Difference between revisions of "Cesare Togni"

Revision as of 18:47, 24 December 2008

Circus Owner, Director, and Performer

By Raffaele De Ritis

When he passed away on October 1, 2008, Cesare Togni was the oldest member of the large Togni family, one of Italy's foremost circus dynasties. He was a beloved circus director, one who truly made his mark on the history of the Italian and European circus.

Born in 1924, he was the son of Ugo Togni (1897-1981), and a former acrobat, tumbler, animal trainer. As an artist, he is best remembered as the principal flyerAn acrobat that is propelled in the air, either in a flying act, or in an acrobatic act (i.e. teeterboard). in his family's flying trapezeAerial act in which an acrobat is propelled from a trapeze to a catcher, or to another trapeze. (See also: Short-distance Flying Trapeze) act: in 1956 he was the first flyerAn acrobat that is propelled in the air, either in a flying act, or in an acrobatic act (i.e. teeterboard). to accomplish a triple return pirouette(French) A full rotation of the body in the vertical axle. Double pirouette: two rotations, etc. from the catcherIn an acrobatic or a flying act, the person whose role is to catch acrobats that have been propelled in the air. to the trapeze.

In the mid-1950s, he founded his own circus with his brother Oscar; originally called Circo Massimo, and the largest three-ring circus ever seen in Europe, it eventually became the celebrated, albeit more modest in size, [[The Togni Family|Circo Cesare Togni], for decades the Italian destination for some of the world's finest circus acts, among which trapeze legends Tony Steele, Enzo Cardona, the Palacios and the Jimenez.

It is at Circo Cesare Togni that David Larrible was given the opportunity to do his first steps as clownGeneric term for all clowns and augustes. '''Specific:''' In Europe, the elegant, whiteface character who plays the role of the straight man to the Auguste in a clown team.. The elegant and classy Circo Cesare Togni toured extensively in Europe. In 1983, Cesare returned to the three-ring format, with a circus that was transported entirely in containers. he later reverted to the classic one-ring format.

Cesare trained his sons (Elvio, Alex, Italo, Viviana) in all classic equestrian and acrobatic disciplines, as well as in elephant training. His circus ceased its operations in the early 1990s, athough its name was sometimes revived in associations between Cesare and other italian families. Cesare spent his last years at Circo Americano, led by his cousin Enis, supervising his sons' pyramids on horseback and elephant acts.

See Also

• History: The Togni Family