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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
[[File:Oleg_Popov_Tent_Background.jpeg|right|300px]]
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[[File:Lola_Dobritch_GSOE.jpg|right|400px]]
===OLEG POPOV===
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===LOLA DOBRITCH===
From the second half of the twentieth century to the first decades of the twenty-first century, Oleg Popov (1930-2016) was perhaps the most recognizable clown name in the world. Popov was, during his Russian career when he toured the world with the Moscow Circus, the Soviet Union’s de facto "Goodwill Ambassador." After the fall of the Soviet Union, with Russia in turmoil, he decided to settle in Germany, where he toured for a while with his own ''Moscow Circus''. Yet, his return to Russia in 2015, for the first (and short-lived) Master Festival in Sochi, became a national cultural event of first magnitude.
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A fourth-generation circus performer (through her mother), Lola Dobritch (1922-2008) was one of the great tight-wire artists of the mid-twentieth century, famous for crossing her wire on her toes like a ballerina—still a rare feat in her times—which, along with her natural grace and her use of a feather fan instead of an umbrella for balancing, won her to be advertised as "The Pavlova of the Silver Strand."
  
Oleg Konstantinovich Popov was born on July 31, 1930 in the small village of Vyrubov, in the Kuntsevo District of the Moscow Region. (Today, the village has become part of an urban settlement.) When Oleg was about five years old, his parents moved to Moscow, where his grandparents lived. They settled in an apartment on Leningradsky Avenue, near the old Dynamo Central Stadium. Oleg’s father, Konstantin, made a living as a watch repairman. According to Oleg, he drank heavily—which unfortunately was not a rare occurrence in Russia then.
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She was born Vera Dobrich—the correct English spelling of her name—on October 14, 1922 in Sofia, Bulgaria, to Alexandre and Anna Dobrich. Alexandre and his brother, Lazar (1881-1970), owned the Royal Dobrich Circus in Bulgaria. "Lola," as Vera would become known (she was often featured as "Miss Lola"), learned all traditional circus disciplines from her parents and took ballet classes in Sofia, before specializing as a tight-wire dancer. She made her debut on the wire at age ten, in 1932, in the family circus.
  
In 1941, when Oleg was eleven years old, his father was arrested for unknown reasons. Two years later, in 1943, the family learned that he had died, probably one of the many victims of Stalin’s purges. This situation, added to war privations, had put Oleg’s mother in a dire financial state and, at age thirteen, he had to leave school and get a job to help her. He found a place as an apprentice mechanic in the printing plant of the Communist Party’s daily, ''Pravda'', which was the Soviet era’s newspaper of record.  
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In 1946, Lola Dobritch married the German acrobat on unicycle Emil Goetschi (1921-2002), whose remarkable novelty act with brothers Carl and Hans was well known all over Europe, and she became part of the Goetschis’ act while continuing to perform her own tight-wire act. The following year, 1947, the Goetschis signed a contract for their two acts with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and went to the United States.... ([[Lola Dobritch|more...]])
  
Young Oleg was a very physical kid. Living near the Dynamo Stadium, he had taken a strong interest in football (soccer). The Dynamo Sports Society (which was affiliated with the KGB) was home to the famous Dynamo Football Club, Moscow’s celebrated team, and every day, Oleg and his friends tried to emulate its star players in their building’s courtyard.  Then, when he began working at the Pravda plant, he joined the ''Krilya Sovietov'' (Крылья Советов, "Wings of the Soviets") gymnastics club, where he started training in basic acrobatics.... ([[Oleg Popov|more...]])
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==Circopedia Award==
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* The 2019 [[Circopedia Award|Circopedia Award for Excellence in The Circus Arts]] has been presented to the [[The Knie Dynasty|Knie Family]] on October 5, 2019 in Lausanne, Switzerland.
  
 
==New Biographies==
 
==New Biographies==
  
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* [[Dimitri]], Clown
 
* [[Oleg Popov]], Clown
 
* [[Oleg Popov]], Clown
 
* [[The Steben Sisters]], Aerialists
 
* [[The Steben Sisters]], Aerialists
 
* [[Gilbert Houcke]], Equestrian, Animal Trainer
 
* [[Gilbert Houcke]], Equestrian, Animal Trainer
 
* [[Alisher Aliyev]], Acrobat, Equestrian, Aerialist
 
* [[Alisher Aliyev]], Acrobat, Equestrian, Aerialist
* [[Gia Eradze]], Circus Director, Animal Trainer
 
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Bubnova_Video_(1953)|Elena Bubnova Troupe]], Aerial Act (1953)
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* [[Nikolaev_Video_(1953)|Nikolaev Troupe]], Horizontal Bars (1953)
* [[Fudi_Video_(1981)|Suzanne & Fudi]], Jugglers (1981)
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* [[Hamzayev_Video_(2004)|Araz Hamzayev]], Contortionist (2014)
* [[Isabella_Enoch_Video_(1985)|Isabella Enoch]], Trapeze Act (1985)
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* [[Elfie_Video_(2004)|Aurélie]], Hand Balancer (2004)
* [[Linda Van Gool Video (1985)|Linda Van Gool]], Trapeze Act (1985)
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* [[China_Troupe_Hand-to-Hand_Video_(2015)|China Acrobatic Troupe]], Hand-To-Hand Balancing (2015)
* [[Zalewski_Video_(1985)|Duo Zalewski]], Perch-Pole Balancing (1985)
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* [[Sidorkina_Bear_Video_(1953)|Irina Sidorkina]], Bear Act (1953)
  
 
==New Oral Histories==
 
==New Oral Histories==

Revision as of 22:18, 15 October 2019

Welcome! ✫ Bienvenue! ✫ Willkommen! ✫ Добро Пожаловать!
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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

Lola Dobritch GSOE.jpg

LOLA DOBRITCH

A fourth-generation circus performer (through her mother), Lola Dobritch (1922-2008) was one of the great tight-wire artists of the mid-twentieth century, famous for crossing her wire on her toes like a ballerina—still a rare feat in her times—which, along with her natural grace and her use of a feather fan instead of an umbrella for balancing, won her to be advertised as "The Pavlova of the Silver Strand."

She was born Vera Dobrich—the correct English spelling of her name—on October 14, 1922 in Sofia, Bulgaria, to Alexandre and Anna Dobrich. Alexandre and his brother, Lazar (1881-1970), owned the Royal Dobrich Circus in Bulgaria. "Lola," as Vera would become known (she was often featured as "Miss Lola"), learned all traditional circus disciplines from her parents and took ballet classes in Sofia, before specializing as a tight-wire dancer. She made her debut on the wire at age ten, in 1932, in the family circus.

In 1946, Lola Dobritch married the German acrobat on unicycle Emil Goetschi (1921-2002), whose remarkable novelty act with brothers Carl and Hans was well known all over Europe, and she became part of the Goetschis’ act while continuing to perform her own tight-wire act. The following year, 1947, the Goetschis signed a contract for their two acts with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and went to the United States.... (more...)

Circopedia Award

New Biographies

New Videos

New Oral Histories

Circopedia Books

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