Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
[[File:Isabella_Nock_1975.jpg|right|200px]]
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[[File:Moira.jpg|200px]]
===ISABELLA NOCK===
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===MOIRA ORFEI===
Isabella Nock (1946-2015) was one of the great swinging-trapeze artists of the Post-WW2 era; she starred in Europe’s major circuses in the 1970-80s, and was a featured act with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in the United States, where she and her father, the clown Pio Nock, performed for six consecutive seasons. Her heel catches on her swinging trapeze bar, barefooted and scantily clad in a sparkling bikini, made her act memorable wherever she worked.
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Moira Orfei (born Miranda Orfei, 1931-2015) was an Italian pop-culture icon. A member of the most famous circus family in Italy, she could compete in fame with any Italian music or movie legend. She was undoubtedly the only circus owner in the world who could get away (for forty years, no less!) with advertising her circus using posters that prominently displayed only her head shot and her first name. Much of her reputation was due to her long movie career, which coincided with the golden age of Italian cinema. But it is also due to the quality of her circus.
  
Isabella Nock was born on April 9 1946 in Switzerland, the daughter of Pius (Pio) Nock (1921-1998) and his wife, born Alexandra Bühlmann. The Nocks are Switzerland's oldest circus family, whose heritage could be traced back to the 18th century; like the Knies, the Nocks (and the Bühlmanns) were originally itinerant rope-dancers, who performed on village squares and fairgrounds, their ropes strung between church spires or above the open-air stage of their traveling "arenas." ([[Isabella Nock|more...]])
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The daughter of Riccardo Orfei, she was born in the family living trailer in 1931, in Codriopo, Italy. As a child, Moira was trained in all the basic circus disciplines. In 1960—without ever leaving the circus—she launched a movie career. Ultimately, she appeared in nearly forty films, including popular Italian comedies and a host of internationally successful Italian productions based on mythological themes, such as the Hercules, Atlas, and Samson series.... ([[Moira Orfei|more...]])
  
 
==New Biographies==  
 
==New Biographies==  

Revision as of 20:40, 16 November 2015

Welcome! • Bienvenue! • Willkommen! • Добро Пожаловать!
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Üdvözöljük! • Добре Дошли! • Welkom! • Ласкаво Просимо!
Velkommen! • Tervetuloa! • Дабро Запрашаем! • Välkommen!

Circopedia is a project of the Big Apple Circus,
inspired and funded by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.

In The Spotlight

Moira.jpg

MOIRA ORFEI

Moira Orfei (born Miranda Orfei, 1931-2015) was an Italian pop-culture icon. A member of the most famous circus family in Italy, she could compete in fame with any Italian music or movie legend. She was undoubtedly the only circus owner in the world who could get away (for forty years, no less!) with advertising her circus using posters that prominently displayed only her head shot and her first name. Much of her reputation was due to her long movie career, which coincided with the golden age of Italian cinema. But it is also due to the quality of her circus.

The daughter of Riccardo Orfei, she was born in the family living trailer in 1931, in Codriopo, Italy. As a child, Moira was trained in all the basic circus disciplines. In 1960—without ever leaving the circus—she launched a movie career. Ultimately, she appeared in nearly forty films, including popular Italian comedies and a host of internationally successful Italian productions based on mythological themes, such as the Hercules, Atlas, and Samson series.... (more...)

New Biographies

New Videos

Featured Oral Histories

A Message from the Editor

CIRCOPEDIA is a constantly evolving and expanding encyclopedia of the international circus. New videos, biographies, essays, and documents are added to the site on a weekly—and sometimes daily—basis. So 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
Editor/Curator