Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

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==In the Spotlight==
 
==In the Spotlight==
  
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===THE INDIAN CIRCUS===  
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===GIUSEPPE CHIARINI===  
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In recent years, the Indian circus has acquired a rather unsavory reputation abroad. Stories of children abducted or bought and forced into bondage, training in horrifying conditions and performing to enrich their "owner"—the circus proprietor—have surfaced in the Western press. Indeed, in a country where the level of extreme poverty is still fairly high, a few traveling circus entrepreneurs may have resorted to methods that have fortunately vanished more than a century ago in the western world. By and large, Indian circus entrepreneurs have also maintained the belief that there are "secrets of the trade" in the training of circus acrobats and circus animals, which has certainly contributed to the dubious reputation of an industry that is often seen as marginal, and not well adapted to the modern world. Today, the traditional Indian circus suffers from a sharp decline in attendance, while foreign circus companies (mostly Russian) visiting the region, or traveling with Indian circuses, still attract a large public. ([[The Indian Circus|more...]])
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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 Circus was the first circus the locals ever saw—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, Mitsuhito of Japan, King Rama V of Siam, and an assortment of Indian Radjahs and state officials. 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|more...]])
  
 
==New Biographies==
 
==New Biographies==

Revision as of 05:21, 31 May 2010

Welcome to Circopedia,
the free encyclopedia of the international circus.
A project of the Big Apple Circus,
inspired and funded by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.


In the Spotlight

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 Circus was the first circus the locals ever saw—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, Mitsuhito of Japan, King Rama V of Siam, and an assortment of Indian Radjahs and state officials. 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. (more...)

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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—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!
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