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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
  
===GIA ERADZE===
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===LITTLE BILLY===
[[File:Gia_Eradze_and_Horse.jpeg|right|350px]]
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===''Recipient of the 2022 Circopedia Award''===
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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.
 
  
Gia Giulevich Eradze was born October 3, 1979 in Tbilisi, Georgia—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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Little Billy (1919-2001) was a very popular English auguste whose long and rich career, which began on the music-hall stage, took him to some of the most prestigious circuses of Britain and Europe. He truly came to the spotlight when he eventually partnered with the popular auguste Jacko Fossett, a successful association that began at Bertram Mills Circus and morphed into a lifelong friendship.  
  
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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He was born William Alfred Merchant on July 31, 1919, in Bristol, England. His father was unknown—and practically nothing is known of his mother, either. This lack of a father may be the reason why—along with the fact that William was afflicted with achondroplasia (dwarfism)—his mother chose to abandon him at an early age. Billy, as he became known, was placed in an orphanage in Bristol where he spent his childhood and adolescence.
  
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—and especially with animal acts. There and then, he decided he would be an animal trainer.
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As a teenager, he became increasingly attracted to show business and spent his free time visiting the local music-halls, notably Bristol's Hippodrome and Empire theatres. In 1937, the Empire featured the celebrated troupe of performing "midgets" of John Lester (1870-1950), a former American aerialist turned impresario. Lester's troupe was mostly composed of little people, perfectly proportioned, as opposed to dwarves such as Billy. Nonetheless, he went to the theater to see John Lester. Asked by the impresario what he could do, Billy answered that he could tumble; that was good enough for a comedy part, and he was hired.
  
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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Billy did a tumbling act with two diminutive partners that was in effect a visual parody of popular acts of the genre, such as The Craddocks and, later, The Charlivels. Lester was not the easiest of directors, and after a while, Billy, who now had stage experience, joined the acrobatic troupe of Joe Boganny (John Clifton, 1874-1943), whose act, very popular on the British variety circuit, traditionally included dwarf acrobats. With Boganny, Billy became truly exposed to "big time" variety and what is more, he could fully express his nascent comedic talents. He finally was in show business, and there to stay.... ([[Little Billy Merchant|more...]])
 
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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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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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==New Essays and Biographies==
 
==New Essays and Biographies==

Revision as of 06:56, 3 January 2023

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Circopedia was originally inspired and funded by the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation.

In The Spotlight

LITTLE BILLY

Little Billy (1919-2001) was a very popular English augusteIn a classic European clown team, the comic, red-nosed character, as opposed to the elegant, whiteface Clown. whose long and rich career, which began on the music-hall stage, took him to some of the most prestigious circuses of Britain and Europe. He truly came to the spotlight when he eventually partnered with the popular augusteIn a classic European clown team, the comic, red-nosed character, as opposed to the elegant, whiteface Clown. Jacko Fossett, a successful association that began at Bertram Mills Circus and morphed into a lifelong friendship.

He was born William Alfred Merchant on July 31, 1919, in Bristol, England. His father was unknown—and practically nothing is known of his mother, either. This lack of a father may be the reason why—along with the fact that William was afflicted with achondroplasia (dwarfism)—his mother chose to abandon him at an early age. Billy, as he became known, was placed in an orphanage in Bristol where he spent his childhood and adolescence.

As a teenager, he became increasingly attracted to show business and spent his free time visiting the local music-halls, notably Bristol's Hippodrome and Empire theatres. In 1937, the Empire featured the celebrated troupe of performing "midgets" of John Lester (1870-1950), a former American aerialistAny acrobat working above the ring on an aerial equipment such as trapeze, Roman Rings, Spanish web, etc. turned impresario. Lester's troupe was mostly composed of little people, perfectly proportioned, as opposed to dwarves such as Billy. Nonetheless, he went to the theater to see John Lester. Asked by the impresario what he could do, Billy answered that he could tumble; that was good enough for a comedy part, and he was hired.

Billy did a tumbling act with two diminutive partners that was in effect a visual parody of popular acts of the genre, such as The Craddocks and, later, The Charlivels. Lester was not the easiest of directors, and after a while, Billy, who now had stage experience, joined the acrobatic troupe of Joe Boganny (John Clifton, 1874-1943), whose act, very popular on the British variety circuit, traditionally included dwarf acrobats. With Boganny, Billy became truly exposed to "big time" variety and what is more, he could fully express his nascent comedic talents. He finally was in show business, and there to stay.... (more...)

New Essays and Biographies

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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