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 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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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:John_Bill_Ricketts.jpg|right|300px]]
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[[File:Miss_Mara_Poster_1962.jpg|right|350px]]
===JOHN BILL RICKETTS===
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===MISS MARA===
  
On April 3, 1793, a crowd of theatergoers, horsemanship enthusiasts, and prying citizens gathered at the corner of Market and Twelfth Streets in Philadelphia to witness the debut performance of Mr. John Bill Ricketts's company at the Circus. The Circus was a roofless arena of some eight-hundred seats (divided between pit and boxes) surrounding a circular riding space filled in with a mixture of soil and sawdust, forty-two feet in diameter—the ring.
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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.
  
The wooden construction had been erected in a matter of weeks by Ricketts, a British equestrian who had arrived from Scotland the previous year and had quickly established a riding school in Philadelphia, then the capital of the newly formed United States of America. Ricketts (1769-1802) had followed the example of [https://www.amazon.com/Philip-Astley-Horsemen-invented-Circus/dp/1984041312/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519686193&sr=8-1&keywords=Philip+astley+and+the+Horsemen Philip Astley], who had established just such a riding school in London in 1768, at the foot of Westminster Bridge, before creating there the first modern circus two years later.
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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.
  
Before long, a small group of performers from Ricketts's former British company joined him in Philadelphia. Among them were his brother Francis (1777-?), an equestrian and tumbler; Mr. Spinacuta, the rope-dancer, along with his wife, an attractive equestrienne who rode two horses at full gallop; Mr. McDonald, another tumbler who performed comic acrobatic intermezzos as the Clown; and Ricketts's pupil, young Master Strobach. The performance included a great many "feats of horsemanship," most of them presented by Ricketts himself, rope-dancing, some tumbling, and McDonald's acrobatic parodies. This was the first circus show ever put on in America. ([[John Bill Ricketts|more...]])
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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...]])
  
==New Biographies==
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==New Essays and Biographies==
  
* [[Annie Fratellini]], Clown, Circus Director
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* [[Alona Zhuravel]], Hand-Balancer
* [[Joel Baker]], Clown
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* [[George Carl]], Clown
* [[Irina Naumenko]], Hand Balancer
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* [[Cedric Walker]], Circus Owner
* [[The Owl and The Pussycat]], Trapeze Act
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* [[The Aragón Family]], Clown Dynasty
* [[Walter Nones]], Circus Director, Animal Trainer
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* [[Totti Alexis]], Clown
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Moshizuki_Video_(2018)|Yusaku Moshizuki]], Diabolo Act (2018)
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* [[Flying_Gonzalez_Video_(2024)|The Flying González]], flying trapeze (2024)
* [[Etaix_Fratellini_Video_(1975)|Pierre Etaix & Annie Fratellini]], Clowns (1975)
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* [[Gaston_%26_Roli_Video_(2017)|Gaston & Roli]], clown entrée (2017)
* [[Vasserot_Video_(c1970)|André Vasserot]], Horses at Liberty (c.1970)
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* [[Alona_Zhuravel_Video_(2019)|Alona Zhuravel]], Hand Balancer (2019)
* [[Barcode_Video_(2018)|Barcode Company]], Russian Barre (2018)
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* [[George_Carl_Video_(1988)|George Carl]], clown entrée (1988)
* [[2-Zen-O_Video_(2016)|Duo 2-Zen-O]], Aerial Hoops (2016)
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* [[George_Carl_Video_(1979)|George Carl]], clown entrée (1979)
  
==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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* [[BAC_Blumberg_Video_(1977)|''For A Moment You Fly'']], The First Season of The Big Apple Circus (1977)
* [[Anastasia_Dementieva_Video_(2017)|Anastasia Dementieva-Kornilova]] – Vadim Vernik Interview (2017)
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* [[Durov_Documentary_Video_(c.2000)|Vladimir Durov Documentary]] on Russian Television (c.2000)
* [[Freres_Knie_Video_(1962)|''Les Frères Knie'']], Documentary (1962)
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* [[Dolly_Jacobs_Interview_Video_(2018)|Dolly Jacobs Interview]] at The Ringling (2018)
* [[Jean_Richard_Video_(1979)|Jean Richard and Jean-Pierre Richard]] at the Cirque Jean Richard – Christian Boner Interview (1979)
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* [[Pinito_del_Oro_RTE_Video_(1970)|Pinito del Oro's Interview]] on Spanish Television (1970)
* [[Buster_Keaton_Video_(1947)|Jérôme Medrano about Buster Keaton]] at the Cirque Medrano (1947)
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* [[Eradze_Video_(2015)|Gia Eradze]]'s Interview on SSU TV (2015)
  
==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)
  
==A Message from the Editor==
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==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&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

Latest revision as of 02:07, 25 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

  • The Flying González, 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)
  • Gaston & Roli, clown entrée(French) Clown piece with a dramatic structure, generally in the form of a short story or scene. (2017)
  • 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)

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