Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
  
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===THE CIRCUSES OF MOSCOW===
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===CIRQUE LEONCE===
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[[File:Bolshoi_Circus_by_night.jpeg|right|300px]]Although the name ''Moscow Circus'' is familiar to the public all over the world, there has never been one specific “Moscow Circus” whose troupe toured internationally. The name was a generic term for the circus shows from the USSR traveling abroad during the Soviet Era. It has, over time, become synonymous with “Russian circus.” Yet, there are today (2014) two resident circuses in Moscow, [[Circus Nikulin]] on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, and the [[Bolshoi Circus]] (''bolshoi'' means ''big'', in Russian) on Vernadsky Avenue—and there have been indeed several others before them.
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[[File:Cirque_Leonce_1930.jpeg|thumb|right|250px]]The Cirque Léonce was created in 1907 (and originally called Cirque Printania) by Léonce Chapuis, a circus enthusiast from a well-to-do French provincial family, who left his sedentary life to follow a circus—the well-known and highly reputable Cirque Bureau, one of France’s oldest traveling circuses (active from c.1855 to 1953). There, he worked in the circus office as jack-of-all-trades: Someone with a high school education was enough of a rarity in the traveling circus world to be useful in a large range of administrative chores.
  
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The first circus built in Russia was established by the French equestrian Jacques Tourniaire, who settled in 1827 in what was then the Russian capital, St. Petersburg. The building, designed by the architect Smaragd Shustov and named ''Cirque Olympique'', was located near the Fontanka canal, practically where St. Petersburg’s Bolshoi State Circus (the former Circus Ciniselli) stands today. Tourniaire’s circus had only a short existence: it was bought back by the government of St. Petersburg in 1828 to be transformed into a theater. Still, the event didn’t fail to catch the attention of the Muscovites, who always took exception to the influence of Peter The Great’s Baltic capital.... ([[The Circuses Of Moscow|more...]])
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While at Cirque Bureau, Léonce trained as an acrobat on horseback, the dream he had for himself as a circus artist. Unfortunately, he broke a leg in a bad fall, and his dream came to a vanishing point. He left the circus and became a journalist, and then, probably missing show business and touring, he went on to work with the "Tournées Baret," a famous theatrical touring company. But this was not the circus.
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When his road crossed that of the popular Cirque Pinder (then still under the management of Arthur Pinder), Léonce asked for a job, and was hired as Régisseur—in the old French circus, a job whose fuzzy description embraced the duties of performance director, artistic administrator, stage manager, and probably, in Léonce’s case, anything that required a minimum of academic education.... ([[Cirque Léonce|more...]])
  
 
==New Biographies==  
 
==New Biographies==  

Revision as of 20:56, 1 November 2014

Welcome to Circopedia,
the free encyclopedia of the international circus.
A project of the Big Apple Circus,
inspired and funded by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.

In The Spotlight

CIRQUE LEONCE

Cirque Leonce 1930.jpeg
The Cirque Léonce was created in 1907 (and originally called Cirque Printania) by Léonce Chapuis, a circus enthusiast from a well-to-do French provincial family, who left his sedentary life to follow a circus—the well-known and highly reputable Cirque Bureau, one of France’s oldest traveling circuses (active from c.1855 to 1953). There, he worked in the circus office as jack-of-all-trades: Someone with a 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) education was enough of a rarity in the traveling circus world to be useful in a large range of administrative chores.

While at Cirque Bureau, Léonce trained as an acrobat on horseback, the dream he had for himself as a circus artist. Unfortunately, he broke a leg in a bad fall, and his dream came to a vanishing point. He left the circus and became a journalist, and then, probably missing show business and touring, he went on to work with the "Tournées Baret," a famous theatrical touring company. But this was not the circus.

When his road crossed that of the popular Cirque Pinder (then still under the management of Arthur Pinder), Léonce asked for a job, and was hired as Régisseur—in the old French circus, a job whose fuzzy description embraced the duties of performance director, artistic administrator, stage manager, and probably, in Léonce’s case, anything that required a minimum of academic education.... (more...)

New Biographies

New Videos

The new videos listed below show acts that have participated in the Idol Circus Festival in Moscow in September 2014.

Featured Oral Histories

A Message from the Editor

CIRCOPEDIA is a constantly evolving and expanding encyclopedia of the international circus. New videos, biographies, essays, and documents are added to the site on a weekly—and sometimes daily—basis. So 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
Editor/Curator
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