Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

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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:90%;"> Circopedia was originally created with the support of the [http://www.bigapplecircus.com/ Big Apple Circus]<br />and 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==
 
[[File:Dimitri_Knie_1979.jpg|right|300px]]
 
===DIMITRI===
 
  
Although he was mostly known internationally as a theater clown, Dimitri (1935-2016) had started his clown career in the ring of the legendary Cirque Medrano in Paris, and had been featured three times at Circus Knie in Switzerland and once at the Big Apple Circus in the United States. He had also inspired, and sometimes trained, many clowns who pursued a career in the circus and, therefore, he is indeed an important figure of circus history.
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==In The Spotlight==
  
Born Dimitri Jakob Müller on September 18, 1935 in Ascona, on the Lake Maggiore, near Locarno in Switzerland, Dimitri was a clown, as well as a director, actor, musician, folk singer, and also an artist who expressed himself in pottery, sculpture and painting. The recipient of several international awards and celebrated worldwide as an outstanding performer, he attained a rare international popularity for a clown, and was considered in Switzerland a cultural ambassador of his country.
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===MOIRA ORFEI===
 +
[[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.
  
With a solid background in post-war Europe's emerging physical theater community, he had a major influence in reshaping the western clown image. Merging traditional circus clown techniques and classic theatrical pantomime, while escaping the clichés attached to these two specialties, he gave a new legitimacy to the clown’s role in the contemporary culture, both on stage and in the ring.
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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.
  
Dimitri’s art was rooted in the ancient and versatile bases of true clown technique: Pantomime, acrobatics, dance, music, and even work with animals. His own research had led to an essential aesthetic of purity, discreetly balancing seemingly separate influences such as western clowning and pantomime, various ethnic traditions, popular rituals, Japanese theater, Commedia dell’ Arte, folk music, and storytelling. His talents as an artist and craftsman also helped him create a theatrical universe of remarkable fertility, conceiving the clown as a multi-faceted expression of life itself.... ([[Dimitri|more...]])
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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...]])
  
==New Biographies==
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==New Essays and Biographies==
  
* [[Kio]], Magician
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* [[Cedric Walker]], Circus Owner
* [[Dimitri]], Clown
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* [[The Aragón Family]], Clown Dynasty
* [[Oleg Popov]], Clown
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* [[Totti Alexis]], Clown
* [[The Steben Sisters]], Aerialists
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* [[Ross Mollison]], Circus Producer
* [[Gilbert Houcke]], Equestrian, Animal Trainer
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* [[Don Saunders]], Clown
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Popov_Video_(2015)|Oleg Popov]], Clown (2015)
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* [[Duo_Gold_Video_(2020)|Ambra & Yves Nicols]], Silks (2020)
* [[Abapalov_Video_(1953)|Abapalov Troupe]], Teeterboard Act (1953)
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* [[Mantchev_Trapeze_BAC_Video_(2012)|Andrey Mantchev]], Swinging Trapeze (2012)
* [[Igor_Kio_Video_(1969)|Igor Kio]], Magic Act (1969)
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* [[Roman_Tomanov_Video_(2021)|Roman Tomanov]], aerial straps (2021)
* [[Mercure_Video_(2019)|Nicole Faubert & Guillaume Paquin]], Strap Act (2019)
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* [[Marinoni_Video_(2024)|Marica Marinoni]], Cyr wheel (2024)  
* [[Hebei_Video_(1994)|Hebei Acrobatic Troupe]], Balancing Act (1994)
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* [[Monte_Carlo_Video_(2016)| International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo]], 40th Anniversary Gala (excerpts) (2016)
  
 
==New Oral Histories==
 
==New Oral Histories==
  
 +
* [[BAC_Blumberg_Video_(1977)|''For A Moment You Fly'']], The First Season of The Big Apple Circus (1977)
 
* [[Durov_Documentary_Video_(c.2000)|Vladimir Durov Documentary]] on Russian Television (c.2000)
 
* [[Durov_Documentary_Video_(c.2000)|Vladimir Durov Documentary]] on Russian Television (c.2000)
 
* [[Dolly_Jacobs_Interview_Video_(2018)|Dolly Jacobs Interview]] at The Ringling (2018)
 
* [[Dolly_Jacobs_Interview_Video_(2018)|Dolly Jacobs Interview]] at The Ringling (2018)
 
* [[Pinito_del_Oro_RTE_Video_(1970)|Pinito del Oro's Interview]] on Spanish Television (1970)
 
* [[Pinito_del_Oro_RTE_Video_(1970)|Pinito del Oro's Interview]] on Spanish Television (1970)
 
* [[Eradze_Video_(2015)|Gia Eradze]]'s Interview on SSU TV (2015)
 
* [[Eradze_Video_(2015)|Gia Eradze]]'s Interview on SSU TV (2015)
* [[Rosa_Bouglione_Video_(2012)|Rosa Bouglione]]'s interview on Franch Television (2012)
 
  
 
==Circopedia Books==
 
==Circopedia Books==
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* [[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==
+
==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 [[Circopedia:Contact|contact us]]: we will definitely consider your remarks and suggestions.''  
 
''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.''  

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