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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 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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<div style="top:+0.2em; font-size:90%;"> Circopedia was originally created with the support of the [http://www.bigapplecircus.com/ Big Apple Circus]<br />and 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:Chiarini_in_Japan.jpg|right|300px]]
 
===GIUSEPPE CHIARINI===
 
  
Giuseppe Chiarini (1823-1897) was perhaps the most influential circus director of the nineteenth century: During a professional career that spanned fifty-eight years, his extensive and incessant international tours led him from Europe to North and South America, to India and Asia, and down to Australia. In many places that had not yet been exposed to the circus, Chiarini’s was the first circus the locals had ever seen—and this exposure sometimes triggered there the creation of an indigenous circus inspired by Chiarini’s shows.
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===JAMES WASHINGTON MYERS===
  
Over the years, Chiarini performed for Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, Emperors Maximilian I of Mexico, Dom Pedro of Brazil, Mitsuhito of Japan, King Rama V of Siam, an assortment of Indian Rajahs, and for various government officials and politicians. His Royal Italian Circus&mdash;which could become Royal Spanish Circus when needed&mdash;was in fact an American enterprise based in California. A true circus man, Chiarini was indubitably a citizen of the world.
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Jim Myers (1823-1892) was an American equestrian and circus entrepreneur who began his career in the United States, went on to perform in Great Britain and subsequently became a very successful circus impresario in Europe—where the Great American Circus he created there toured extensively, and where he even established a resident circus in Paris.
  
Giuseppe Chiarini came from a large and ancient Italian family of traveling entertainers, whose first recorded appearance was at the Foire Saint-Laurent, one of France’s oldest fairs, in 1580. Many Chiarinis, more or less directly related to Giuseppe, have since been chronicled in popular entertainment and circus history—a very diverse crowd of acrobats, ropedancers, puppeteers, ballet dancers, and equestrians.
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[[File:Myers_Circus.png|right|400px]]Born James Washington Myers in Providence, Rhode Island in 1823, he was apprenticed at the tender age of nine to the equestrian and showman Aaron Turner (1790-1854). Like many young performers of that period, he adopted his teacher’s name when he debuted in the ring, and was billed for a time as a bareback rider and acrobat under the name of James Turner. By 1845, however, he had reverted to his own identity and, as Jim Myers, presented equestrian scenes in the manner of Andrew Ducrow in his mentor’s circus.
  
In his novel ''Die Vagabunden'' (1895) the German poet Karl von Holtei immortalized one of them, Francesco Chiarini; in the 1780s, this Chiarini managed a company of acrobats and puppeteers, and ran a very successful ''Théâtre d’Ombres Chinoises'' (shadow puppet theater). His daughter, Angélique, a celebrated equestrienne, had been featured in 1793 at the Amphithéâtre Franconi&mdash;the former Amphithéâtre Astley&mdash;in Paris, and later in the troupe of Jacques Tourniaire. ([[Giuseppe Chiarini|more...]])
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But Myers was an ambitious and enterprising young man, and in 1854, he entered a partnership with Henry P. Madigan (1815-1862), a fellow equestrian who had worked with him for Aaron Turner, and together they created the Myers & Madigan’s Railroad Circus. Myers worked as a clown in their show; he would later marry his partner’s daughter, Rose Madigan (1839-1907), a talented equestrienne in her own right, who was sixteen years his junior.
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The Myers & Madigan Railroad Circus, which was one of the earliest circuses traveling by rail, became Howes Menagerie and Myers & Madigan Circus in 1855, when the partners entered an association with Seth B. Howes (1815-1901)—himself a pioneer of the American traveling circus and a former associate of Aaron Turner. This combine was short-lived however, and the following year, Myers went on the road without partners, with his own Jim Myers’ Circus.
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European Travels.
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 +
This experience may not have been as successful as intended: In 1857, Jim rejoined Seth B. Howes as a performer, and went with Howes & Cushing Circus (owned by Seth B. Howes and Joseph Cushing) on to a tour of Great Britain, along with thirteen-year-old Rose Madigan—whom Myers would later marry in England. Advertised either as Great United-States Circus or Great American Circus, Howes & Cushing Circus was extremely successful in England and Scotland, fending off profitably a fierce competition with the English circus king, "Lord" John Sanger.... ([[James Washington Myers|more...]])
  
 
==New Biographies==
 
==New Biographies==
  
* [[Victor Fomine]], Acrobat, Circus Coach
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* [[William Vos]], Animal Trainer
* [[Annie Fratellini]], Clown, Circus Director
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* [[Jürg Jenny]], Animal Trainer
* [[Joel Baker]], Clown
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* [[Kio]], Magician
* [[Irina Naumenko]], Hand Balancer
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* [[Dimitri]], Clown
* [[The Owl and The Pussycat]], Trapeze Act
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* [[Oleg Popov]], Clown
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Osinskaya_Video_(1995)|Marina Osinskaya]], High Wire (1995)
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* [[Sasha_Pivaral_Video_(2014)|Sasha Pivaral]], Hand Balancer (2014)
* [[Nathhorst_Video_(1995)|Louise Nathhorst]], High School Act (1995)
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* [[Boris_Vorobiev_Video_(1981)|Lyubov & Boris Vorobiev]], Equestrian Pas-de-Deux (1981)
* [[Chy_Bao_Guy_Video_(1967)|Chy Bao Guy Troupe]], Chinese Acrobatics (1967)
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* [[Afanasiev_Video_(1983)|Afanasiev Troupe]], juggling Act(1983)
* [[Pyongyang_Juggling_Video_(2000)|Pyongyang Juggling Troupe]], Group Juggling (2000)
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* [[Segway_Video_(2019)|Duo Segway]], Hoverboard Balancing (2019)
* [[Irina_Zapashnaya_Video_(2000)|Irina Zapashnaya]], Sea Lion Act (2000)
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* [[Radokhov_Teeterboard_Video_(c1980)|Radokhov Troupe]], Teeterboard Act (1981)
  
==Featured Oral Histories==
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==New Oral Histories==
  
* [[Circo_Price_Video_(2017)|A Short History of Madrid's Old Circo Price]], Circus History (1970)
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* [[Durov_Documentary_Video_(c.2000)|Vladimir Durov Documentary]] on Russian Television (c.2000)
* [[Anastasia_Dementieva_Video_(2017)|Anastasia Dementieva-Kornilova]] – Vadim Vernik Interview (2017)
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* [[Dolly_Jacobs_Interview_Video_(2018)|Dolly Jacobs Interview]] at The Ringling (2018)
* [[Freres_Knie_Video_(1962)|''Les Frères Knie'']], Documentary (1962)
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* [[Pinito_del_Oro_RTE_Video_(1970)|Pinito del Oro's Interview]] on Spanish Television (1970)
* [[Jean_Richard_Video_(1979)|Jean Richard and Jean-Pierre Richard]] at the Cirque Jean Richard – Christian Boner Interview (1979)
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* [[Eradze_Video_(2015)|Gia Eradze]]'s Interview on SSU TV (2015)
* [[Buster_Keaton_Video_(1947)|Jérôme Medrano about Buster Keaton]] at the Cirque Medrano (1947)
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* [[Rosa_Bouglione_Video_(2012)|Rosa Bouglione]]'s interview on Franch Television (2012)
  
==Featured Circopedia Book==
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==Circopedia Books==
  
 
* [[Circopedia Books|Philip Astley & The Horsemen who invented the Circus]], by Dominique Jando (2018)
 
* [[Circopedia Books|Philip Astley & The Horsemen who invented the Circus]], by Dominique Jando (2018)
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==A Message from the Editor==
 
==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&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.''  
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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 [[Circopedia:Contact|contact us]]: we will definitely consider your remarks and suggestions.''  
  
 
:'''Dominique Jando'''
 
:'''Dominique Jando'''
 
:Founder and Curator
 
:Founder and Curator

Revision as of 22:48, 20 February 2020

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 inspired and funded by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.

In The Spotlight

JAMES WASHINGTON MYERS

Jim Myers (1823-1892) was an American equestrian and circus entrepreneur who began his career in the United States, went on to perform in Great Britain and subsequently became a very successful circus impresario in Europe—where the Great American Circus he created there toured extensively, and where he even established a resident circus in Paris.

Myers Circus.png
Born James Washington Myers in Providence, Rhode Island in 1823, he was apprenticed at the tender age of nine to the equestrian and showman Aaron Turner (1790-1854). Like many young performers of that period, he adopted his teacher’s name when he debuted in the ring, and was billed for a time as a bareback rider and acrobat under the name of James Turner. By 1845, however, he had reverted to his own identity and, as Jim Myers, presented equestrian scenes in the manner of Andrew Ducrow in his mentor’s circus.

But Myers was an ambitious and enterprising young man, and in 1854, he entered a partnership with Henry P. Madigan (1815-1862), a fellow equestrian who had worked with him for Aaron Turner, and together they created the Myers & Madigan’s Railroad Circus. Myers worked as a clown in their show; he would later marry his partner’s daughter, Rose Madigan (1839-1907), a talented equestrienneA female equestrian, or horse trainer, horse presenter, or acrobat on horseback. in her own right, who was sixteen years his junior.

The Myers & Madigan Railroad Circus, which was one of the earliest circuses traveling by rail, became Howes Menagerie and Myers & Madigan Circus in 1855, when the partners entered an association with Seth B. Howes (1815-1901)—himself a pioneer of the American traveling circus and a former associate of Aaron Turner. This combine was short-lived however, and the following year, Myers went on the road without partners, with his own Jim Myers’ Circus. European Travels.

This experience may not have been as successful as intended: In 1857, Jim rejoined Seth B. Howes as a performer, and went with Howes & Cushing Circus (owned by Seth B. Howes and Joseph Cushing) on to a tour of Great Britain, along with thirteen-year-old Rose Madigan—whom Myers would later marry in England. Advertised either as Great United-States Circus or Great American Circus, Howes & Cushing Circus was extremely successful in England and Scotland, fending off profitably a fierce competition with the English circus king, "Lord" John Sanger.... (more...)

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