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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.

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In The Spotlight

LE CIRQUE LEONCE

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 a 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.

However Léonce was a good horseman, and while at Cirque Bureau he trained as an acrobat on horseback—the goal he had set 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. ... (more...)

New Biographies

• Pancracio, Clown
• Circus Sarrasani, History
• Tom Dougherty, Clown
• Alfred Beautour, Cat Trainer
• Ali Hassani, Acrobat and Circus Owner

New Videos

• The Casselly Family, Acrobats and Elephants (2012)
• "Balagan", Teeterboard (2011)
• The Kazhlev Troupe, Russian Barre (2014)
• The Gerasimov Family, Jugglers (2014)
• Yakov Ekk Troupe, Jockey Act (2014)

Featured Oral Histories

• Nikolai Pavlenko, tiger trainer - Interview (RIA Novosti, 2012)
• Alberto Zoppé, Equestrian - Interview (McCutcheon & Distasio, 2003)
• Olivier Taquin, Mime - Interview (Jando, 2008)
• Barry Lubin, Clown (Grandma) - Interview (Jando, 2008)
• Fumagalli, Clown - Interview (Jando, 2008)

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