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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
  
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===SERGEI IGNATOV===
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===UUVE JANSSON===
  
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[[File:Sergei_Ignatov_c.1985.jpg|right|150px]]
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Among the swinging trapeze artists of the early twenty-first century, Uuve Jansson stands out: In a period where adding more technical prowess seemed to have been the only path along which the specialty evolved, she brought back to the form an artistry that was hitherto increasingly waning—giving her act a wonderful and unique flavor while maintaining the highest technical standards. She has become indeed one of the world’s very best artists of the specialty.
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One of the greatest jugglers in circus history, Sergei Mikhailovich Ignatov was born August 23, 1950 in Chemnitz, in Saxony, in the former German Democratic Republic (or East Germany), to a Russian circus family. His grandfather, Ivan Petrovich (1900-?), was an equestrian, and his father, Mikhail Ivanovich (1924-1967), had been a dog and monkey trainer. Sergei grew up in Moscow, in what was then the USSR, along with his younger brother, Leonid Mikhailovich, who also became a remarkable juggler.
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Sergei joined the State College for Circus and Variety Arts (the "Moscow Circus School") at age fifteen in 1965. After only one year, he had to give up acrobatics due to knee problems and he specialized as a juggler. His teacher was the legendary Violetta Kiss, an amazing juggler and hand-balancer who was, with her brother Aleksandr, a major star of the Soviet circus in the 1950's and 1960's.
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Uuve-Hanna Jansson was born October 8, 1985 in Stockholm, Sweden, into a family that was already deeply involved in the performing arts: Her father, Ulf-Håkan Jansson, was an actor and puppeteer who had also acted as a circus ringmaster, and her mother, Eva, worked in the city of Stockholm’s Cultural Department. Eva was instrumental in helping a then small circus organization, Cirkus Cirkör, to settle in Botkyrka, a suburb of Stockholm.
  
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In just two years time, training eight hours a day, Sergei became a very proficient juggler with rings, large balls, and clubs. He created new tricks, such as the "pancake throw" with rings, and a special kick-up from four to five clubs. Both tricks are still performed by jugglers today. The juggling technique that Violetta Kiss taught him became the firm foundation of Ignatov’s subsequent twenty years of creative work. At the Moscow circus college's graduation show in 1968, he was an unmitigated success. The audience present was well aware of his exceptional talent, and knew that Sergei’s performance was only the harbinger of things to come.... ([[Sergei Ignatov|more...]])
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Cirkus Cirkör was (and still is) both a circus company and a circus school. Uuve went to see a performance of Cirkus Cirkör, and saw there a swinging trapeze artist by the name of Katja Kortström: Uuve was fascinated by her act, and decided there and then that swinging trapeze was what she wanted to do. Furthermore, Uuve not only wanted to be a swinging trapeze artist, but she also wanted to be the best swinging trapeze artist in the world! So goes the mind of strong-willed young girls…. ([[uuve Jansson|more...]])
  
 
==New Biographies==  
 
==New Biographies==  

Revision as of 06:47, 1 March 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

UUVE JANSSON

Among the swinging trapeze artists of the early twenty-first century, Uuve Jansson stands out: In a period where adding more technical prowess seemed to have been the only path along which the specialty evolved, she brought back to the form an artistry that was hitherto increasingly waning—giving her act a wonderful and unique flavor while maintaining the highest technical standards. She has become indeed one of the world’s very best artists of the specialty.

Uuve-Hanna Jansson was born October 8, 1985 in Stockholm, Sweden, into a family that was already deeply involved in the performing arts: Her father, Ulf-Håkan Jansson, was an actor and puppeteer who had also acted as a circus ringmaster(American, English) The name given today to the old position of Equestrian Director, and by extension, to the presenter of the show., and her mother, Eva, worked in the city of Stockholm’s Cultural Department. Eva was instrumental in helping a then small circus organization, Cirkus Cirkör, to settle in Botkyrka, a suburb of Stockholm.

Cirkus Cirkör was (and still is) both a circus company and a circus school. Uuve went to see a performance of Cirkus Cirkör, and saw there a swinging trapeze artist by the name of Katja Kortström: Uuve was fascinated by her act, and decided there and then that swinging trapeze was what she wanted to do. Furthermore, Uuve not only wanted to be a swinging trapeze artist, but she also wanted to be the best swinging trapeze artist in the world! So goes the mind of strong-willed young girls…. (more...)

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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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