Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

From Circopedia

 
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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/>
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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:110%;"> Circopedia was originally created with the support of [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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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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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
[[File:Luisita_Leers_portrait.jpg|right|250px]]
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[[File:Miss_Mara_Poster_1962.jpg|right|350px]]
===LUISITA LEERS===
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===MISS MARA===
  
Luisita Leers (1909-1997) was born Luise Krökel in Wiesbaden, Germany, on October 14, 1909. Her mother, Gertrude, was a member of the Reichenbach family. A physically powerful woman, she acquired fame with an elegant and unusual acrobatic act, Les Leandros, in which she was the under-stander. Luisita never knew her biological father, who left the family when she was only two years old. Her mother 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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María Papadópoulos y Vaquero (1934-2013) was born in 1934 in San Fernando, in the province of Cádiz, Spain, to Miro Papadópoulos Stavanovich, who had Greek ancestry but came from a Romanian family, and his wife, Remedios Vaquero Canela. María was the firstborn of a very large family: She had six brothers and one sister, and all her life she would assume a sort of matriarchal responsibility for her siblings, including her brother Antonio, known as Tonito, who became a celebrated acrobat on tight wire—before developing a famous tight wire duo, The Tonitos, with his brother Jorge.
  
Guido took care of Luisita's artistic education without too much tenderness and made of her an extraordinarily strong female athlete able to hold her own in the Leers-Arvellos's various exhibitions of strength. Luisita made her professional debut at age 11, on March 8, 1920 in Cologne (Köln), working with the troupe on the Roman rings. Soon, she was able to accomplish a one-arm "plange" and an "iron cross" (which were then supposed to belong exclusively to a male repertoire) and to hold with one arm her hanging stepfather. Meanwhile, she was building a solo trapeze act in which to display her unusual strength. She began her solo career in 1926.... ([[Luisita Leers|more...]])
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Mara, as she became known, made her debut in the ring at age five in 1939, in Cartagena, where she performed a small trapeze act in her father's circus, Circo Florida. A very strong girl, both physically and psychologically, Mara developed in time a remarkable trapeze act in which she did most of her work swinging—not a common presentation at the time. Her tricks included heel-catches, neck-hangs, and a slide to heel-catch in full swing, which had been a specialty of the great Australian trapeze artist Winnie Colleano. Mara worked at dizzying heights, without any safeguards.
  
==New Biographies==
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Mara's act was quite exceptional for its time—and would remain so for many years. In April 1945, the famous Spanish circus impresario, Juan Carcellé, noticed her at the Feria of Seville, where Circo Florida was performing. Three years later, when Miro Papadopoulos sold his circus to his brother, Cristóforo Cristo, Mara was free to strike out on her own. It was the beginning of a rich and brilliant international career.... ([[Miss Mara|more...]])
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* [[Zhejiang Acrobatic Troupe]], Chinese Acrobatics
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==New Essays and Biographies==
* [[Gene Mendez]], High Wire Artist
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* [[Franz Czeisler (Tihany)]], Magician, Circus Owner
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* [[Alona Zhuravel]], Hand-Balancer
* [[Cirque_Medrano_(Paris)|Circuses Fernando and Medrano]], History
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* [[George Carl]], Clown
* [[Kannan Bombayo]], Rope Dancer
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* [[Cedric Walker]], Circus Owner
 +
* [[The Aragón Family]], Clown Dynasty
 +
* [[Totti Alexis]], Clown
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Chris_Holt_Video_(1968)|Chris Holt]], Aerial Juggler (1968)
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* [[Alona_Zhuravel_Video_(2019)|Alona Zhuravel]], Hand Balancer (2019)
* [[Koziaks_Video_(1987)|The Koziaks]], Russian Barre (1987)
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* [[George_Carl_Video_(1988)|George Carl]], clown entrée (1988)
* [[Eros_Casartelli_Video_(1987)|Eros Casertelli]], Mixed Animal Act (1987)
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* [[George_Carl_Video_(1979)|George Carl]], clown entrée (1979)
* [[Catherine_Blankart_Video_(1974)|Catherine Blankart]], Tiger Act (1974)
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* [[George_Carl_Video_(1962)|George Carl]], clown entrée (1962)
* [[Doveiko_Troupe_Video_(1985)|The Doveiko Troupe]], Teeterboard and Russian Barre (1985)
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* [[Tabares_Video_(2024)|The Flying Tabares]], flying trapeze (2024)
  
==Featured Oral Histories==
+
==New Oral Histories==
  
* [[Jean_Richard_Video_(1979)|Jean Richard and Jean-Pierre Richard]] at the Cirque jean Richard - Christian Boner Interview (1979)
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* [[BAC_Blumberg_Video_(1977)|''For A Moment You Fly'']], The First Season of The Big Apple Circus (1977)
* [[Buster_Keaton_Video_(1947)|Jérôme Medrano about Buster Keaton]] at the Cirque Medrano (1947)
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* [[Durov_Documentary_Video_(c.2000)|Vladimir Durov Documentary]] on Russian Television (c.2000)
* [[Moira_Orfei_Video_(2012)|Moira Orfei]], Circus Owner - Davide Maggio Interview (2012)
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* [[Dolly_Jacobs_Interview_Video_(2018)|Dolly Jacobs Interview]] at The Ringling (2018)
* [[Oleg_Popov_Circus_Legends_Video_(2014)|Oleg Popov]], clown - Russian Television Feature (2014)
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* [[Pinito_del_Oro_RTE_Video_(1970)|Pinito del Oro's Interview]] on Spanish Television (1970)
* [[Albert_Fratellini_Interview_(1957)|Albert Fratellini]], clown - French Television Interview (1957)
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* [[Eradze_Video_(2015)|Gia Eradze]]'s Interview on SSU TV (2015)
  
==A Message from the Editor==
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==Circopedia Books==
  
''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&mdash;and sometimes daily&mdash;basis. So 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 Books|Philip Astley & The Horsemen who invented the Circus]], by Dominique Jando (2018)
  
:'''Dominique Jando'''
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==A Message from the Founder==
:Editor/Curator
+
  
* '''Circopedia''' has been named ''World's Best Circus Website'' by BEESKER ([http://www.beesker.com Beesker.com])
+
''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'''
 +
:Founder and Curator

Latest revision as of 00:41, 12 April 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

Miss Mara Poster 1962.jpg

MISS MARA

María Papadópoulos y Vaquero (1934-2013) was born in 1934 in San Fernando, in the province of Cádiz, Spain, to Miro Papadópoulos Stavanovich, who had Greek ancestry but came from a Romanian family, and his wife, Remedios Vaquero Canela. María was the firstborn of a very large family: She had six brothers and one sister, and all her life she would assume a sort of matriarchal responsibility for her siblings, including her brother Antonio, known as Tonito, who became a celebrated acrobat on tight wireA tight, light metallic cable, placed between two platforms not very far from the ground, on which a wire dancer perform dance steps, and acrobatic exercises such as somersaults. (Also: Low Wire)—before developing a famous tight wireA tight, light metallic cable, placed between two platforms not very far from the ground, on which a wire dancer perform dance steps, and acrobatic exercises such as somersaults. (Also: Low Wire) duo, The Tonitos, with his brother Jorge.

Mara, as she became known, made her debut in the ring at age five in 1939, in Cartagena, where she performed a small trapeze act in her father's circus, Circo Florida. A very strong girl, both physically and psychologically, Mara developed in time a remarkable trapeze act in which she did most of her work swinging—not a common presentation at the time. Her tricks included heel-catches, neck-hangs, and a slide to heel-catch in full swing, which had been a specialty of the great Australian trapeze artist Winnie Colleano. Mara worked at dizzying heights, without any safeguards.

Mara's act was quite exceptional for its time—and would remain so for many years. In April 1945, the famous Spanish circus impresario, Juan Carcellé, noticed her at the Feria of Seville, where Circo Florida was performing. Three years later, when Miro Papadopoulos sold his circus to his brother, Cristóforo Cristo, Mara was free to strike out on her own. It was the beginning of a rich and brilliant international career.... (more...)

New Essays and Biographies

New Videos

  • Alona Zhuravel, Hand Balancer (2019)
  • George Carl, clown entrée(French) Clown piece with a dramatic structure, generally in the form of a short story or scene. (1988)
  • George Carl, clown entrée(French) Clown piece with a dramatic structure, generally in the form of a short story or scene. (1979)
  • George Carl, clown entrée(French) Clown piece with a dramatic structure, generally in the form of a short story or scene. (1962)
  • The Flying Tabares, flying trapezeAerial act in which an acrobat is propelled from a trapeze to a catcher, or to another trapeze. (See also: Short-distance Flying Trapeze) (2024)

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