Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

From Circopedia

 
(245 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 ήρθατ
+
<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
 
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/>
 
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/>
 
<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===
  
===NATALYA JIGALOVA===
+
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:Jigalova.jpg|right|400px]]Natalya Jigalova (also spelled Zhigalova, 1970-2022) was part of what has been called "The Prima Donnas of the Swinging Trapeze"—one of the first aerialists, along with Elena Panova and Marina Golovinskaya, who developed under Victor Fomine the new style of swinging trapeze originated by Tereza Durova, Fomine and Panova in 1987.
+
 
+
She was born Natalya Borisovna Vul (Наталья Борисовна Вуль – pronounced "Vool") on July 21, 1970, in Chișinău, the capital of the Republic of Moldova, a country landlocked between Ukraine and Romania, which was then part of the Soviet Union. She was raised and went to school in Chișinău, where she also attended the local "Amateur Circus" (Youth Circus). In 1985, she applied for and was accepted in Moscow’s State College for Circus and Variety Arts. Under the guidance of Victor Fomine, she created her swinging trapeze act, with which she graduated in 1989.
+
  
Yet, her professional debut was postponed. She had met at the circus college her husband, the clown Andrey Jigalov, who graduated one year later, in 1990, with his partner Edward Alekseenko (1966-1996). Natalya and Andrey got married, and she was expecting a son, who would be named Andrey, like his father. She also became Natalya Jigalova in the process. Then, she chose to give priority to raising her newborn son.
+
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.
  
When she finally decided to resume her circus career, she performed an act in which her trapeze could be lowered to the ring, so that she could begin from the ground and go up with her apparatus (instead of being hauled up to her trapeze)—a system also used, albeit in a different manner, by another swinging trapeze artist, Elena Popova. This soaring image, along with her long black hair and her natural grace, gave a great elegance to her act. In 1996, she participated in the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain at Paris’s Cirque d’Hiver, where she won a Silver Medal. ... ([[Natalya Jigalova|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==
  
* [[Little Billy Merchant]], Clown
+
* [[Alona Zhuravel]], Hand-Balancer
* [[Jacko Fossett]], Clown
+
* [[George Carl]], Clown
* [[Circus Ring of Fame]], History
+
* [[Cedric Walker]], Circus Owner
* [[Natalya Jigalova]], Aerialist
+
* [[The Aragón Family]], Clown Dynasty
* [[Guangzhou Acrobatic Troupe]], History
+
* [[Totti Alexis]], Clown
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Paul_Ponce_Video_(2018)|Paul Ponce]], juggler (2018)
+
* [[Flying_Gonzalez_Video_(2024)|The Flying González]], flying trapeze (2024)
* [[Black_Diamonds_Hand-to-Hand_Video_(2022)|Black Diamonds]], hand-to-hand balancing (2022)
+
* [[Gaston_%26_Roli_Video_(2017)|Gaston & Roli]], clown entrée (2017)
* [[Giffords_Video_(2017)|Giffords Circus]] promotional video (2017)
+
* [[Alona_Zhuravel_Video_(2019)|Alona Zhuravel]], Hand Balancer (2019)
* [[Gina_Video_(1979)|Gina, "The Girl in The Moon"]], Aerialist (1979)
+
* [[George_Carl_Video_(1988)|George Carl]], clown entrée (1988)
* [[Zavatta_RTF_Video_(1970)|Achille Zavatta]], musical entrée (1970)
+
* [[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