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 was originally created with the support of the [http://www.bigapplecircus.com/ Big Apple Circus],<br />and has been 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, initially created as a project of the original, non-profit [[Big Apple Circus]]''.</div><br/>
 +
 
 
|}
 
|}
 
|}
 
|}
 +
 
==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
  
===JOHN BILL RICKETTS===
+
===ÉMILIEN BOUGLIONE===
 +
[[File:Emilien_Bouglione_Courier.jpg|right|350px]]
 +
Émilien Bouglione (1934-2026) was the fourth of Joseph and Rosa Bouglione’s seven children (Odette, 1929-2025 – Josette, 1930-? – Firmin, 1933-2022 – Émilien – Sandrine, 1936-2012 – Sampion III, 1938-2019 – Joseph, b. 1942). Of the four brothers, he was by far the most artistically minded; he succeeded his uncle Sampion II at the helm of Cirque Bouglione’s equestrian department and presented with infinite taste and great gusto equestrian presentations that were often prepared with the help of his mentor, Master Equestrian André Vasserot (1911-1991).
  
On April 3, 1793, a crowd of theatergoers, horsemanship enthusiasts, and prying citizens gathered at the corner of Market and Twelfth Streets in Philadelphia to witness the debut performance of Mr. John Bill Ricketts's company at the Circus. The Circus was a roofless arena of some eight-hundred seats (divided between pit and boxes) surrounding a circular riding space filled in with a mixture of soil and sawdust, forty-two feet in diameter—the ring.
+
He was born Jules Émilien Buffalo-Bill Bouglione on July 20th, 1934, in Coulommiers (a town famous for its cheese, east of Paris), where his family's circus was performing. His father, the legendary circus director Joseph Bouglione (1904-1987), and his Belgian mother, Rosalie Van Been (1910-2018), were both of Roma descent and came from the world of fairground menageries, which were, between the two world wars, restructuring into the modern traveling circus.  
  
The wooden construction had been erected in a matter of weeks by Ricketts, a British equestrian who had arrived from Scotland the previous year and had quickly established a riding school in Philadelphia, then the capital of the newly formed United States of America. Ricketts (1769-1802) had followed the example of Philip Astley, who had established just such a riding school in London in 1768, at the foot of Westminster Bridge, before creating there the first modern circus two years later.
+
The father and uncles of "Julot" (the diminutive by which Emilien was known by his close friends and family) had already paraded under a succession of picturesque banners&mdash;including one that helped them build their fortune: ''Stade Bufalo-Bill''&mdash;before settling on the proud ''Cirque des 4 Frères Bouglione''. It is said that the day after their newest family member, Jules Émilien, had arrived, they signed the contract making them tenants of the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris, the world's oldest circus building, which eventually became their property.
  
Before long, a small group of performers from Ricketts's former British company joined him in Philadelphia. Among them were his brother Francis (1777-?), an equestrian and tumbler; Mr. Spinacuta, the rope-dancer, along with his wife, an attractive equestrienne who rode two horses at full gallop; Mr. McDonald, another tumbler who performed comic acrobatic intermezzos as the Clown; and Ricketts's pupil, young Master Strobach. The performance included a great many "feats of horsemanship," most of them presented by Ricketts himself, rope-dancing, some tumbling, and McDonald's acrobatic parodies. This was the first circus show ever put on in America. ([[John Bill Ricketts|more...]])
+
The Bougliones were a large family whose school had been the circus ring. Émilien entered it at the age of two and was already in the saddle two years later. Like in every circus, the Bougliones' ring was a school of life, the curriculum of which was written in the pungent smell of horse manure, wild animals, leather, and sawdust. Their approach to equestrian art owed nothing to the classical academic style (already fading away): Theirs was fierce and more romantic; it was the world of mythical horses that gallop through folklore and dime novels, ridden by a family whose Roma blood gave it a stamp of dazzling wonder.... ([[Émilien Bouglione|more...]])
  
==New Biographies==
+
==New Essays and Biographies==
  
* [[Annie Fratellini]], Clown, Circus Director
+
* [[The Ziratron]], Israel's first Circus
* [[Joel Baker]], Clown
+
* [[Carlos Guity]], acrobat
* [[Irina Naumenko]], Hand Balancer
+
* [[James Clowney]], acrobat
* [[The Owl and The Pussycat]], Trapeze Act
+
* [[Émilien Bouglione]], equestrian, circus director
* [[Walter Nones]], Circus Director, Animal Trainer
+
* [[Alexis Gruss, Jr/fr|Alexis Gruss, Jr]] (version française)
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Moshizuki_Video_(2018)|Yusaku Moshizuki]], Diabolo Act (2018)
+
* [[Streltsov_Video_(1990)|Aleksandr Streltsov]], ''Angel'', strap act (1990)
* [[Etaix_Fratellini_Video_(1975)|Pierre Etaix & Annie Fratellini]], Clowns (1975)
+
* [[Larkina_Video_(1993)|Yelena Larkina]], hula-hoop act (1993)
* [[Vasserot_Video_(c1970)|André Vasserot]], Horses at Liberty (c.1970)
+
* [[Bondarenko_Video_(1993)|Duo Bondarenko]], jugglers (1993)
* [[Barcode_Video_(2018)|Barcode Company]], Russian Barre (2018)
+
* [[Lauenburger_Dog_Video_(2025)|Wolgang Lauenburger]], dog act (2025)
* [[2-Zen-O_Video_(2016)|Duo 2-Zen-O]], Aerial Hoops (2016)
+
* [[Balkanski_Trio_Video_(2025)|Trio Balkanski]], roller-skating act (2025)
  
==Featured Oral Histories==
+
==New Oral Histories==
  
* [[Circo_Price_Video_(2017)|A Short History of Madrid's Old Circo Price]], Circus History (1970)
+
* [[Gneushev_Video_(c.1990)|Valentin Gneushev interview]] on Russian Television (c.1990)
* [[Anastasia_Dementieva_Video_(2017)|Anastasia Dementieva-Kornilova]] – Vadim Vernik Interview (2017)
+
* [[Dominique_Jando_Video_(2025)|Dominique Jando interview]] by the Circus Historical Society (2025)
* [[Freres_Knie_Video_(1962)|''Les Frères Knie'']], Documentary (1962)
+
* [[Evelyn_and_Andre_Video_(2015)|Evelyn & André Interview]] on Blikk TV (2015)
* [[Jean_Richard_Video_(1979)|Jean Richard and Jean-Pierre Richard]] at the Cirque Jean Richard – Christian Boner Interview (1979)
+
* [[BAC_Blumberg_Video_(1977)|''For A Moment You Fly'']], The First Season of The Big Apple Circus (1977)
* [[Buster_Keaton_Video_(1947)|Jérôme Medrano about Buster Keaton]] at the Cirque Medrano (1947)
+
* [[Durov_Documentary_Video_(c.2000)|Vladimir Durov Documentary]] on Russian Television (c.2000)
  
==Featured Circopedia Book==
+
==Circopedia Books==
  
 
* [[Circopedia Books|Philip Astley & The Horsemen who invented the Circus]], by Dominique Jando (2018)
 
* [[Circopedia Books|Philip Astley & The Horsemen who invented the Circus]], by Dominique Jando (2018)
  
==A Message from the Editor==
+
==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&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 [[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'''
 
:Founder and Curator
 
:Founder and Curator

Latest revision as of 21:42, 20 April 2026


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, initially created as a project of the original, non-profit Big Apple Circus.

In The Spotlight

ÉMILIEN BOUGLIONE

Emilien Bouglione Courier.jpg

Émilien Bouglione (1934-2026) was the fourth of Joseph and Rosa Bouglione’s seven children (Odette, 1929-2025 – Josette, 1930-? – Firmin, 1933-2022 – Émilien – Sandrine, 1936-2012 – Sampion III, 1938-2019 – Joseph, b. 1942). Of the four brothers, he was by far the most artistically minded; he succeeded his uncle Sampion II at the helm of Cirque Bouglione’s equestrian department and presented with infinite taste and great gusto equestrian presentations that were often prepared with the help of his mentor, Master Equestrian André Vasserot (1911-1991).

He was born Jules Émilien Buffalo-Bill Bouglione on July 20th, 1934, in Coulommiers (a town famous for its cheese, east of Paris), where his family's circus was performing. His father, the legendary circus director Joseph Bouglione (1904-1987), and his Belgian mother, Rosalie Van Been (1910-2018), were both of Roma descent and came from the world of fairground menageries, which were, between the two world wars, restructuring into the modern traveling circus.

The father and uncles of "Julot" (the diminutive by which Emilien was known by his close friends and family) had already paraded under a succession of picturesque banners—including one that helped them build their fortune: Stade Bufalo-Bill—before settling on the proud Cirque des 4 Frères Bouglione. It is said that the day after their newest family member, Jules Émilien, had arrived, they signed the contract making them tenants of the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris, the world's oldest circus building, which eventually became their property.

The Bougliones were a large family whose school had been the circus ring. Émilien entered it at the age of two and was already in the saddle two years later. Like in every circus, the Bougliones' ring was a school of life, the curriculum of which was written in the pungent smell of horse manure, wild animals, leather, and sawdust. Their approach to equestrian art owed nothing to the classical academic style (already fading away): Theirs was fierce and more romantic; it was the world of mythical horses that gallop through folklore and dime novels, ridden by a family whose Roma blood gave it a stamp of dazzling wonder.... (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