Leonid Engibarov - Revision history

Djando: /* Clown School */

2025-09-23T02:30:06Z

‎Clown School

Djando: /* From The Boxing Ring To The Circus Ring */

2022-01-12T01:08:59Z

‎From The Boxing Ring To The Circus Ring

Djando at 01:08, 12 January 2022

2022-01-12T01:08:42Z

Djando: /* Success */

2022-01-07T22:41:07Z

‎Success

Djando: /* Success */

2022-01-07T22:40:05Z

‎Success

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2022-01-07T22:38:45Z

‎Image Gallery

Djando: /* From The Boxing Ring To The Circus Ring */

2021-06-03T20:34:56Z

‎From The Boxing Ring To The Circus Ring

Djando: /* See Also */

2020-01-24T23:41:55Z

‎See Also

Djando: /* See Also */

2020-01-24T23:40:33Z

‎See Also

Djando: /* The End */

2019-09-30T19:43:03Z

‎The End

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 At first, Leonid was a little disoriented: Nine years of participating in competitive sports had taught him that the knowledge and use of precise techniques brought out clear results. Not so with clowning, which is of a much more intuitive nature, and whose actual study is mostly defined by trial and error. Beside, the clowning program was new, based principally upon the study of a large variety of circus skills, and theater classes including an emphasis on diction&mdash;since Russian clowns had been traditionally satirists (and sometimes, political satirists, like [[Anatoly Durov]]), who often relied on verbal humor.[[File:Moscow_Circus_School_1974.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Moscow's Circus College (1974)]]
-Several influences, both within and outside the school, would eventually help define Leonid’s unique clown persona. The first came from his deep appreciation of silent movie comedians, and notably Buster Keaton, his idol&mdash;and like him a very physical clown if any. Engibarov’s clown silhouette and appearance would be reminiscent of Keaton’s in his early shorts, or even in later movie features such as ''The General'' or ''Hospitality''.
+Several influences, both within and outside the school, would eventually help define Leonid’s unique clown persona. The first came from his deep appreciation of silent movie comedians, and notably [[Buster Keaton]], his idol&mdash;and like him a very physical clown if any. Engibarov’s clown silhouette and appearance would be reminiscent of Keaton’s in his early shorts, or even in later movie features such as ''The General'' or ''Hospitality''.
 The second influence was Natalia Solovieva, a "pedagogue" (teacher) and "regisseur" (director) at the school and granddaughter of the famous Russian historian S.M. Soloviev, who helped Leonid develop his aesthetic vision. She remembered that Engibarov was "very intellectual, with a huge sense of aesthetics," and was very interested in literature, particularly eighteenth-century Russian poetry.

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 ===From The Boxing Ring To The Circus Ring===
-[[File:Engibarov_and_Father.jpeg|thumb|left|200px|Leonid and his father, Georgy (c.1945)]]Leonid Georgievich Engibarov was born March 15, 1935 in Moscow. His father, Georgy, was Armenian. A cook, he had risen to the rank of chef and manager of the very exclusive restaurant at the Metropole Hotel&mdash;the longtime meeting place of the Soviet regime’s apparatchiks and their important foreign guests. Leonid’s mother, Antonina, was a housewife; Leonid and his mother would remain very close until the end. Leonid also had a half-brother, Mikhail, twenty years his elder, who initiated him to literature, poetry, arts and sports.
+[[File:Engibarov_and_Father.jpeg|thumb|left|300px|Leonid and his father, Georgy (c.1945)]]Leonid Georgievich Engibarov was born March 15, 1935 in Moscow. His father, Georgy, was Armenian. A cook, he had risen to the rank of chef and manager of the very exclusive restaurant at the Metropole Hotel&mdash;the longtime meeting place of the Soviet regime’s apparatchiks and their important foreign guests. Leonid’s mother, Antonina, was a housewife; Leonid and his mother would remain very close until the end. Leonid also had a half-brother, Mikhail, twenty years his elder, who initiated him to literature, poetry, arts and sports.
 As a teenager, Leonid went to boxing school, which channeled his unbounded energy and gave him intense physical training. He participated in amateur bouts and was also an enthusiastic soccer player: One of his cherished possessions was a soccer ball his half-brother had given him. This led Leonid naturally to the Moscow Sports Institute, where he began working toward a Master's Degree in Sports. But this course of study didn’t truly satisfy his artistically inclined mind and personality, and he left the Institute after only a few months.

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:08, 12 January 2022
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−	[[Image:Leonid_Engibarov.jpg\|right\|~~300px~~]]	+	[[Image:Leonid_Engibarov.jpg\|right\|400px]]
	==Clown==		==Clown==

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 ===Success===
-[[File:Engibarov_Poster.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Engibarov Poster (c.1965)]]When the Armenian Circus went to play in Astrakhan, its next stop, Leonid Engibarov experienced at last his first real success, and was quickly billed as the star of the show. He had finally arrived. Nonetheless, the Soviet press criticized his innovative style, which was also disliked by the conservative apparatchiks of the Soviet circus. Engibarov thought it was unfair, but the audience didn’t pay attention to the critics and loved him.
+When the Armenian Circus went to play in Astrakhan, its next stop, Leonid Engibarov experienced at last his first real success, and was quickly billed as the star of the show. He had finally arrived. Nonetheless, the Soviet press criticized his innovative style, which was also disliked by the conservative apparatchiks of the Soviet circus. Engibarov thought it was unfair, but the audience didn’t pay attention to the critics and loved him.
-In April 1961, the Armenian collective opened at the most prestigious circus of the Soviet Union, the "[[Circus Nikulin|Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard]]" in Moscow (whose official name was then ''Moscow State Circus of the Order of Lenin''). It was, in retrospect, a star-studded show, with several performers like [[Rustam Kaseev]] and Nazi Shirai who were to become true legends of the Soviet circus&mdash;and of course, Leonid Engibarov himself!
+[[File:Engibarov_Poster.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Engibarov Poster (c.1965)]]In April 1961, the Armenian collective opened at the most prestigious circus of the Soviet Union, the "[[Circus Nikulin|Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard]]" in Moscow (whose official name was then ''Moscow State Circus of the Order of Lenin''). It was, in retrospect, a star-studded show, with several performers like [[Rustam Kaseev]] and Nazi Shirai who were to become true legends of the Soviet circus&mdash;and of course, Leonid Engibarov himself!
 Engibarov performed a revamped old entrée, ''The Boxing Match'', which would become a staple of his repertoire. His success in Moscow was immense. His straight man was then the Armenian collective’s very talented ringmaster, [[Zaven Martirosian]], who eventually became (in 1969) the legendary ringmaster (Manege Inspector, as it is called in Russia) of the Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard&mdash;a position he retained until his retirement in the late 1990s. (After Engibarov left the Armenian collective, his partner was Viktor Aksentiev, whom he had known at the circus school.)

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 ===Success===
-[[File:Engibarov_Violin.jpeg|left|thumb|300px|Leonid Engibarov (c.1961)]]When the Armenian Circus went to play in Astrakhan, its next stop, Leonid Engibarov experienced at last his first real success, and was quickly billed as the star of the show. He had finally arrived. Nonetheless, the Soviet press criticized his innovative style, which was also disliked by the conservative apparatchiks of the Soviet circus. Engibarov thought it was unfair, but the audience didn’t pay attention to the critics and loved him.
+[[File:Engibarov_Poster.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Engibarov Poster (c.1965)]]When the Armenian Circus went to play in Astrakhan, its next stop, Leonid Engibarov experienced at last his first real success, and was quickly billed as the star of the show. He had finally arrived. Nonetheless, the Soviet press criticized his innovative style, which was also disliked by the conservative apparatchiks of the Soviet circus. Engibarov thought it was unfair, but the audience didn’t pay attention to the critics and loved him.
 In April 1961, the Armenian collective opened at the most prestigious circus of the Soviet Union, the "[[Circus Nikulin|Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard]]" in Moscow (whose official name was then ''Moscow State Circus of the Order of Lenin''). It was, in retrospect, a star-studded show, with several performers like [[Rustam Kaseev]] and Nazi Shirai who were to become true legends of the Soviet circus&mdash;and of course, Leonid Engibarov himself!

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 File:Engibarov_in_Moscow.jpeg|Leonid Engibarov (c.1965)
 File:Engibarov_in_ring.jpg|Leonid Engibarov (c.1965)
 File:Moscow_Circus_School_1974.jpg|Moscow's Circus College in 1974
 Image:Leonid_Engibarov_statue.jpg|Leonid Engibarov's statue in Yerevan

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 For a short time, Leonid considered going into the movies, but his epiphany came when he saw the illustrious clown [[Karandash]] (Mikhail Rumiantsev, 1901-1983) performing at the [[Circus Nikulin|Old Circus]] on Tsvetnoy Boulevard. Like sports, circus was indeed highly physical, yet it was also a creative art&mdash;and clowning could, so Leonid believed, suit at the same time his need for physical activities, his own sense of humor, and his creative mind.
-A man of diminutive stature with a natural ability for comedy, Karandash had studied circus arts with the very first promotion of the K.C.I. (Circus Arts Classes) school&mdash;soon to become Moscow’s [[State College for Circus and Variety Arts]]. He had graduated in 1930 as an all-around acrobat, but chose to become a clown. As luck had it, when Engibarov considered becoming a clown himself in 1955, the College had just added a Clowning section to its curricula. So Leonid made his mind and applied for what is today widely known as the "Moscow Circus School." His athletic abilities helped him pass the college’s rigorous selection process, and he began studying circus disciplines and clowning in 1956, at age twenty-one.
+A man of diminutive stature with a natural ability for comedy, Karandash had studied circus arts with the very first promotion of the K.C.I. (Circus Arts Classes) school&mdash;soon to become Moscow’s [[State College for Circus and Variety Arts (Moscow)|State College for Circus and Variety Arts]]. He had graduated in 1930 as an all-around acrobat, but chose to become a clown. As luck had it, when Engibarov considered becoming a clown himself in 1955, the College had just added a Clowning section to its curricula. So Leonid made his mind and applied for what is today widely known as the "Moscow Circus School." His athletic abilities helped him pass the college’s rigorous selection process, and he began studying circus disciplines and clowning in 1956, at age twenty-one.
 ===Clown School===

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 * Video: [[Engibarov's_Handstand_Video|Engibarov's trademark handstand]] (c.1965)
 * Video: [[Leonid_Engibarov_Age_of_Man_Video|Leonid Engibarov, ''The Ages of Man'']], pantomime (c.1965)
-* Video: [[Engibarov_Video_(1972)|Leonid Engibarov]], reprises, from the movie ''Karnaval'' (1972)
+* Video: [[Engibarov_Video_(1972)|Leonid Engibarov, clown reprises]], from the movie ''Karnaval'' (1972)
 ==Image Gallery==

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 ===The End===
-On January 14, 1972, Leonid Engibarov was made National Artist of the Armenian Republic, at last an official recognition of his exceptional talent&mdash;especially since he was not courting the regime. Back to Moscow, an exhausted Engibarov immediately resumed work on the ''Poet'' project. He had just suffered from an angina, but didn’t rest: He continued working at his usual frantic rhythm and spent his free time with his friends and drinking buddies.
+[[File:Engibarov_Stamps_2010.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Engibarov's commemorative postage stamp (20190)]]On January 14, 1972, Leonid Engibarov was made National Artist of the Armenian Republic, at last an official recognition of his exceptional talent&mdash;especially since he was not courting the regime. Back to Moscow, an exhausted Engibarov immediately resumed work on the ''Poet'' project. He had just suffered from an angina, but didn’t rest: He continued working at his usual frantic rhythm and spent his free time with his friends and drinking buddies.
 His mother tried to take care of him, but to no avail. In late July, he complained from an acute pain in his shoulder. His mother called a doctor, who gave him an injection. The following day, when his mother returned, Leonid was still aching. By the evening, the situation had worsened and he appeared to be now in excruciating pain; Antonina called an ambulance, and the Doctor arrived at 8:00 pm to give Leonid another injection. But it was too late: Leonid Engibarov had died of a massive heart attack. The date was July 25, 1972. He was thirty-seven years old.