Cirque Bureau - Revision history

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2026-05-16T23:26:00Z

‎Image Gallery

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2026-05-09T23:06:46Z

‎Image Gallery

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2026-05-09T22:56:53Z

‎Image Gallery

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2026-05-02T22:03:55Z

‎Image Gallery

Djando: /* New Times */

2026-05-02T19:24:06Z

‎New Times

Djando: /* New Times */

2026-05-02T19:17:18Z

‎New Times

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2026-05-02T18:27:02Z

‎Image Gallery

Djando at 18:24, 2 May 2026

2026-05-02T18:24:41Z

Djando: /* New Times */

2026-05-02T18:15:40Z

‎New Times

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2026-05-02T18:05:44Z

‎Image Gallery

@@ Line 198: / Line 198: @@
 File:Jules_Glasner_-_dogs.jpg|Jules Glasner (c.1910)
 File:Popaul_Bureau_poster.jpg|Poster featuring Paul Bureau (c.1910)
 File:Bureau_Program_30.jpg|Program Cover (1930)
 File:Bureau_-_Kimris.png|Poster featuring Les Kimris (1930)

@@ Line 216: / Line 216: @@
 File:Cirque_Bureau_53.jpg|Cirque Bureau setup (1953)
 File:Bureau_-_Elsane.png|Poster featuring Elsane (1953)
 File:Les_Branquignols.jpg|Les Branquignols (1958)
 File:Vasserot_-_Cirque_d'Hiver.png|André Vasserot (c.1970)

@@ Line 214: / Line 214: @@
 File:Bureau_Poster_-_Chevaux_Pompiers.jpg|Poster advertising ''Les Chavaux Pompiers'' (1951)
 File:Bureau_Program_1952.jpg|Program Cover for the RTF tour (1952)
 File:Bureau_-_Elsane.png|Poster featuring Elsane (1953)
 File:Les_Branquignols.jpg|Les Branquignols (1958)

@@ Line 212: / Line 212: @@
 File:Jules-Anna_Glasner.jpg|Jules and Anna Glasner (1948)
 File:Bureau_Poster_-_Road_tour.jpg|Poster announcing the road transportation (1951)
 File:Bureau_Program_1952.jpg|Program Cover for the RTF tour (1952)
 File:Bureau_-_Elsane.png|Poster featuring Elsane (1953)

@@ Line 160: / Line 160: @@
 Then, in Paris, [[Jérôme Medrano]], always attuned to the pulse of his audiences, had created what he called the ''spectacle accéléré'' (speedy show), ensuring a continuous flow of acts with no pauses due to changes of equipment in the ring or other interruptions. Postwar audiences wanted things to move fast, so Glasner revived Medrano's 1936 idea (for his tenting show) of adding a small stage for alternate use during ring equipment changes, reducing interruptions and giving a better rhythm to the performance.
-The program was rich in equestrian presentations: Vasserot presented a beautiful ensemble of six grey and six black horses and a high-school act, while his wife led the ponies and a group of four greys, and Jules Glasner directed a group of six black horses and presented an old favorite, ''Les Chevaux Pompiers''&mdash;a scene in which horses played firemen extinguishing a fire. These many acts made good use of the Bureau's strong equestrian resources and replaced advantageously a few hired performers, thus reducing operating expenses. There were nonetheless first-rate attractions in the program, notably [[Ivanoff]] with a group of lions, "Teddy" the bicycling bear, Georges Gommeton's spectacular aerial act, [[Les Antarès]], and the return of the excellent clowns Rex & Quito.
+As always, the program was rich in equestrian presentations: Vasserot presented a beautiful ensemble of six grey and six black horses and a high-school act, while his wife led the ponies and a group of four greys, and Jules Glasner directed a group of six black horses and presented an old favorite, ''Les Chevaux Pompiers''&mdash;a scene in which horses played firemen extinguishing a fire. These many acts made good use of Bureau's strong equestrian resources and replaced advantageously a few hired performers, thus reducing operating expenses. There were nonetheless first-rate attractions in the program, notably [[Ivanoff]] with a group of lions, "Teddy" the bicycling bear, Georges Gommeton's spectacular aerial act, [[Les Antarès]], and the return of the excellent clowns Rex & Quito.
 ===The Last Hurrah===

@@ Line 156: / Line 156: @@
 Yet, while Bureau's loyal audience base continued to show support, the circus experienced challenges in attracting a new generation of spectators. The heydays of circus and variety&mdash;a time when they catered to a savvy, always curious audience&mdash;had vanished after the war. Radio (and soon, television) entertained the public at home, and with the new influx of Hollywood products, cinema had become a powerful competition to live entertainment. Bureau was still popular, but it provided a sort of circus "comfort food" devoid of true innovation, and more dangerously, its business model was becoming obsolete.
-Jules Glasner was aware of it, and important changes began to appear in 1951. First of all, the Cirque Bureau abandoned railroad travel and converted to transport by road, like all other major French circuses. (Only [[The Rancy Dynasty|Henri Rancy]], who used for his Cirque Napoléon Rancy a ''semi-construction'' and available provincial circus buildings, and stayed in each place for extended periods, continued to travel by train.) Thus, Glasner purchased an important equipment for road transport, and Bureau hit the road for its 1951 tour. The advertising publicized this important change, which, it said, gave Bureau "a new independence allowing it to present a show superior to all what has been seen to this day. Bureau remains always France's premier circus."
+Jules Glasner was aware of it, and important changes began to appear in 1951. First of all, the Cirque Bureau abandoned railroad travel and converted to transport by road, like all other major French circuses, which gave it more flexibility. (Only [[The Rancy Dynasty|Henri Rancy]], who used for his Cirque Napoléon Rancy a ''semi-construction'' and available provincial circus buildings, and stayed in each place for extended periods, continued to travel by train.) Thus, Glasner purchased an important equipment for road transport, and Bureau hit the road for its 1951 tour. The advertising publicized this important change, which, it said, gave Bureau "a new independence allowing it to present a show superior to all what has been seen to this day. Bureau remains always France's premier circus."
 Then, in Paris, [[Jérôme Medrano]], always attuned to the pulse of his audiences, had created what he called the ''spectacle accéléré'' (speedy show), ensuring a continuous flow of acts with no pauses due to changes of equipment in the ring or other interruptions. Postwar audiences wanted things to move fast, so Glasner revived Medrano's 1936 idea (for his tenting show) of adding a small stage for alternate use during ring equipment changes, reducing interruptions and giving a better rhythm to the performance.

@@ Line 156: / Line 156: @@
 Yet, while Bureau's loyal audience base continued to show support, the circus experienced challenges in attracting a new generation of spectators. The heydays of circus and variety&mdash;a time when they catered to a savvy, always curious audience&mdash;had vanished after the war. Radio (and soon, television) entertained the public at home, and with the new influx of Hollywood products, cinema had become a powerful competition to live entertainment. Bureau was still popular, but it provided a sort of circus "comfort food" devoid of true innovation, and more dangerously, its business model was becoming obsolete.
-Jules Glasner was aware of it, and important changes began to appear in 1951. First of all, the Cirque Bureau abandoned railroad travel and converted to transport by road. In Paris, [[Jérôme Medrano]], always attuned to the pulse of his audiences, had created what he called the ''spectacle accéléré'' (speedy show), ensuring a continuous flow of acts with no pauses due to changes of equipment in the ring or other interruptions. Postwar audiences wanted things to move fast, so Glasner revived Medrano's 1936 idea (for his tenting show) of adding a small stage for alternate use during ring equipment changes, reducing interruptions and giving a better rhythm to the performance.
+Jules Glasner was aware of it, and important changes began to appear in 1951. First of all, the Cirque Bureau abandoned railroad travel and converted to transport by road, like all other major French circuses. (Only [[The Rancy Dynasty|Henri Rancy]], who used for his Cirque Napoléon Rancy a ''semi-construction'' and available provincial circus buildings, and stayed in each place for extended periods, continued to travel by train.) Thus, Glasner purchased an important equipment for road transport, and Bureau hit the road for its 1951 tour. The advertising publicized this important change, which, it said, gave Bureau "a new independence allowing it to present a show superior to all what has been seen to this day. Bureau remains always France's premier circus."
 The program was rich in equestrian presentations: Vasserot presented a beautiful ensemble of six grey and six black horses and a high-school act, while his wife led the ponies and a group of four greys, and Jules Glasner directed a group of six black horses and presented an old favorite, ''Les Chevaux Pompiers''&mdash;a scene in which horses played firemen extinguishing a fire. These many acts made good use of the Bureau's strong equestrian resources and replaced advantageously a few hired performers, thus reducing operating expenses. There were nonetheless first-rate attractions in the program, notably [[Ivanoff]] with a group of lions, "Teddy" the bicycling bear, Georges Gommeton's spectacular aerial act, [[Les Antarès]], and the return of the excellent clowns Rex & Quito.
@@ Line 172: / Line 174: @@
 The result was disastrous: copying a formula without understanding the key factors behind its success has led to repeated mistakes in show business history, and Jules Glasner was not immune to such mistake. In mid-season, he cancelled his contracts with RTF and The Branquignols and asked Jules Court to find acts to supplement his program and re-organize the tour. The Branquignols went on to create a new stage show, ''La Plume de ma Tante'', which became a hit in Paris, then in London and finally on Broadway, where it played to capacity for two solid years before an extended American tour. Several troupe members later became French stage and screen major stars.
-From the 1952 setback, Jules Glasner realized two things: proven recipes are preferable, and rail travel lacks flexibility when issues arise during a tour. He finally decided to convert to travel by road, like all other major French circuses. (Only [[The Rancy Dynasty|Henri Rancy]], who used for his Cirque Napoléon Rancy a ''semi-construction'' and available provincial circus buildings, and stayed in each place for extended periods, continued to travel by train.) Thus, Glasner purchased an important equipment for road transport, and Bureau hit the road for its 1953 tour with a classic circus program.
+From the 1952 setback, Jules Glasner realized that proven recipes are preferable, and Bureau hit the road for its 1953 tour with a classic circus program. The show was indeed outstanding, starring the beautiful aerialist [[Elsane]], and a stuntwoman named Hanny Gadbin Rex who performed a daring jump from a high platform, ending sliding on a ramp. Among other acts, [[Willy and Jo]] did their audacious balancing on a bicycle perched on a high pedestal, the [[The Moustier Family|Moustier family]], presented their two acrobatic acts, one being billed as [[The Dallys]], and there was the remarkable Risley act of the Bedini-Tafani Troupe (including Nona Bedini who was to marry Louis Moustier).
-−
-The advertising publicized the new transport by road, which, it said, gave Bureau "a new independence allowing it to present a show superior to all what has been seen to this day. Bureau remains always France's premier circus." The show was indeed outstanding, starring the beautiful aerialist [[Elsane]], and a stuntwoman named Hanny Gadbin Rex who performed a daring jump from a high platform, ending sliding on a ramp. Among other acts, [[Willy and Jo]] did their audacious balancing on a bicycle perched on a high pedestal, the [[The Moustier Family|Moustier family]], presented their two acrobatic acts, one being billed as [[The Dallys]], and there was the remarkable Risley act of the Bedini-Tafani Troupe (including Nona Bedini who was to marry Louis Moustier).
 On the animal side, the Cirque Bouglione had provided a camel act, a group of three elephants, and a group of polar bears. André Vasserot and Jules Glasner presented as usual several top-rate equestrian acts, while Rex & Quito performed their popular clown routines. It was a very strong show that Bureau promoted as its 99th season (which was more accurately the 99th season since Jean Bureau had joined the Tagg family). It was also to be the Cirque Bureau's final season.