Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
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[[File:John_Bill_Ricketts.jpg|right|300px]]
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[[File:Edoardo_Raspini.jpg|right|300px]]
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===JOHN BILL RICKETTS===
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===EDOARDO RASPINI===
  
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On April 3, 1793, a crowd of theatergoers, horsemanship enthusiasts, and prying citizens gathered at the corner of Market and Twelfth Streets in Philadelphia to witness the debut performance of Mr. John Bill Ricketts's company at the Circus. The Circus was a roofless arena of some eight-hundred seats (divided between pit and boxes) surrounding a circular riding space filled in with a mixture of soil and sawdust, forty-two feet in diameter—the ring. The wooden construction had been erected in a matter of weeks by Ricketts, a British equestrian who had arrived from Scotland the previous year and had quickly established a riding school in Philadelphia, then the capital of the newly formed United States of America. Ricketts had followed the example of Philip Astley, who had established just such a riding school in London in 1768, at the foot of Westminster Bridge, before creating there the first modern circus two years later.
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Edoardo Raspini (1928-2015) was one of the great jugglers of the mid-twentieth century, one of the last proponents of the classical Italian style popularized by Enrico Rastelli. He was born in Russia on January 19, 1928 to Oreste and Tamara Raspini. The Raspinis were one of many old Italian circus families established in the Russian Empire prior to the Bolshevik Revolution—like the Truzzis and the Cinisellis, for instance. (Although his parents didn’t settle there, Rastelli was also born in Russia.) Tamara, Edoardo’s mother, was pure Russian.
  
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Before long, a small group of performers from Ricketts's former British company joined him in Philadelphia. Among them were his brother Francis, an equestrian and tumbler; Mr. Spinacuta, the rope-dancer, along with his wife, an attractive equestrienne who rode two horses at full gallop; Mr. McDonald, another tumbler who performed comic acrobatic intermezzos as the Clown; and Ricketts's pupil, young Master Strobach. The performance included a great many "feats of horsemanship," most of them presented by Ricketts himself, rope-dancing, some tumbling, and McDonald's acrobatic parodies. This was the first circus show ever put on in America.… ([[John Bill Ricketts|more...]])
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Edoardo made his performing debut at age seven in his parents’ free ladder act, the Three Raspinis. His parents had previously been part of the juggling act of the Four Zerbinis, and they trained Edoardo as a juggler, thus adding to the family’s package of offerings. By age fourteen, he was already an accomplished juggler; he made his solo debut in 1942, at Circus Mikkenie-Strassburger in Holland, with his beautiful sister, Elvira, as his assistant. Beside his amazing technical abilities, Edoardo was very charismatic and good-looking, which contributed to his success; he would later be known as "The Don Juan of the Ring."… ([[Edoardo Raspini|more...]])
  
 
==New Biographies==  
 
==New Biographies==  

Revision as of 22:26, 31 May 2016

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

In The Spotlight

Edoardo Raspini.jpg

EDOARDO RASPINI

Edoardo Raspini (1928-2015) was one of the great jugglers of the mid-twentieth century, one of the last proponents of the classical Italian style popularized by Enrico Rastelli. He was born in Russia on January 19, 1928 to Oreste and Tamara Raspini. The Raspinis were one of many old Italian circus families established in the Russian Empire prior to the Bolshevik Revolution—like the Truzzis and the Cinisellis, for instance. (Although his parents didn’t settle there, Rastelli was also born in Russia.) Tamara, Edoardo’s mother, was pure Russian.

Edoardo made his performing debut at age seven in his parents’ free ladderUnsupported vertical ladder on which acrobats perform balancing and/or juggling tricks. act, the Three Raspinis. His parents had previously been part of the juggling act of the Four Zerbinis, and they trained Edoardo as a juggler, thus adding to the family’s package of offerings. By age fourteen, he was already an accomplished juggler; he made his solo debut in 1942, at Circus Mikkenie-Strassburger in Holland, with his beautiful sister, Elvira, as his assistant. Beside his amazing technical abilities, Edoardo was very charismatic and good-looking, which contributed to his success; he would later be known as "The Don Juan of the Ring."… (more...)

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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
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