2010) ran the world's most famous troupe of Moroccan tumblers&mdash;and one of the best indeed in the entertainment business&mdash;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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===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).  
  
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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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.
  
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"&mdash;the light acrobat who stood at the top of their human pyramids.  
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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.  
  
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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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...]])
 
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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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==New Essays and Biographies==
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
  
* [[Jimmy Scott]], Clown
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* [[Ramón Rampin]], Clown
* [[Alexis Gruss, Jr.]], Equestrian, Circus Owner
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* [[Elsane]], Aerialist
* [[Alona Zhuravel]], Hand-Balancer
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* [[Nouveau_Cirque_(Paris)/fr|Nouveau Cirque]], History &mdash; Version Française (French Version)
* [[George Carl]], Clown
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* [[Cirque Medrano (Paris)/fr|Cirque Medrano]], History &mdash; Version Française (French Version)
* [[Cedric Walker]], Circus Owner
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* [[The Reverhos]], Acrobatic Jugglers
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Davydenko_Video_(2023)|Valeriia Davydenko]], hand balancer (2023)
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* [[John_Chipperfield_Video_(1974)|John Chipperfield, Jr.]], bear act (1974)
* [[Amartuvshin_Video_(2024)|Hunnu Empire]], teeterboard act (2024)
+
* [[Mary_Chipperfield_Video_(1974)|Mary Chipperfield]], horses & zebras at liberty (1974)
* [[Kolev_Sisters_Video_(2023)|The Kolev Sisters]], hand-to-hand balancing (2023)
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* [[Rampin_Risley_Video_(2006)|The Rampin Brothers]], Risley act (2006)
* [[Mystery_of_Gentlemen_Video_(2023)|Mystery of Gentlemen]], banquine on rolling globes (2023)
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* [[Rafael_and_Lucy_Video_(c.1980)|Rafael & Lucy]], sword balancing (c.1980)
* [[Hermanos_Reyes_Video_(2022)|Los Hermanos Reyes]], juggling/perch-pole balancing (2022)
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* [[Addis_Abeba_Video_(2024)|Addis Abeba Troupe]], basket acrobatics (2024)
  
 
==New Oral Histories==
 
==New Oral Histories==
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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.''  
+
''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 19:10, 4 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

  • John Chipperfield, Jr., bear act (1974)
  • 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)

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