Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
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===ROB TORRES===
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===ELENA SERAFIMOVICH===
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[[File:Rob_Torres_-_MondoClowns.jpeg|right|400px]]Rob Torres (1973-2018) had become, in a few short years, one of the world's most successful clowns, working with equal success in the Americas, Asia, and Europe—where he was on his way to becoming a genuine star. His untimely death stopped short the brilliant career of a young, talented clown that had conquered the affection of a large international audience.
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Elena Serafimovich was born in Minsk, Belarus (then in the USSR) on February 18, 1972 in a family that was not connected with the circus: Both her parents worked for import-export companies. As a child, the mixture of dance and acrobatics that rhythmic gymnastics offers attracted her, and she started training at age six. She participated in many national competitions, and eventually obtained a Master degree in Rhythmic-Gymnastics.
  
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Rob Torres was born Robert Joseph Torres in Rockland County, New York, on September 10, 1973 to Marguerite and Efrein Torres. He had one sister, Allison, and two brothers, Thomas and Andrew. His parents later moved to Hillsdale, New Jersey, where Rob attended the Pascack Valley High School. Hillsdale was not far from Manhattan and the dazzling lights of Broadway: Rob developed a taste for performance and show business that would inform the rest of his life.  
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But Elena wanted to see the world, to go out of the confined atmosphere of the Soviet Union; so she did what many former gymnasts there did: she enrolled in Kiev’s State Institute of Variety and Circus Arts in Ukraine (still part of the Soviet Union at the time). The year was 1987. In 1989, she was hired as a top mounter in the famous perch-pole balancing act of Aleksei Sarach—although she was still technically a student of the school. She graduated as a "generalist" (a performer without a specific act) in 1991.  
  
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While in high school, he was a member of the cross-country track team and the marching band and he began to show his generous and compassionate nature; always ready to help and reach out, he was a member of the Hillsdale Boy Scout Troop and the United Methodist Church’s Youth Group, and he was a Peer Counselor. In 1990, he was inducted into the National Caring Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C. This warm side of his personality was fully visible in Rob Torres’s sensitive work as a performer.
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Elena worked with Sarach in the Soviet Union and on foreign tours of the "Moscow Circus" for eight years. Meanwhile, she had a desire to create an act of her own, and in 1993, she began to train on the aerial hoop, or cerceau—an apparatus that was ideal to showcase her amazing grace and flexibility. While doing so, she caught the attention of Tatiana Assovskaya, then director of SoyuzGosTsirk (later, RosGosTsirk), the Russian state central circus organization.
  
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In his teens, he became interested in juggling and magic and developed a love for the circus. In 1992 he joined Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Clown College in Venice, Florida, where he was trained in the traditional ways of American clowning. Upon graduation, he toured for three years with Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus, where he honed his comedic skills in front of large audiences and developed his juggling and acrobatic abilities with fellow performers.... ([[Rob Torres|more...]])
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With Assovskaya’s help, Elena further developed her act during a long engagement of the Moscow Circus with Circus Williams-Althoff in Germany, where she eventually premiered it in 1995. Her beautifully choreographed aerial presentation, combined with Elena’s natural grace and elegance, was an immediate sensation.... ([[Elena Serafimovich|more...]])
  
 
==New Biographies==
 
==New Biographies==

Revision as of 02:27, 1 July 2019

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

In The Spotlight

ELENA SERAFIMOVICH

Elena Serafimovich was born in Minsk, Belarus (then in the USSR) on February 18, 1972 in a family that was not connected with the circus: Both her parents worked for import-export companies. As a child, the mixture of dance and acrobatics that rhythmic gymnastics offers attracted her, and she started training at age six. She participated in many national competitions, and eventually obtained a Master degree in Rhythmic-Gymnastics.

But Elena wanted to see the world, to go out of the confined atmosphere of the Soviet Union; so she did what many former gymnasts there did: she enrolled in Kiev’s State Institute of Variety and Circus Arts in Ukraine (still part of the Soviet Union at the time). The year was 1987. In 1989, she was hired as a top mounterIn an acrobatic or balancing act, the performer who holds the top position (on a human column, for instance). in the famous perch-poleLong perch held vertically on a performer's shoulder or forehead, on the top of which an acrobat executes various balancing figures. balancing act of Aleksei Sarach—although she was still technically a student of the school. She graduated as a "generalist" (a performer without a specific act) in 1991.

Elena worked with Sarach in the Soviet Union and on foreign tours of the "Moscow Circus" for eight years. Meanwhile, she had a desire to create an act of her own, and in 1993, she began to train on the aerial hoopA heavy metallic hoop used as a variance of trapeze, usually with contortion moves. (Also called Cerceau.), or cerceau(French) See Aerial Hoop.—an apparatus that was ideal to showcase her amazing grace and flexibility. While doing so, she caught the attention of Tatiana Assovskaya, then director of SoyuzGosTsirk (later, RosGosTsirk), the Russian state central circus organization.

With Assovskaya’s help, Elena further developed her act during a long engagement of the Moscow Circus with Circus Williams-Althoff in Germany, where she eventually premiered it in 1995. Her beautifully choreographed aerial presentation, combined with Elena’s natural grace and elegance, was an immediate sensation.... (more...)

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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—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.

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