Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

From Circopedia

 
Line 9: Line 9:
 
{| style="width:100%; border:solid 0px; background:none;"
 
{| style="width:100%; border:solid 0px; background:none;"
 
|style="width:500px; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap; color:#000;"|
 
|style="width:500px; text-align:center; white-space:nowrap; color:#000;"|
<div style="font-size:165%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Welcome! Bienvenue! Willkommen! Добро Пожаловать!</div><div style="font-size:165%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Bienvenida! Benvenuto! 歡迎 ! Vítejte! Καλώς ήρθατε!</div><div style="font-size:165%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Üdvözöljük! Добре Дошли! Welkom! • Ласкаво Просимо!</div><div style="font-size:165%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Velkommen! Tervetuloa! Дабро Запрашаем! • Välkommen!</div><br/>
+
<br><div style="font-size:175%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Welcome! Bienvenue! Willkommen! Добро Пожаловать!</div><div style="font-size:175%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Bienvenida! Benvenuto! 歡迎 ! Vítejte! Καλώς ήρθατ
<div style="top:+0.2em; font-size:110%;"> Circopedia is a project of the [http://www.bigapplecircus.org/ Big Apple Circus],<br />inspired and funded by the [http://www.sdrubin.org/ Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation].</div>
+
ε!</div><div style="font-size:175%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Üdvözöljük! Добре Дошли! Welkom! ✫ Ласкаво Просимо!</div><div style="font-size:165%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#996666;">Velkommen! Tervetuloa! Дабро Запрашаем! ✫ Välkommen!</div><br/>
 +
<div style="top:+0.2em; font-size:98%;"> ''Circopedia is an independent educational website, originally created as a project of the non-profit [[Big Apple Circus]]''.</div><br/>
 +
 
 
|}
 
|}
 
|}
 
|}
 +
 
==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
[[File:Italo_Medini_9_rings.jpeg|250px|right]]
 
===ITALO MEDINI===
 
  
Italo Medini (1924-2015) was one of the greatest jugglers of the past century who worked in the Italian tradition exemplified by the legendary Enrico Rastelli. He and his twin brother, Franco (1924-2014) were born June 9, 1924 in Orléans, France, to Carlo Medini and his wife, Anna, née Périé, during an engagement of their parents with the Cirque Alphonse Rancy. A clown and acrobat, Carlo Medini belonged to an old and numerous Italian circus family; his wife, Anna, whom he married in 1920, was the daughter of Pierre Périé, the owner of a highly respected French provincial circus before WWII.
+
===EVELYN & ANDRÉ===
 +
[[File:Evelyn_and_Andre_US.png|right|300px]]
 +
During the communist era in Eastern Europe, circus arts experienced a spectacular evolution in terms of quality and originality, spearheaded by the Soviet Union, where this renaissance had started in 1928 with the creation of the State College of Circus and Variety Arts in Moscow. If the achievements of the Soviet circus were well known in the West thanks to the international tours of the Moscow Circus that started in the 1960s, top performers of the Eastern Bloc countries are often overlooked. However, Hungary, amidst other Eastern bloc states, had a strong independent spirit, and the Hungarian State Circus (as well as, individually, many Hungarian acts) had done countless forays in Western Europe and the U.S. The husband-and-wife duo of Evelyn & André are among those who managed to pursue a brilliant international career.
  
Italo made his circus debut at age three, as a miniature clown in his father’s clown act. He would later become his father’s whiteface clown, in which role he showed great proficiency as a saxophone and concertina player. Quite early, too, Italo became part of the Carlo Medini aerial casting and acrobatic act. He found his true calling, however, when he saw the German juggling prodigy Trixie Firschke (1920-2001), with whom the Medinis shared a bill at Vienna’s Circus Renz. From then on, Italo began training in a specialty for which he showed an uncanny ability.
+
The duo consisted of Éva Páviács (1941-2021) and Endre Takács (b.1933). Both came from families that had no ties with the circus world. Éva (Evelyn) was born on March 10, 1941, in Budapest, the Hungarian capital. She was a very physical kid, and she soon enrolled in the Ferencváros Torna Club, Budapest's gymnastics club. As soon as she became a teenager, she joined Baross Imre Artistaképző (Imre Baross school for Circus and performing arts) where she continued high school while training in various circus disciplines. She graduated in 1960, and began her professional circus career, first in a parallel bars act, The 4 Hunor with three partners (Károly Deltai, Gábor Hunfi, and Imre László), then in an acrobatic act named the Trio Evelyn, with Károly Deltai and Gábor Hunfi.
  
The Medinis and the Rastellis were friends, and in Sptember 1931, Carlo took Italo to Paris’s Cirque Medrano to see Enrico Rastelli (1896-1931). Rastelli, who was universally considered as the world’s greatest juggler, was starring in the famous Parisian circus; the opportunity to get a few tips and lessons from the Master, even for a short time, was not something to be missed! As fate had it, it was also just in time, for Rastelli died unexpectedly three months later.... ([[Italo Medini|more...]])
+
Born in Pàpoc, a village in the Western Transdanubia region of Hungary, on April 28, 1933, Endre Takács (André) trained in gymnastics, and joined the Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre (MTK) club in Budapest, with which he competed in acrobatic gymnastics. He and his team won a silver medal at the 1952 Hungarian Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships. For a living, Endre worked as a mechanic, but after his competitive career had reached an end, he was encouraged to join the circus by his friend, the artistic gymnast and Olympic champion (1948) Ferenc Pataki&mdash;or "Szefi bácsi" (Uncle Szefi) as he was affectionately called&mdash; who was a teacher at the Baross Imre Artistaképző.... ([[Evelyn and André|more...]])
  
==New Biographies==  
+
==New Essays and Biographies==
  
* [[Les Bario]], Clowns
+
* [[Evelyn and André]], Aerialists, Acrobats
* [[Edoardo Raspini]], Juggler
+
* [[Ramón Rampin]], Clown
* [[Italo Medini]], Juggler
+
* [[Elsane]], Aerialist
* [[Isabella Nock]], Aerialist
+
* [[Nouveau_Cirque_(Paris)/fr|Nouveau Cirque]], History &mdash; Version Française (French Version)
* [[Faltyny_Family|The Faltyny Family]], Acrobats, Unicyclists
+
* [[Cirque Medrano (Paris)/fr|Cirque Medrano]], History &mdash; Version Française (French Version)
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Bario_Video_(1975)|Les Bario]], Clowns (1975)
+
* [[Namayca_and_Paul_Video_(2024)|Namayca & Paul]], Farm Animals (2024)
* [[Hermanis_Video_(1972)|The Hermanis]], Diabolo Act (1972)
+
* [[Gruss_Family_Video_(2024)|The Gruss Family]], Equestrian Tableau (2024)
* [[Clyde Beatty Video (1954)|Clyde Beatty]], Lion Act (1954)
+
* [[Gruss_Brothers_-_Juggling_Video_(2024)|Alexandre & Charles Gruss]], juggling on horseback (2024)
* [[Gruss_and_Togni_Video_(2016)|Alexis Gruss & Flavio Togni]], Liberty Act (2016)
+
* [[China_Troupe_Bicycle_Video_(2024)|China Acrobatic Troupe]], bicycle act (2024)
* [[Duo_2-Zen-O_Video_(2015)|Duo 2-Zen-O]], Aerial Hoops (2015)
+
* [[Monte_Carlo_Video_(1974-2019)|Monte Carlo Festival Highlights]], 1974-2019 (2019)
 +
 
 +
==New Oral Histories==
 +
 
 +
* [[Dominique_Jando_Video_(2025)|Dominique Jando interview]] by the Circus Historical Society (2025)
 +
* [[Evelyn_and_Andre_Video_(2015)|Evelyn & André Interview]] on Blikk TV (2015)
 +
* [[BAC_Blumberg_Video_(1977)|''For A Moment You Fly'']], The First Season of The Big Apple Circus (1977)
 +
* [[Durov_Documentary_Video_(c.2000)|Vladimir Durov Documentary]] on Russian Television (c.2000)
 +
* [[Dolly_Jacobs_Interview_Video_(2018)|Dolly Jacobs Interview]] at The Ringling (2018)
  
==Featured Oral Histories==
+
==Circopedia Books==
  
* [[Moira_Orfei_Video_(2012)|Moira Orfei]], Circus Owner - Davide Maggio Interview (2012)
+
* [[Circopedia Books|Philip Astley & The Horsemen who invented the Circus]], by Dominique Jando (2018)
* [[Oleg_Popov_Circus_Legends_Video_(2014)|Oleg Popov]], clown - Russian Television Feature (2014)
+
* [[Albert_Fratellini_Interview_(1957)|Albert Fratellini]], clown - French Television Interview (1957)
+
* [[Pavlenko_Interview_Video|Nikolai Pavlenko]], tiger trainer - Interview (RIA Novosti, 2012)
+
* [[Alberto_Zoppé_Interview_2003|Alberto Zoppé]], Equestrian - Interview (McCutcheon & Distasio, 2003)
+
  
==A Message from the Editor==
+
==A Message from the Founder==
  
''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&mdash;and sometimes daily&mdash;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 [[Special:Contact|contact us]]: we will definitely consider your remarks and suggestions.''  
+
''CIRCOPEDIA is a constantly evolving and expanding archive of the international circus, maintained by reliable circus historians and specialists. New videos, biographies, essays, and documents are added to the site on a weekly&mdash;and sometimes daily&mdash;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 [[Circopedia:Contact|contact us]]: we will definitely consider your remarks and suggestions.''  
  
 
:'''Dominique Jando'''
 
:'''Dominique Jando'''
:Editor/Curator
+
:Founder and Curator

Latest revision as of 05:41, 12 May 2025


Welcome! ✫ Bienvenue! ✫ Willkommen! ✫ Добро Пожаловать!
Bienvenida! ✫ Benvenuto! ✫ 歡迎 ! ✫ Vítejte! ✫ Καλώς ήρθατ ε!
Üdvözöljük! ✫ Добре Дошли! ✫ Welkom! ✫ Ласкаво Просимо!
Velkommen! ✫ Tervetuloa! ✫ Дабро Запрашаем! ✫ Välkommen!

Circopedia is an independent educational website, originally created as a project of the non-profit Big Apple Circus.

In The Spotlight

EVELYN & ANDRÉ

Evelyn and Andre US.png

During the communist era in Eastern Europe, circus arts experienced a spectacular evolution in terms of quality and originality, spearheaded by the Soviet Union, where this renaissance had started in 1928 with the creation of the State College of Circus and Variety Arts in Moscow. If the achievements of the Soviet circus were well known in the West thanks to the international tours of the Moscow Circus that started in the 1960s, top performers of the Eastern Bloc countries are often overlooked. However, Hungary, amidst other Eastern bloc states, had a strong independent spirit, and the Hungarian State Circus (as well as, individually, many Hungarian acts) had done countless forays in Western Europe and the U.S. The husband-and-wife duo of Evelyn & André are among those who managed to pursue a brilliant international career.

The duo consisted of Éva Páviács (1941-2021) and Endre Takács (b.1933). Both came from families that had no ties with the circus world. Éva (Evelyn) was born on March 10, 1941, in Budapest, the Hungarian capital. She was a very physical kid, and she soon enrolled in the Ferencváros Torna Club, Budapest's gymnastics clubA juggling pin.. As soon as she became a teenager, she joined Baross Imre Artistaképző (Imre Baross school for Circus and performing arts) where she continued 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) while training in various circus disciplines. She graduated in 1960, and began her professional circus career, first in a parallel bars act, The 4 Hunor with three partners (Károly Deltai, Gábor Hunfi, and Imre László), then in an acrobatic act named the Trio Evelyn, with Károly Deltai and Gábor Hunfi.

Born in Pàpoc, a village in the Western Transdanubia region of Hungary, on April 28, 1933, Endre Takács (André) trained in gymnastics, and joined the Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre (MTK) clubA juggling pin. in Budapest, with which he competed in acrobatic gymnastics. He and his team won a silver medal at the 1952 Hungarian Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships. For a living, Endre worked as a mechanic, but after his competitive career had reached an end, he was encouraged to join the circus by his friend, the artistic gymnast and Olympic champion (1948) Ferenc Pataki—or "Szefi bácsi" (Uncle Szefi) as he was affectionately called— who was a teacher at the Baross Imre Artistaképző.... (more...)

New Essays and Biographies

New Videos

New Oral Histories

Circopedia Books

A Message from the Founder

CIRCOPEDIA is a constantly evolving and expanding archive of the international circus, maintained by reliable circus historians and specialists. 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