Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

From Circopedia

 
(440 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 9: Line 9:
 
{| style="width:100%; border:solid 0px; background:none;"
 
{| style="width:100%; border:solid 0px; background:none;"
 
|style="width:500px; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap; color:#000;"|
 
|style="width:500px; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap; color:#000;"|
<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 ήρθατε!</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/>
+
<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:98%;"> ''Circopedia was originally created with the support of the  Big Apple Circus Ltd. and inspired and funded by the [http://www.sdrubin.org/ Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation]''.</div><br/>
+
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/>
 +
<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/>
 +
 
 
|}
 
|}
 
|}
 
|}
  
 
==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
 +
[[File:Miss_Mara_Poster_1962.jpg|right|350px]]
 +
===MISS MARA===
  
===BAPTISTE LOISSET===
+
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.
[[File:Baptiste_Loisset.jpg|right|300px]]Baptiste Loisset (1797-1863) was, in the first half of the nineteenth century, one of Europe’s greatest equestrians and circus directors, a major figure in the circus world. He was one of the first horsemen to perform a somersault on horseback (on a "panneau," or flat saddle), and both his reputation and his knowledge of horsemanship led him to finish his brilliant career in the position of director of the royal riding academy at The Hague in the Netherlands—a country this Frenchman called home for most of his professional life.
+
 
+
He was born Jean-Baptiste Antoine Loisset on November 28, 1797 (according to his Dutch marriage certificate) in Charleville (today Charleville-Mézières), in the department of Ardennes in France’s northeast region. However, popular biographies have placed his birth in Strasbourg, in the French province of Alsace, either on November 11 of that same year, or on August 9, 1793 (according to Signor Saltarino in his biographical dictionary, ''Pauvres Saltimbanques''). Where those latter dates come from is everybody’s guess.
+
  
Charleville was, then as now, an industrial city, and its economy was based upon slate and coal and the hardware needed for these industries&mdash;notably iron nails. Baptiste’s parents were François Loisset, whose occupation was recorded as "nailsmith" in official documents, and Magdaleine, née Hugot. Circus lore, however, usually makes François Loisset an officer in Napoléon’s army, and has him wounded either at the battle of Wagram (1809) or at the battle of Marengo (1800).
+
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.
  
The former assertion is not credible since the story also says that Baptiste lost his mother to yellow fever when he was four years old, and his father the following year—which would place François Loisset’s death in 1802 at the latest, seven years before the battle of Wagram. One may surmise that there has been some confusion between the elder Loissets: Baptiste’s uncle (François’s brother) served in Napoléon’s army, was wounded near Alessandria, in Piedmont, at the battle of Marengo, and is said to have settled thereafter in that Italian city.... ([[Baptiste Loisset|more...]])
+
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 Essays and Biographies==
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
  
* [[Barbette]], Trapeze and Tightwire Artist
+
* [[Alona Zhuravel]], Hand-Balancer
* [[Pablo Noel]], Animal Trainer
+
* [[George Carl]], Clown
* [[Big Apple Circus]], History
+
* [[Cedric Walker]], Circus Owner
* [[Gerry Cottle]], Circus Owner
+
* [[The Aragón Family]], Clown Dynasty
* [[Sarah Chapman]], Aerialist
+
* [[Totti Alexis]], Clown
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Bertram_Mills_Video_(1959)|Bertram Mills Circus]] at Olympia (1959)
+
* [[Flying_Gonzalez_Video_(2024)|The Flying González]], flying trapeze (2024)
* [[Linon_Video_(1962)|Linon]], Comedy Bouncing Rope (1962)
+
* [[Gaston_%26_Roli_Video_(2017)|Gaston & Roli]], clown entrée (2017)
* [[Shandong_Risley_Video_(2010)|The Shandong Acrobatic Troupe]], Risley Act (2010)
+
* [[Alona_Zhuravel_Video_(2019)|Alona Zhuravel]], Hand Balancer (2019)
* [[Yong_Brothers_Video_1978|The Yong Brothers]], Hand-to-Hand Balancing (1978)
+
* [[George_Carl_Video_(1988)|George Carl]], clown entrée (1988)
* [[Yinchuan_Bicycle_Video_(2021)|Yinchuan Acrobatic Troupe]], Bicycle Act (2021)
+
* [[George_Carl_Video_(1979)|George Carl]], clown entrée (1979)
  
 
==New Oral Histories==
 
==New Oral Histories==

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