Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

From Circopedia

 
(633 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
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: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
+
<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
 
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/>
 
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 was originally inspired and funded by the [http://www.sdrubin.org/ Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation]''.</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/>
 +
 
 
|}
 
|}
 
|}
 
|}
Line 17: Line 18:
 
==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
  
===NATALYA JIGALOVA===
+
===ÉMILIEN BOUGLIONE===
 
+
[[File:Emilien_Bouglione_Courier.jpg|right|350px]]
[[File:Jigalova.jpg|right|400px]]Natalya Jigalova (also spelled Zhigalova, 1970-2022) was part of what has been called "The Prima Donnas of the Swinging Trapeze"—one of the first aerialists, along with Elena Panova and Marina Golovinskaya, who developed under Victor Fomine the new style of swinging trapeze originated by Tereza Durova, Fomine and Panova in 1987.
+
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).
  
She was born Natalya Borisovna Vul (Наталья Борисовна Вуль – pronounced "Vool") on July 21, 1970, in Chișinău, the capital of the Republic of Moldova, a country landlocked between Ukraine and Romania, which was then part of the Soviet Union. She was raised and went to school in Chișinău, where she also attended the local "Amateur Circus" (Youth Circus). In 1985, she applied for and was accepted in Moscow’s State College for Circus and Variety Arts. Under the guidance of Victor Fomine, she created her swinging trapeze act, with which she graduated in 1989.
+
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.  
  
Yet, her professional debut was postponed. She had met at the circus college her husband, the clown Andrey Jigalov, who graduated one year later, in 1990, with his partner Edward Alekseenko (1966-1996). Natalya and Andrey got married, and she was expecting a son, who would be named Andrey, like his father. She also became Natalya Jigalova in the process. Then, she chose to give priority to raising her newborn son.
+
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.
  
When she finally decided to resume her circus career, she performed an act in which her trapeze could be lowered to the ring, so that she could begin from the ground and go up with her apparatus (instead of being hauled up to her trapeze)—a system also used, albeit in a different manner, by another swinging trapeze artist, Elena Popova. This soaring image, along with her long black hair and her natural grace, gave a great elegance to her act. In 1996, she participated in the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain at Paris’s Cirque d’Hiver, where she won a Silver Medal. ... ([[Natalya Jigalova|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 Essays and Biographies==
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
  
* [[Circus Ring of Fame]], History
+
* [[The Ziratron]], Israel's first Circus
* [[Natalya Jigalova]], Aerialist
+
* [[Carlos Guity]], acrobat
* [[Guangzhou Acrobatic Troupe]], History
+
* [[James Clowney]], acrobat
* [[Irina Bugrimova]], Lion Trainer
+
* [[Émilien Bouglione]], equestrian, circus director
* [[Mikhail Shuydin]], Clown
+
* [[Alexis Gruss, Jr/fr|Alexis Gruss, Jr]] (version française)
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Olf_Video_(2009)|Heiko Olf]], mixed-animal cage act (2009)
+
* [[Streltsov_Video_(1990)|Aleksandr Streltsov]], ''Angel'', strap act (1990)
* [[Lichner_Video_(2022)|Alexandre Lichner]], trapeze act (2022)
+
* [[Larkina_Video_(1993)|Yelena Larkina]], hula-hoop act (1993)
* [[Mosiienko_Video_(2022)|Olha Mosiienko]], tissu (2022)
+
* [[Bondarenko_Video_(1993)|Duo Bondarenko]], jugglers (1993)
* [[Holler_Zavatta_Video_(2022)|Kimberly & Holler Zavatta]], roller-skating act (2022)
+
* [[Lauenburger_Dog_Video_(2025)|Wolgang Lauenburger]], dog act (2025)
* [[Kurales_Video_(2009)|Kurales Troupe]], tumbling act (2009)
+
* [[Balkanski_Trio_Video_(2025)|Trio Balkanski]], roller-skating act (2025)
  
 
==New Oral Histories==
 
==New Oral Histories==
  
 +
* [[Gneushev_Video_(c.1990)|Valentin Gneushev interview]] on Russian Television (c.1990)
 +
* [[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)
 
* [[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)
 
* [[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)
 
* [[Pinito_del_Oro_RTE_Video_(1970)|Pinito del Oro's Interview]] on Spanish Television (1970)
 
* [[Eradze_Video_(2015)|Gia Eradze]]'s Interview on SSU TV (2015)
 
  
 
==Circopedia Books==
 
==Circopedia Books==
Line 57: Line 58:
 
==A Message from the Founder==
 
==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 [[Circopedia: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