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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="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 was originally created with the support of [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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<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==
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[[Image:Philip_Astley.jpg|right|250px|Philip Astley]]
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===A SHORT HISTORY OF THE CIRCUS===
  
===ARTURO CASTILLA===
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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".
[[File:Arturo_Castilla.jpg|right|250px]]
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In post-WWII Europe, the Spanish impresario Arturo Castilla (1916-1996) was one of the most active and successful advocates of the circus’s integration into the modern entertainment industry. In this, he followed a few other visionary mavericks such as Jérôme Medrano and Bertram Mills, and preceded Jean Richard, Bernhard Paul, Pierrot Bidon, and others. Castilla’s major achievements were the introduction of theatrical aesthetics into the traveling circus performance, a modern approach to public relations and marketing, his foresight of the emerging sport arenas’ potential, and the pioneering of trans-national synergies between major European circuses.
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With his partner and brother-in-law, Manuel Feijóo (1897-1969), Castilla produced circus shows in Spain and abroad, managed the legendary Circo Price building in Madrid, organized circus festivals and congresses, and presented foreign circus companies in Spain. These activities, added to his remarkable talent at establishing connections with the media and the political establishment of Francisco Franco’s Spain, helped him build a conservative aesthetic of the circus as a celebration of diverse "national" identities, and as a tool for "cultural" propagandistic exchanges, which would be widely emulated.
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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...]])
 
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Arturo Castilla Rodriguez was born in Bilbao, Spain, on October 22, 1916. His father, Raimundo, was a journalist. Arturo was thirteen years old, in 1929, when Raimundo took him to see the colossal German circus Krone, which was visiting Bilbao. This visit triggered Arturo’s fascination with the circus world. Arturo Castilla eventually studied fine arts at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios de Atxuri, in Bilbao, and joined at the same time an amateur circus club. Circus eventually took precedence over painting, and Arturo formed a clown act with three old friends of his: Carlos Izquierdo, Pedro Talavera, and Esteban Galdós. Together, as the Hermanos Cape, they went on to perform for various Spanish circuses. (Clowns have always been very popular in Spain—a country that has produced over several generations a remarkable number of outstanding clown stars.).... ([[Arturo Castilla|more...]])
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==New Biographies==
 
==New Biographies==
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* [[Zhejiang Acrobatic Troupe]], Chinese Acrobatics
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* [[Joel Baker]], Clown
* [[Gene Mendez]], High Wire Artist
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* [[Irina Naumenko]], Hand Balancer
* [[Franz Czeisler (Tihany)]], Magician, Circus Owner
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* [[The Owl and The Pussycat]], Trapeze Act
* [[Cirque_Medrano_(Paris)|Circuses Fernando and Medrano]], History
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* [[Walter Nones]], Circus Director, Animal Trainer
* [[Kannan Bombayo]], Rope Dancer
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* [[Norman Crider]], Juggler
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Grigorov_and_Galavatskikh_Video_(2011)|Aleksei Grigorov & Marina Galavatskikh]], Aerial Lyra (2011)
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* [[New_Dollies_Video_(1979)|The New Dollies]], Bicycle Act (1979)
* [[Norman_Crider_Video_(1961)|Norman Crider]], Baton Twirler (1961)
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* [[Felice_Aguilar_Video_(2017)|Felice Aguilar]], Contortionist (2017)
* [[Freres_Knie_Video_(1962)|''Les Frères Knie'']], Documentary (1962)
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* [[Naraieva_Video_(2017)|Vladyslava Naraieva]], Hand Balancer (2017)
* [[Medifred_Video_(1967)|The Medifreds]], Jugglers (1967)
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* [[Lidya_Doveiko_Video_(1972)|Lidya & Irina Doveiko and Mikhail Algin]], German Wheel (1972)
* [[Flying_Vazquez_BAC_1991_Video|The Flying Vazquez]], Flying Trapeze (1991)
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* [[Kelli_Ramazini_Video_(2018)|Kelli Ramazini]], Trapeze (2018)
  
 
==Featured Oral Histories==
 
==Featured Oral Histories==
  
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* [[Circo_Price_Video_(2017)|A Short History of Madrid's Old Circo Price]], Circus History (1970)
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* [[Anastasia_Dementieva_Video_(2017)|Anastasia Dementieva-Kornilova]] – Vadim Vernik Interview (2017)
 
* [[Freres_Knie_Video_(1962)|''Les Frères Knie'']], Documentary (1962)
 
* [[Freres_Knie_Video_(1962)|''Les Frères Knie'']], Documentary (1962)
* [[Jean_Richard_Video_(1979)|Jean Richard and Jean-Pierre Richard]] at the Cirque jean Richard - Christian Boner Interview (1979)
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* [[Jean_Richard_Video_(1979)|Jean Richard and Jean-Pierre Richard]] at the Cirque Jean Richard Christian Boner Interview (1979)
 
* [[Buster_Keaton_Video_(1947)|Jérôme Medrano about Buster Keaton]] at the Cirque Medrano (1947)
 
* [[Buster_Keaton_Video_(1947)|Jérôme Medrano about Buster Keaton]] at the Cirque Medrano (1947)
* [[Moira_Orfei_Video_(2012)|Moira Orfei]], Circus Owner - Davide Maggio Interview (2012)
 
* [[Oleg_Popov_Circus_Legends_Video_(2014)|Oleg Popov]], clown - Russian Television Feature (2014)
 
  
 
==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
+
:Founder and Curator
 
+
* '''Circopedia''' has been named ''World's Best Circus Website'' by BEESKER ([http://www.beesker.com Beesker.com])
+

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