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<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
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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
 
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/>
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<div style="text-align:center; font-size:175%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">'''Follow Spiegelworld's "[[Circus Town]]" on YouTube: [https://www.youtube.com/@CircusTownOfficial/ @CircusTownOfficial]'''</div><br/>
 
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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
  
===GIA ERADZE===
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===THE SCHUMANN DYNASTY===
[[File:Gia_Eradze_and_Horse.jpeg|right|350px]]
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[[File:Schumann_Schaefers.jpg|right|300px]]
===''Recipient of the 2022 Circopedia Award''===
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Gotthold Wilhelm Daniel Schumann was born on November 25, 1824 in Weimar, in the state of Thuringia, then part of the German Confederation. His father was a saddle maker, and Gotthold became indeed familiarized with horses at an early age. Although he was not interested in following in his father’s footsteps, horses were his passion, and he often helped groom and taking care of the neighbourhood horses. Gotthold had a brother who shared the same passion, Gustav.
 
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In his early youth, Gia Eradze fell in love with the circus and decided he would become an animal trainer. From then on, nothing stopped him. Not only did he become a successful animal trainer, but his rich, extravagant visual imagination led him to create extremely successful shows that helped revive the creative image of the Russian circus at home and abroad, and eventually propelled him to new heights in the Russian circus artistic hierarchy.
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Gia Giulevich Eradze was born October 3, 1979 in Tbilisi, Georgia&mdash;which was then part of the Soviet Union. His father managed a supermarket, and his mother was Rector of Economics at the Tbilisi State University. His was a well-to-do family with no connection whatsoever with the performing arts in general, and the circus in particular.
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Yet, then as now, Tbilisi was a circus town: In 1888, the Nikitin brothers had built a wooden circus on Golovinsky Prospect (today Rustaveli Prospect), and what was then Tiflis became their home base. From there, they created a touring circuit for which they used circus buildings they erected over the years in several other cities, including Moscow.
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The original Circus Nikitin’s structure was destroyed by a fire in 1911, and Tbilisi’s new circus was housed for a long time in a former factory before being rebuilt in 1939 in its present location, on a hill on the left bank of the Kura river. It is there that a young Gia Eradze fell in love with the circus&mdash;and especially with animal acts. There and then, he decided he would be an animal trainer.
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He enrolled in the local Amateur Circus (Youth Circus) and began training in various circus disciplines, but he quickly discovered that Amateur Circuses (and circus schools for that matter) did not teach animal training. Working with animals is something you learn hands on, working with other animal trainers in a circus.
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Upon their father’s death in 1839, fifteen-year-old Gotthold and his brother Gustav joined the famous French company of Benoît and François Tourniaire, which was very popular in the German states since their father, Jacques Tourniaire (1772-1829), had established his company there at the beginning of the nineteenth century&mdash;before introducing the circus to Russia in 1825. Gotthold and Gustav became accomplished equestrians, as both bareback and high-school riders, and Gotthold also developed a very good juggling act on horseback. In 1841, they were hired by Eduard Wollschläger (1811-1875), whose company included such future circus luminaries as Wilhelm Carré, Wilhelm Salamonsky and Heinrich Herzog.
  
Gia was a precocious and strong-willed kid, and his determination eventually led him to truancy: when his father’s car took him to school in the morning, Gia waited until the chauffeur had left and changed trajectory, landing inevitably at the circus. In 1990, at age eleven, he managed to get a job as an assistant (or as a groom) with Nana Milkatze’s ''Horsemen of Georgia'' troupe of Cossack riders.
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When Wollschläger’s future rival, Ernst Renz (1815-1892), created his own circus in 1845, he was joined by the Schumann brothers, who formed the bulk of the company together with Renz himself, his wife Antoinette, and a young equestrienne named Miss Adelina. But Renz’s enterprise quickly grew, and Gotthold became his Stable Master and principal horse trainer (that is to say, Renz's right hand), a position he kept for nearly two decades. Gotthold and his wife, Elise (of whom not much is known), had nine children: Max (1853-1933), Ernst, Albert (1858-1939), Adele, Louise, Adolf, Martha, Jacques (who became the circus’s music conductor) and Emil. Of Gotthold’s sons, only Max and Albert would truly make their mark in circus history, although Gotthold’s daughter Adele became a talented high-school rider.  
  
For a while, Gia’s mother wondered why, when her son came back from school, a whiff of hay and horses followed him in the house. When the cause was finally discovered, Gia held his ground firmly and made it clear that he had decided to work in the circus and that he wouldn’t budge. As a compromise, his parents accepted his decision, on the condition that he continued his schooling while working at the circus... ([[Gia Eradze|more...]])
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In 1863 or 1864 (the date is not sure), Gotthold finally created his own circus company, in partnership with a Swiss equestrian named Carl Antony. Unfortunately, in 1866, all their horses were requisitioned by the Prussian army, which was at war with Austria. Left without horses, which were the mainstay of all circus performances at the time, Gotthold’s venture came to an end. He restarted in 1871, this time in association with Heinrich Herzog, whom he had known when they were working together for Wollschläger. Circus Herzog-Schumann didn’t limit its tours to the German states: They expanded their route to Scandinavia.... ([[The Schumann Dynasty|more...]])
  
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
  
* [[Little Billy Merchant]], Clown
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* [[Ross Mollison]], Circus Producer
* [[Jacko Fossett]], Clown
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* [[Don Saunders]], Clown
* [[Circus Ring of Fame]], History
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* [[Jo-Ann Jennier]], Aerialist, Animal Trainer
* [[Natalya Jigalova]], Aerialist
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* [[Ethel Jennier]], Aerialist, Animal Trainer
* [[Guangzhou Acrobatic Troupe]], History
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* [[Walter Jennier]], Sea Lion Trainer
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Huyen_Video_(2022)|Chu Thi Khanh Huyen]], aerial sword balancing (2022)
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* [[Without_Socks_-_Water_Video_(2023)|Without Socks]], clowns (''water entrée'') &mdash; '''''2023 [[Circopedia Award]]'''''
* [[Palchikov_Video_(2022)|Ernest Palchikov]], hand-balancing act (2022)
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* [[Without_Socks_Video_Video_(2023)|Without Socks]], clowns (''The Photograph'') &mdash; '''''2023 [[Circopedia Award]]'''''
* [[Ethiopia_Troupe_Video_(2022)|Troupe Ethiopia]], basket acrobatics (2022)
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* [[Rodion_Video_(2004)|The Rodion Troupe]], Russian barre (2004)
* [[Eva_Vida_Video_(1964)|Eva Vida]], juggler (1964)
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* [[Bogdanov_Chagall_Video_(2023)|Stas Bogdanov Troupe, ''Nostagy for Chagall'']], flying act (2023)
* [[Olandar_Video_(2022)|Vlad Olandar]], house cats (2022)
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* [[Koechlin_Twins_Hoop_Video_(2023)|Koechlin Twins]], aerial hoop (2023)
  
 
==New Oral Histories==
 
==New Oral Histories==

Latest revision as of 21:30, 20 September 2023


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.

Follow Spiegelworld's "Circus Town" on YouTube: @CircusTownOfficial

In The Spotlight

THE SCHUMANN DYNASTY

Schumann Schaefers.jpg

Gotthold Wilhelm Daniel Schumann was born on November 25, 1824 in Weimar, in the state of Thuringia, then part of the German Confederation. His father was a saddle maker, and Gotthold became indeed familiarized with horses at an early age. Although he was not interested in following in his father’s footsteps, horses were his passion, and he often helped groom and taking care of the neighbourhood horses. Gotthold had a brother who shared the same passion, Gustav.

Upon their father’s death in 1839, fifteen-year-old Gotthold and his brother Gustav joined the famous French company of Benoît and François Tourniaire, which was very popular in the German states since their father, Jacques Tourniaire (1772-1829), had established his company there at the beginning of the nineteenth century—before introducing the circus to Russia in 1825. Gotthold and Gustav became accomplished equestrians, as both bareback and high-schoolA display of equestrian dressage by a rider mounting a horse and leading it into classic moves and steps. (From the French: Haute école) riders, and Gotthold also developed a very good juggling act on horseback. In 1841, they were hired by Eduard Wollschläger (1811-1875), whose company included such future circus luminaries as Wilhelm Carré, Wilhelm Salamonsky and Heinrich Herzog.

When Wollschläger’s future rival, Ernst Renz (1815-1892), created his own circus in 1845, he was joined by the Schumann brothers, who formed the bulk of the company together with Renz himself, his wife Antoinette, and a young equestrienneA female equestrian, or horse trainer, horse presenter, or acrobat on horseback. named Miss Adelina. But Renz’s enterprise quickly grew, and Gotthold became his Stable Master and principal horse trainer (that is to say, Renz's right hand), a position he kept for nearly two decades. Gotthold and his wife, Elise (of whom not much is known), had nine children: Max (1853-1933), Ernst, Albert (1858-1939), Adele, Louise, Adolf, Martha, Jacques (who became the circus’s music conductor) and Emil. Of Gotthold’s sons, only Max and Albert would truly make their mark in circus history, although Gotthold’s daughter Adele became a talented high-schoolA display of equestrian dressage by a rider mounting a horse and leading it into classic moves and steps. (From the French: Haute école) rider.

In 1863 or 1864 (the date is not sure), Gotthold finally created his own circus company, in partnership with a Swiss equestrian named Carl Antony. Unfortunately, in 1866, all their horses were requisitioned by the Prussian army, which was at war with Austria. Left without horses, which were the mainstay of all circus performances at the time, Gotthold’s venture came to an end. He restarted in 1871, this time in association with Heinrich Herzog, whom he had known when they were working together for Wollschläger. Circus Herzog-Schumann didn’t limit its tours to the German states: They expanded their route to Scandinavia.... (more...)

New Essays and Biographies

New Videos

  • Without Socks, clowns (water entrée(French) Clown piece with a dramatic structure, generally in the form of a short story or scene.) — 2023 Circopedia Award
  • Without Socks, clowns (The Photograph) — 2023 Circopedia Award
  • The Rodion Troupe, Russian barreFlexible pole, held horizontally by two catchers, or under-standers, with which they propelled a flyer in acrobatic figures from and to the pole. (2004)
  • Stas Bogdanov Troupe, Nostagy for Chagall, flying actAny aerial act in which an acrobat is propelled in the air from one point to another. (2023)
  • Koechlin Twins, aerial hoopA heavy metallic hoop used as a variance of trapeze, usually with contortion moves. (Also called Cerceau.) (2023)

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