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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
[[File:Luisita_Leers_trap.jpg|300px|right]]
 
===LUISITA LEERS===
 
  
Luisita Leers (1909-1997) was born Martha Luise Krökel in Wiesbaden, in the western state of Hesse in Germany, on October 14, 1909. Her mother, Gertrude, was a member of the Reichenbach circus family. A physically powerful woman, she acquired fame with an elegant and spectacular acrobatic act, Les Leandros, in which she was the under-stander—an unusual occurrence for a woman. Luisita never knew her biological father, who left Gertrude when Luisita was only two years old. Her mother eventually remarried with Guido Krökel, an aerial contortionist who worked with the Leers-Arvello Troupe; their act, which combined Roman Rings and acrobatic pyramids, was mostly an aerial display of strength.
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===GIUSEPPE CHIARINI===
  
Guido took care of Luisita's artistic education without much tenderness, and transformed her into an exceptionally strong female athlete, who was able to hold her own in the Leers-Arvellos's various exhibitions of strength. Luisita made her professional debut on March 8, 1920 in Cologne (Köln), working with the troupe on the Roman rings. She was eleven years old! Soon, she could perform a one-arm "plange" (or ''planche'') and an "iron cross," which were then supposed to belong exclusively to a male repertoire, and she even held with one arm her hanging stepfather. Meanwhile, she was building a trapeze act of her own, in which she could display her unusual strength. She began her solo trapeze career in 1926.
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[[File:Chiarini_Utagawa-Masanobu_(4).jpg|right|400px]]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.
  
Her remarkable work on the trapeze quickly drew attention, and she was featured in some of the world's most prestigious circuses and variety theaters, from the legendary Wintergarten and Scala in Berlin to the Roxy, New York's premier movie palace, and a four-year contract with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus from 1928 through 1933. There, she occupied a center-ring position in a program that was particularly rich in stellar aerialists: It included Winnie Colleano on the swinging trapeze, the Codonas and the Siegrist-Silbons on the flying trapeze, and the undisputed star of the show, Lillian Leitzel, on the Roman rings.... ([[Luisita Leers|more...]])
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Over the years, Chiarini performed for Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, Emperors Maximilian I of Mexico, Dom Pedro of Brazil, and Mitsuhito of Japan, King Rama V of Siam, an assortment of Indian Rajahs, and for various government officials and politicians. His ''Royal Italian Circus''—which could become ''Royal Spanish Circus'' when needed—was in fact an American enterprise based in California. A true circus man, Chiarini was indubitably a citizen of the world.
  
==Tribute==
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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.
  
* Video: [[Jigalova_Video_(2003)|Natalia Jigalova]], swinging trapeze (2003)
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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—the former Amphithéâtre Astley—in Paris, and later in the troupe of Jacques Tourniaire.... ([[Giuseppe Chiarini|more...]])
  
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
  
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* [[Circus Ring of Fame]], History
 +
* [[Natalya Jigalova]], Aerialist
 
* [[Guangzhou Acrobatic Troupe]], History
 
* [[Guangzhou Acrobatic Troupe]], History
 
* [[Irina Bugrimova]], Lion Trainer
 
* [[Irina Bugrimova]], Lion Trainer
 
* [[Mikhail Shuydin]], Clown
 
* [[Mikhail Shuydin]], Clown
* [[Yury Nikulin]], Clown, Actor, Circus Director
 
* [[Serge]], Circus Chronicler and Illustrator
 
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Iriston_Video_(2007)|Iriston Troupe]], Cossack riding (2007)
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* [[Mosiienko_Video_(2022)|Olha Mosiienko]], Tissu (2022)
* [[Sacha_Houcke_Sr_Video_(1973)|Sacha Houcke, Sr.]], liberty act (1973)
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* [[Holler_Zavatta_Video_(2022)|Kimberly & Holler Zavatta]], roller-skating act (2022)
* [[Sacha_Houcke_Video_(1990)|Sacha Houcke]], liberty act (1990)
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* [[Kurales_Video_(2015)|Kurales Troupe]], tumbling act (2015)
* [[Andrew_and_Jacqueline_video_(1987)|Andrew & Jacqueline]], aerial cradle (1987)
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* [[Twirling_Girls_Video_(2022)|The Twirling Girls]], roller-skating act (2022)
* [[Li_Wei_Video_(2008)|Li Wei]], Slack Wire (2008)
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* [[Sarach_Video_(2019)|Maria Sarach]], hand-balancer/contortionist (2019)
  
 
==New Oral Histories==
 
==New Oral Histories==

Revision as of 20:14, 25 September 2022

Welcome! ✫ Bienvenue! ✫ Willkommen! ✫ Добро Пожаловать!
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Circopedia was originally inspired and funded by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.

In The Spotlight

GIUSEPPE CHIARINI

Chiarini Utagawa-Masanobu (4).jpg
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.

Over the years, Chiarini performed for Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, Emperors Maximilian I of Mexico, Dom Pedro of Brazil, and Mitsuhito of Japan, King Rama V of Siam, an assortment of Indian Rajahs, and for various government officials and politicians. His Royal Italian Circus—which could become Royal Spanish Circus when needed—was in fact an American enterprise based in California. A true circus man, Chiarini was indubitably a citizen of the world.

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.

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 equestrienneA female equestrian, or horse trainer, horse presenter, or acrobat on horseback., had been featured in 1793 at the Amphithéâtre Franconi—the former Amphithéâtre Astley—in Paris, and later in the troupe of Jacques Tourniaire.... (more...)

New Essays and Biographies

New Videos

New Oral Histories

Circopedia Books

A Message from the Founder

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