Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

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<div style="font-size:165%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Welcome! Bienvenue! Willkommen! Добро Пожаловать!</div><div style="font-size:165%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Bienvenida! Benvenuto! 歡迎 ! Vítejte! Καλώς ήρθατε!</div><div style="font-size:165%; 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/>
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<div style="font-size:165%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Welcome! Bienvenue! Willkommen! Добро Пожаловать!</div><div style="font-size:165%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Bienvenida! Benvenuto! 歡迎 ! Vítejte! Καλώς ήρθατε!</div><div style="font-size:165%; 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:110%;"> Circopedia is a project of the [http://www.bigapplecircus.org/ Big Apple Circus],<br />inspired and funded by the [http://www.sdrubin.org/ Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation].</div>
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<div style="top:+0.2em; font-size:110%;"> Circopedia was originally created with the support of the [http://www.bigapplecircus.com/ Big Apple Circus],<br />and has been inspired and funded by the [http://www.sdrubin.org/ Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation].</div>
 
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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
[[File:Bombayo_-_Bertram_Mills_Circus.jpeg|right|250px]]
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[[Image:Philip_Astley.jpg|right|250px|Philip Astley]]
===KANNAN BOMBAYO===
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===A SHORT HISTORY OF THE CIRCUS===
  
Between the two World Wars, in Europe and in America, the diminutive Indian acrobat Kannan Bombayo (1907-1939) was considered the world’s greatest acrobat on the bouncing rope—which indeed he was. His career, unfortunately, was meteoric: he was only thirty-two when he died on his return voyage to India. Still, his name holds a major place in Indian circus lore and legend, and in circus history in general: Not only was Kannan Bombayo incontestably the best in his specialty—he also introduced it to the West.
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If the history of theater, ballet, opera, vaudeville, movies, and television is generally well documented, serious studies of circus history are sparse, and known only to a few circus enthusiasts and scholars. What little the public at large knows, on the other hand, is circus history as told over the years by imaginative circus press agents, and repeated&mdash;and often misunderstood and distorted&mdash;by writers of popular fiction, Hollywood screenwriters, and journalists too busy to investigate further. One of the most popular misapprehensions about circus history is the oft-repeated idea that circus dates back to the Roman antiquity. But the Roman circus was in actuality the precursor of the modern racetrack; the only common denominator between Roman and modern circuses is the word itself, ''circus'', which means in Latin as in English, "circle".
  
Kannan Bombayo was born May 30, 1907 in Chirakkara, a borough of Tellicherry (today Thalassery), on the Malabar Coast, in the Indian state of Kerala. His father, Eerayi Korumban, struggled as a small farmer, and was not connected with the circus. In India, children’s names are different from their father’s; Kannan Bombayo’s birth name was N. P. Kunchikannan—the Indian contracted spelling of Kunchi Kannan: he became familiarly known as Kunchy.
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The modern circus was actually created in England by [https://www.amazon.com/dp/1984041312/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1517698824&sr=8-2&keywords=Philip+Astley+and+the+Horsemen Philip Astley] (1742-1814), a former cavalry Sergeant-Major turned showman. The son of a cabinet-maker and veneer-cutter, Astley had served in the Seven Years' War (1756-63) as part of Colonel Elliott's 15th Light Dragons regiment, where he displayed a remarkable talent as a horse-breaker and trainer. Upon his discharge, Astley chose to imitate the trick-riders who performed, with increasing success, all over Europe. Jacob Bates, an English equestrian based in the German States, who performed as far away as Russia (1764-65) and America (1772-73), was the first of these showmen to make a mark. Bates's emulators&mdash;Price, Johnson, Balp, Coningham, Faulkes, and "Old" Sampson&mdash;had become fixtures of London's pleasure gardens and provided Philip Astley with his inspiration. ([[SHORT HISTORY OF THE CIRCUS|more...]])
  
Kunchy’s place of birth had a definite impact on his life: Chirakkara was home to Keeleri Kunhikannan’s first Indian circus school. Considered the "Father of the Indian Circus", Keeleri Kunhikannan trained the first crop of India’s professional circus artists, several of whom went on to create their own shows, and the State of Kerala became known as "The Cradle of the Indian Circus." Furthermore, Keeleri was Kunchy’s uncle…. ([[Kannan Bombayo|more...]])
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==New Biographies==
  
==New Biographies==
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* [[Joel Baker]], Clown
 
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* [[Irina Naumenko]], Hand Balancer
* [[Kannan Bombayo]], Rope Dancer
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* [[The Owl and The Pussycat]], Trapeze Act
* [[Réjean St. Jules]], Juggler
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* [[Walter Nones]], Circus Director, Animal Trainer
* [[Les Bario]], Clowns
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* [[Norman Crider]], Juggler
* [[Edoardo Raspini]], Juggler
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* [[Italo Medini]], Juggler
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==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Flying_Tabares_Video_(2016)|The Flying Tabares]], Flying Trapeze (2016)
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* [[New_Dollies_Video_(1979)|The New Dollies]], Bicycle Act (1979)
* [[The_Mascotts_Video_(1964)|The Mascotts]], Balancing Act (1964)
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* [[Felice_Aguilar_Video_(2017)|Felice Aguilar]], Contortionist (2017)
* [[Evgeny_Slepukhin_Video_(2015)|Evgeny Slepukhin]], Slack Wire (2015)
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* [[Naraieva_Video_(2017)|Vladyslava Naraieva]], Hand Balancer (2017)
* [[John_Seidel_Video_(1972)|John Seidel]], Hand Balancer (1972)
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* [[Lidya_Doveiko_Video_(1972)|Lidya & Irina Doveiko and Mikhail Algin]], German Wheel (1972)
* [[Little_John_Video_(1954)|Little John]], Hand Balancer (1954)
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* [[Kelli_Ramazini_Video_(2018)|Kelli Ramazini]], Trapeze (2018)
  
 
==Featured Oral Histories==
 
==Featured Oral Histories==
  
* [[Moira_Orfei_Video_(2012)|Moira Orfei]], Circus Owner - Davide Maggio Interview (2012)
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* [[Circo_Price_Video_(2017)|A Short History of Madrid's Old Circo Price]], Circus History (1970)
* [[Oleg_Popov_Circus_Legends_Video_(2014)|Oleg Popov]], clown - Russian Television Feature (2014)
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* [[Anastasia_Dementieva_Video_(2017)|Anastasia Dementieva-Kornilova]] – Vadim Vernik Interview (2017)
* [[Albert_Fratellini_Interview_(1957)|Albert Fratellini]], clown - French Television Interview (1957)
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* [[Freres_Knie_Video_(1962)|''Les Frères Knie'']], Documentary (1962)
* [[Pavlenko_Interview_Video|Nikolai Pavlenko]], tiger trainer - Interview (RIA Novosti, 2012)
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* [[Jean_Richard_Video_(1979)|Jean Richard and Jean-Pierre Richard]] at the Cirque Jean Richard – Christian Boner Interview (1979)
* [[Alberto_Zoppé_Interview_2003|Alberto Zoppé]], Equestrian - Interview (McCutcheon & Distasio, 2003)
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* [[Buster_Keaton_Video_(1947)|Jérôme Medrano about Buster Keaton]] at the Cirque Medrano (1947)
  
 
==A Message from the Editor==
 
==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&mdash;and sometimes daily&mdash;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 [[Special:Contact|contact us]]: we will definitely consider your remarks and suggestions.''  
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''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 [[Special:Contact|contact us]]: we will definitely consider your remarks and suggestions.''  
  
 
:'''Dominique Jando'''
 
:'''Dominique Jando'''
:Editor/Curator
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:Founder and Curator

Revision as of 02:16, 14 February 2018

Welcome! ✫ Bienvenue! ✫ Willkommen! ✫ Добро Пожаловать!
Bienvenida! ✫ Benvenuto! ✫ 歡迎 ! ✫ Vítejte! ✫ Καλώς ήρθατε!
Üdvözöljük! ✫ Добре Дошли! ✫ Welkom! ✫ Ласкаво Просимо!
Velkommen! ✫ Tervetuloa! ✫ Дабро Запрашаем! ✫ Välkommen!

Circopedia was originally created with the support of the Big Apple Circus,
and has been inspired and funded by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.

In The Spotlight

Philip Astley

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE CIRCUS

If the history of theater, ballet, opera, vaudeville, movies, and television is generally well documented, serious studies of circus history are sparse, and known only to a few circus enthusiasts and scholars. What little the public at large knows, on the other hand, is circus history as told over the years by imaginative circus press agents, and repeated—and often misunderstood and distorted—by writers of popular fiction, Hollywood screenwriters, and journalists too busy to investigate further. One of the most popular misapprehensions about circus history is the oft-repeated idea that circus dates back to the Roman antiquity. But the Roman circus was in actuality the precursor of the modern racetrack; the only common denominator between Roman and modern circuses is the word itself, circus, which means in Latin as in English, "circle".

The modern circus was actually created in England by Philip Astley (1742-1814), a former cavalry Sergeant-Major turned showman. The son of a cabinet-maker and veneer-cutter, Astley had served in the Seven Years' War (1756-63) as part of Colonel Elliott's 15th Light Dragons regiment, where he displayed a remarkable talent as a horse-breaker and trainer. Upon his discharge, Astley chose to imitate the trickAny specific exercise in a circus act.-riders who performed, with increasing success, all over Europe. Jacob Bates, an English equestrian based in the German States, who performed as far away as Russia (1764-65) and America (1772-73), was the first of these showmen to make a mark. Bates's emulators—Price, Johnson, Balp, Coningham, Faulkes, and "Old" Sampson—had become fixtures of London's pleasure gardens and provided Philip Astley with his inspiration. (more...)

New Biographies

New Videos

Featured Oral Histories

A Message from the Editor

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—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