Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

From Circopedia

 
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<div style="font-size:162%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#000;">Welcome to Circopedia,</div>
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<br><div style="font-size:175%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Welcome! ✫ Bienvenue! ✫ Willkommen! ✫ Добро Пожаловать!</div><div style="font-size:175%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Bienvenida! ✫ Benvenuto! ✫ 歡迎 ! ✫ Vítejte! ✫ Καλώς ήρθατ
<div style="top:+0.2em; font-size:95%;">the free encyclopedia of the international circus. A project of the Big Apple Circus,<br />inspired and funded by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.</div>
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ε!</div><div style="font-size:175%; 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/>
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<div style="top:+0.2em; font-size:98%;"> ''Circopedia was originally inspired and funded by the [http://www.sdrubin.org/ Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation]''.</div><br/>
  
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*[[:Category:Artists and Acts|Artists and Acts]]
 
*[[:Category:Circus Arts|Circus Arts]]
 
*[[:Category:Circuses|Circuses]]
 
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*[[:Category:Oral History|Oral History]]
 
*[[:Category:Photo Archive|Photo Archive]]
 
*[[:Category:Video Archive|Video Archive]]
 
 
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==In The Spotlight==
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===MOIRA ORFEI===
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[[File:Moira_Orfei_and_elephants.jpg|right|400px]]
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Moira Orfei (born Miranda Orfei, 1931-2015) was an Italian pop-culture icon. A member of Italy's most famous circus family, she could compete in fame with any Italian music or movie legend. She was undoubtedly the only circus owner in the world who could get away (for forty years, no less!) with advertising her circus using posters that prominently displayed only her head shot and her first name. Much of her reputation was due to her long movie career, which coincided with the golden age of Italian cinema. But it was also due to the quality of her circus.
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The daughter of Riccardo Orfei and Violetta Arata, she was born in the family's living trailer on December 21, 1931 in Codriopo, Italy. As a child, Moira was trained in all the basic circus disciplines. In 1960&mdash;without ever leaving the circus&mdash;she began a movie career. Ultimately, she appeared in nearly forty films, including popular Italian comedies and a host of internationally successful Italian productions based on mythological themes, such as the ''Hercules'', ''Ursus'', and ''Samson'' series.
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In 1961, she married the acrobat Walter Nones (1934-2016), the son of Giuseppe Nones and Adele Medini. A year later, they formed a company with the Austrian Swoboda sisters (of the Medrano-Swoboda circus) and began a long career as circus owners and directors. A year after that, the Orfeis and the Swobodas parted ways. Moira and Walter went on to create their own Circo Moira Orfei, which quickly drew attention, both for the elegance of its productions and its infrastructures and, above all, for the high quality of its acts.
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Moira and Walter launched the monumental ''Circo sul Ghiaccio'' ("Circus on Ice") in 1969. It was easily the most sophisticated circus-on-ice show ever undertaken; it had both a circus ring and a skating rink, and the show included elaborate set changes, a huge variety of costumes, and an international cast of circus and variety megastars. During this period, Moira's elephant presentations made her a legend, while Walter became an excellent lion and tiger trainer.... ([[Moira Orfei|more...]])
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==New Essays and Biographies==
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* [[Cedric Walker]], Circus Owner
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* [[The Aragón Family]], Clown Dynasty
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* [[Totti Alexis]], Clown
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* [[Ross Mollison]], Circus Producer
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* [[Don Saunders]], Clown
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==New Videos==
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* [[Duo_Gold_Video_(2020)|Ambra & Yves Nicols]], Silks (2020)
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* [[Mantchev_Trapeze_BAC_Video_(2012)|Andrey Mantchev]], Swinging Trapeze (2012)
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* [[Roman_Tomanov_Video_(2021)|Roman Tomanov]], aerial straps (2021)
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* [[Marinoni_Video_(2024)|Marica Marinoni]], Cyr wheel (2024)
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* [[Monte_Carlo_Video_(2016)| International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], 40th Anniversary Gala (excerpts) (2016)
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==New Oral Histories==
  
==Featured Performer==
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* [[BAC_Blumberg_Video_(1977)|''For A Moment You Fly'']], The First Season of The Big Apple Circus (1977)
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* [[Durov_Documentary_Video_(c.2000)|Vladimir Durov Documentary]] on Russian Television (c.2000)
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* [[Dolly_Jacobs_Interview_Video_(2018)|Dolly Jacobs Interview]] at The Ringling (2018)
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* [[Pinito_del_Oro_RTE_Video_(1970)|Pinito del Oro's Interview]] on Spanish Television (1970)
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* [[Eradze_Video_(2015)|Gia Eradze]]'s Interview on SSU TV (2015)
  
[[Image:KremoThreeHats.jpg|right|thumb|100px|Kremo w/3 Hats]]
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==Circopedia Books==
  
===[[Kris Kremo]]===
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* [[Circopedia Books|Philip Astley & The Horsemen who invented the Circus]], by Dominique Jando (2018)
A true juggling legend, Kristian (Kris) Gaston Kremo was born in Paris in 1951, the son of Béla Kremo, a former icarist whose "Gentleman Juggler" act was famous the world over, and his wife Marianne, née Kalbitz, both Swiss citizens. Kris went to school in Switzerland, often joining during his summer vacations the circuses his father toured with. There he learned various circus disciplines, which he performed with other circus kids in amateur shows&mdash;and there his father began training him as a juggler, discouraging him to pursue an acrobatic career. Kris's juggling education was carried out the rest of the year through written instructions his father sent him by mail. (Béla Kremo checked his son's progress each time he returned home.) [[Kris Kremo|more...]]
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==Recent Biographies==
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==A Message from the Founder==
*[[Moira Orfei]]
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*[[‎Liana Orfei]]
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*[[Paulina Schumann]]
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*[[Katja Schumann]]
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*[[Lou Jacobs]]
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*[[Philip Astley]]
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==Featured Oral Histories==
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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.''
*[[Barry Lubin Interview 2008|Barry Lubin (Grandma) Interview (Jando 2008)]]
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*[[Fumagalli Interview 2008|Fumagalli Interview (Jando 2008)]]
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*[[Kris Kremo Interview 2007|Kris Kremo Interview (Jando 2007)]]
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*[[Yasmine Smart Interview 2007|Yasmine Smart Interview (Jando 2007)]]
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==Featured Essays and Video Acts==
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:'''Dominique Jando'''
*[[Short History of the Circus|A Short History of the Circus]]
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:Founder and Curator
*[[Dobrovitskaya and Yanovskis BAC 2004 Video|Regina Dobrovitskaya & Valdis Yanovskis, Aerial Perch, Big Apple Circus, Picturesque, 2004-2005.]]
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Latest revision as of 21:45, 25 March 2024


Welcome! ✫ Bienvenue! ✫ Willkommen! ✫ Добро Пожаловать!
Bienvenida! ✫ Benvenuto! ✫ 歡迎 ! ✫ Vítejte! ✫ Καλώς ήρθατ ε!
Üdvözöljük! ✫ Добре Дошли! ✫ Welkom! ✫ Ласкаво Просимо!
Velkommen! ✫ Tervetuloa! ✫ Дабро Запрашаем! ✫ Välkommen!

Circopedia was originally inspired and funded by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.

In The Spotlight

MOIRA ORFEI

Moira Orfei and elephants.jpg

Moira Orfei (born Miranda Orfei, 1931-2015) was an Italian pop-culture icon. A member of Italy's most famous circus family, she could compete in fame with any Italian music or movie legend. She was undoubtedly the only circus owner in the world who could get away (for forty years, no less!) with advertising her circus using posters that prominently displayed only her head shot and her first name. Much of her reputation was due to her long movie career, which coincided with the golden age of Italian cinema. But it was also due to the quality of her circus.

The daughter of Riccardo Orfei and Violetta Arata, she was born in the family's living trailer on December 21, 1931 in Codriopo, Italy. As a child, Moira was trained in all the basic circus disciplines. In 1960—without ever leaving the circus—she began a movie career. Ultimately, she appeared in nearly forty films, including popular Italian comedies and a host of internationally successful Italian productions based on mythological themes, such as the Hercules, Ursus, and Samson series.

In 1961, she married the acrobat Walter Nones (1934-2016), the son of Giuseppe Nones and Adele Medini. A year later, they formed a company with the Austrian Swoboda sisters (of the Medrano-Swoboda circus) and began a long career as circus owners and directors. A year after that, the Orfeis and the Swobodas parted ways. Moira and Walter went on to create their own Circo Moira Orfei, which quickly drew attention, both for the elegance of its productions and its infrastructures and, above all, for the high quality of its acts.

Moira and Walter launched the monumental Circo sul Ghiaccio ("Circus on Ice") in 1969. It was easily the most sophisticated circus-on-ice show ever undertaken; it had both a circus ring and a skating rink, and the show included elaborate set changes, a huge variety of costumes, and an international cast of circus and variety megastars. During this period, Moira's elephant presentations made her a legend, while Walter became an excellent lion and tiger trainer.... (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