In the Spotlight
LEONID ENGIBAROV
Although he had a meteoric career that lasted only twelve years, the influence of Leonid Engibarov (1935-1972) on modern clowning has been considerable. His untimely death also propelled him into the realm of show business legends, in the rarefied atmosphere shared by prematurely disappeared young artists who helped define a generation: James Dean for the American cinema, Gérard Philippe for the French theater, Vladimir Visotskiy for Russian pop music—among others. And Leonid Engibarov for the Russian circus. In the ring, Engibarov’s character reflected his true off-stage persona: A fiercely independent young man, mischievous, belligerent, in constant revolt against the powers that be—whether the
ringmaster(American, English) The name given today to the old position of Equestrian Director, and by extension, to the presenter of the show. in the circus ring, or SoyuzGosTsirk, the central Soviet circus organization, in real life. In this, he embodied the moods of a new Soviet youth, which danced the twist, listened to the Beatles, and tried to erase three decades of Stalinist tyranny.... (
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