Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

From Circopedia

 
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<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/>
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<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 [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>
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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/>
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<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/>
 
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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
  
===ARTURO CASTILLA===
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===THE BLUMENFELD FAMILY===
[[File:Arturo_Castilla.jpg|right|250px]]
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[[File:5_Blumenfelds_Poster.jpg|right|300px]]The huge Blumenfeld family holds an important place in German and European circus history. One of the three major German-Jewish circus dynasties before World War II&mdash;along with the Strassburgers and the Lorches&mdash;the Blumenfelds were driven to bankruptcy and then brutally decimated by the Nazis. Before that tragedy, they had been a highly respected family of talented acrobats, aerialists, equestrians, and circus owners. Although some members of the family resurfaced after World War II, the Blumenfelds were never able to reclaim the position they had once held in the circus world.
In post-WWII Europe, the Spanish impresario Arturo Castilla (1916-1996) was one of the most active and successful advocates of the circus’s integration into the modern entertainment industry. In this, he followed a few other visionary mavericks such as Jérôme Medrano and Bertram Mills, and preceded Jean Richard, Bernhard Paul, Pierrot Bidon, and others. Castilla’s major achievements were the introduction of theatrical aesthetics into the traveling circus performance, a modern approach to public relations and marketing, his foresight of the emerging sport arenas’ potential, and the pioneering of trans-national synergies between major European circuses.
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With his partner and brother-in-law, Manuel Feijóo (1897-1969), Castilla produced circus shows in Spain and abroad, managed the legendary Circo Price building in Madrid, organized circus festivals and congresses, and presented foreign circus companies in Spain. These activities, added to his remarkable talent at establishing connections with the media and the political establishment of Francisco Franco’s Spain, helped him build a conservative aesthetic of the circus as a celebration of diverse "national" identities, and as a tool for "cultural" propagandistic exchanges, which would be widely emulated.
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The Blumenfelds are allied with several other prominent Jewish families, such as the Goldkettes (Brönett), the Strassburgers, the Lorches, and the Könyots. They always married within their faith and, at times, like the Rothschilds, within their family&mdash;with perhaps the notable exceptions of Erich Blumenfeld, the youngest son of Simon Blumenfeld, who married Fanny Houcke, from the Franco-Swedish Houcke family, and his brother Alex, whose wife, Eugenie, came from an old Italian circus family, the Cardinales.
  
Arturo Castilla Rodriguez was born in Bilbao, Spain, on October 22, 1916. His father, Raimundo, was a journalist. Arturo was thirteen years old, in 1929, when Raimundo took him to see the colossal German circus Krone, which was visiting Bilbao. This visit triggered Arturo’s fascination with the circus world. Arturo Castilla eventually studied fine arts at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios de Atxuri, in Bilbao, and joined at the same time an amateur circus club. Circus eventually took precedence over painting, and Arturo formed a clown act with three old friends of his: Carlos Izquierdo, Pedro Talavera, and Esteban Galdós. Together, as the Hermanos Cape, they went on to perform for various Spanish circuses. (Clowns have always been very popular in Spain—a country that has produced over several generations a remarkable number of outstanding clown stars.).... ([[Arturo Castilla|more...]])
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Since Hirsch Blumenfeld (1788-1867), founder of the dynasty, created his circus in the mid-nineteenth century, many of his descendants have operated several different circuses under the Blumenfeld name. Hirsch had a large family that developed many branches, and it can be sometimes difficult to determine which branch a given Blumenfeld belonged to. The Blumenfeld circus owners, however, shared one defining trait: they were equestrians who served the equestrian circus tradition with distinction, even as the circus-menagerie was becoming the norm in Germany by the beginning of the twentieth century.
  
==New Biographies==
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Hirsch Blumenfeld was born Hirsch Levy in 1788 in Isenburg, in the Grand Duchy of Hesse, one of the many German states. His parents were Levy Wolf (1770-1828), a Jewish cantor, and his wife Rosa (Rösgen), née Cahn (?-1840). The Blumenfeld patronym came later: Under Jewish naming tradition, a son took his father’s given name as a patronym, so Hirsch, as Levy’s son, became Hirsch Levy. Hirsch didn't embrace his father's calling: He became instead a traveling entertainer, an occupation that had attracted many of his coreligionists over the centuries..... ([[The Blumenfeld Family|more...]])
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* [[Norman Crider]], Juggler
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==New Essays and Biographies==
* [[Zhejiang Acrobatic Troupe]], Chinese Acrobatics
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* [[Gene Mendez]], High Wire Artist
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* [[The Blumenfeld Family]], circus owners, artists
* [[Franz Czeisler (Tihany)]], Magician, Circus Owner
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* [[Émilien Bouglione/fr|Émilien Bouglione]], French version
* [[Cirque_Medrano_(Paris)|Circuses Fernando and Medrano]], History
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* [[Kremo Family]], icarists
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* [[The Ziratron]], Israel's first Circus
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* [[Carlos Guity]], Acrobat
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Grigorov_and_Galavatskikh_Video_(2011)|Aleksei Grigorov & Marina Galavatskikh]], Aerial Lyra (2011)
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* [[Fumagalli_Video_(2003)|Fumagalli & Daris]], clown entrée (2006)
* [[Norman_Crider_Video_(1961)|Norman Crider]], Baton Twirler (1961)
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* [[Ariz_Bros_Video_(1983)|The Ariz Brothers]], banquine (1983)
* [[Freres_Knie_Video_(1962)|''Les Frères Knie'']], Documentary (1962)
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* [[Les_Chicky_Video_(1983)|Les Chicky]], clown entrée (1983)
* [[Medifred_Video_(1967)|The Medifreds]], Jugglers (1967)
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* [[The_Astoris_Video_(1975)|The Astoris]], Aerial Perch (1975)
* [[Flying_Vazquez_BAC_1991_Video|The Flying Vazquez]], Flying Trapeze (1991)
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* [[Evelyn_and_André_Interview_(2025)|Evelyn & André]] Interview by the Fővárosi Nagycirkusz (2025)
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==New Oral Histories==
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* [[Evelyn_and_André_Interview_(2025)|Evelyn & André]] Interview by the Fővárosi Nagycirkusz (2025)
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* [[Bouglione_Video_(2013)|The Bouglione Family]] France 3 TV documentary (2013)
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* [[Gneushev_Video_(c.1990)|Valentin Gneushev interview]] on Russian Television (c.1990)
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* [[Dominique_Jando_Video_(2025)|Dominique Jando interview]] by the Circus Historical Society (2025)
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* [[Evelyn_and_Andre_Video_(2015)|Evelyn & André Interview]] on Blikk TV (2015)
  
==Featured Oral Histories==
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==Circopedia Books==
  
* [[Freres_Knie_Video_(1962)|''Les Frères Knie'']], Documentary (1962)
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* [[Circopedia Books|Philip Astley & The Horsemen who invented the Circus]], by Dominique Jando (2018)
* [[Jean_Richard_Video_(1979)|Jean Richard and Jean-Pierre Richard]] at the Cirque jean Richard - Christian Boner Interview (1979)
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* [[Buster_Keaton_Video_(1947)|Jérôme Medrano about Buster Keaton]] at the Cirque Medrano (1947)
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* [[Moira_Orfei_Video_(2012)|Moira Orfei]], Circus Owner - Davide Maggio Interview (2012)
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* [[Oleg_Popov_Circus_Legends_Video_(2014)|Oleg Popov]], clown - Russian Television Feature (2014)
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==A Message from the Editor==
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==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.''  
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''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 05:35, 6 September 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

THE BLUMENFELD FAMILY

5 Blumenfelds Poster.jpg
The huge Blumenfeld family holds an important place in German and European circus history. One of the three major German-Jewish circus dynasties before World War II—along with the Strassburgers and the Lorches—the Blumenfelds were driven to bankruptcy and then brutally decimated by the Nazis. Before that tragedy, they had been a highly respected family of talented acrobats, aerialists, equestrians, and circus owners. Although some members of the family resurfaced after World War II, the Blumenfelds were never able to reclaim the position they had once held in the circus world.

The Blumenfelds are allied with several other prominent Jewish families, such as the Goldkettes (Brönett), the Strassburgers, the Lorches, and the Könyots. They always married within their faith and, at times, like the Rothschilds, within their family—with perhaps the notable exceptions of Erich Blumenfeld, the youngest son of Simon Blumenfeld, who married Fanny Houcke, from the Franco-Swedish Houcke family, and his brother Alex, whose wife, Eugenie, came from an old Italian circus family, the Cardinales.

Since Hirsch Blumenfeld (1788-1867), founder of the dynasty, created his circus in the mid-nineteenth century, many of his descendants have operated several different circuses under the Blumenfeld name. Hirsch had a large family that developed many branches, and it can be sometimes difficult to determine which branch a given Blumenfeld belonged to. The Blumenfeld circus owners, however, shared one defining trait: they were equestrians who served the equestrian circus tradition with distinction, even as the circus-menagerie was becoming the norm in Germany by the beginning of the twentieth century.

Hirsch Blumenfeld was born Hirsch Levy in 1788 in Isenburg, in the Grand Duchy of Hesse, one of the many German states. His parents were Levy Wolf (1770-1828), a Jewish cantor, and his wife Rosa (Rösgen), née Cahn (?-1840). The Blumenfeld patronym came later: Under Jewish naming tradition, a son took his father’s given name as a patronym, so Hirsch, as Levy’s son, became Hirsch Levy. Hirsch didn't embrace his father's calling: He became instead a traveling entertainer, an occupation that had attracted many of his coreligionists over the centuries..... (more...)

New Essays and Biographies

New Videos

  • Fumagalli & Daris, clown entrée(French) Clown piece with a dramatic structure, generally in the form of a short story or scene. (2006)
  • The Ariz Brothers, banquine(French) Acrobatic presentation in which an acrobat performs various acrobatic jumps propelled from a living platform made by the crossed hands of two other acrobats (as in "sauts de banquine" &mdash; See also: Basket Acrobatics). (1983)
  • Les Chicky, clown entrée(French) Clown piece with a dramatic structure, generally in the form of a short story or scene. (1983)
  • The Astoris, Aerial Perch (1975)
  • Evelyn & André Interview by the Fővárosi Nagycirkusz (2025)

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