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, initially created as a project of the original, 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.
+
===DAVID BALDING===
 +
[[File:Balding_and_Flora_(2000).jpg|right|300px]]
 +
Ivor David Balding (1939-2014) was born March 3, 1939 in Manhattan, and grew up in a horse farm in Camden, South Carolina. His father was the famous British polo player Ivor G. Balding (1909-2005), who, along with his brothers Barney and Gerald, played polo in the United States throughout the 1930's at the Meadow Brook Club on Long Island, then the national center of the sport. Ivor G. Balding subsequently went on to work at the C.V. Whitney Farm in Old Westbury, New York, before becoming manager of the Whitney Farm in Lexington, where he raised and trained racing-horses.
  
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.
+
In Britain, Ivor David Balding’s grandfather had sold horses to various circuses in his time, and David himself was introduced to the circus and theater worlds through his father’s connections. He began his show business career as stage manager at the Westport Country Playhouse for legendary Broadway actress Eva Le Gallienne (1899-1991). Le Gallienne, who had performed in her youth as an equestrienne at the illustrious Cirque Medrano in Paris, gave David an introduction to the Fratellini family, who helped him land a job as spotlight operator at the famous Parisian circus. There, David had an invaluable initiation into the circus world.
  
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...]])
+
Back to the U.S., David Balding worked for Joe Papp at the New York Shakespeare Festival, and then founded the New Theatre in New York. During his tenure there, he produced 21 plays, including ''The Knack'', ''The Ginger Man'', ''Scuba Duba'', ''Steambath'', ''The Man in the Glass Booth'', and ''Lenny''. His productions were nominated for two Tony Awards and won five Obie Awards.
  
==New Biographies==
+
The vagaries of theater production, however, forced him to change course, and David went to work for CBS Sports in Europe, where his attraction to the circus only grew bigger. This led him to conceive and co-produce the ''Circus World Championships'': Held annually in London from 1976 to 1986, this circus competition was broadcast on the BBC (with network specials for both CBS and NBC) and became quite an event in the European circus world. While in England, Balding also managed Jimmy Chipperfield's Circus World.... ([[Ivor David Balding|more...]])
  
* [[Edoardo Raspini]], Juggler
+
==New Essays and Biographies==
* [[Italo Medini]], Juggler
+
 
* [[Isabella Nock]], Aerialist
+
* [[Émilien Bouglione/fr|Émilien Bouglione]], French version
* [[Faltyny_Family|The Faltyny Family]], Acrobats, Unicyclists
+
* [[Kremo Family]], icarists
* [[The Aratas]], Tight Wire Artists
+
* [[The Ziratron]], Israel's first Circus
 +
* [[Carlos Guity]], acrobat
 +
* [[James Clowney]], acrobat
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Duo_2-Zen-0_Video_(2015)|Duo_2-Zen-0]], Aerial Hoops (2015)
+
* [[Belyakov_Video_(1983)|Belyakov Troupe]], Russian swing and trained bears (1983)
* [[Rastellis_Video_(1978)|The Rastellis]], Clowns (1978)
+
* [[Assia_Perris_Video_(2026)|Amanda Perris]], hand balancer (2026)
* [[Vitaliy_Smolyanets_Video_(2015)|Vitaliy Smolyanets]], Cage Act (2015)
+
* [[Annas_Video_(2026)|The Annas]], aerial pole (2026)
* [[Charlie_Cairoli_Pie_Entree_Video_(1977)|Charlie Cairoli & Co]], Clown Entrée (1977)
+
* [[Naraieva_Video_(2026)|Vladyslava Naraieva]], hand balancer (2026)
* [[Walter_Zapashny_Video_(1964)|Walter Zapashny]], Mixed Animals Cage Act (1964)
+
* [[Lothara_Bros._Video_(1983)|Lothara Brothers]], high wire (1983)
 +
 
 +
==New Oral Histories==
 +
 
 +
* [[Bouglione_Video_(2013)|The Bouglione Family]] France 3 TV documentary (2013)
 +
* [[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)
  
==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 23:27, 10 July 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

DAVID BALDING

Balding and Flora (2000).jpg

Ivor David Balding (1939-2014) was born March 3, 1939 in Manhattan, and grew up in a horse farm in Camden, South Carolina. His father was the famous British polo player Ivor G. Balding (1909-2005), who, along with his brothers Barney and Gerald, played polo in the United States throughout the 1930's at the Meadow Brook Club on Long Island, then the national center of the sport. Ivor G. Balding subsequently went on to work at the C.V. Whitney Farm in Old Westbury, New York, before becoming manager of the Whitney Farm in Lexington, where he raised and trained racing-horses.

In Britain, Ivor David Balding’s grandfather had sold horses to various circuses in his time, and David himself was introduced to the circus and theater worlds through his father’s connections. He began his show business career as stage manager at the Westport Country Playhouse for legendary Broadway actress Eva Le Gallienne (1899-1991). Le Gallienne, who had performed in her youth as an equestrienneA female equestrian, or horse trainer, horse presenter, or acrobat on horseback. at the illustrious Cirque Medrano in Paris, gave David an introduction to the Fratellini family, who helped him land a job as spotlight operator at the famous Parisian circus. There, David had an invaluable initiation into the circus world.

Back to the U.S., David Balding worked for Joe Papp at the New York Shakespeare Festival, and then founded the New Theatre in New York. During his tenure there, he produced 21 plays, including The Knack, The Ginger Man, Scuba Duba, Steambath, The Man in the Glass Booth, and Lenny. His productions were nominated for two Tony Awards and won five Obie Awards.

The vagaries of theater production, however, forced him to change course, and David went to work for CBS Sports in Europe, where his attraction(Russian) A circus act that can occupy up to the entire second half of a circus performance. to the circus only grew bigger. This led him to conceive and co-produce the Circus World Championships: Held annually in London from 1976 to 1986, this circus competition was broadcast on the BBC (with network specials for both CBS and NBC) and became quite an event in the European circus world. While in England, Balding also managed Jimmy Chipperfield's Circus World.... (more...)

New Essays and Biographies

New Videos

  • Belyakov Troupe, Russian swingGiant swing used to propel flyers into acrobatic figures onto the shoulders of a catcher, on a crash mat, or into a net. and trained bears (1983)
  • Amanda Perris, hand balancer (2026)
  • The Annas, aerial poleA Hanging pole (similar to a Chinese pole), used as an aerial apparatus. (2026)
  • Vladyslava Naraieva, hand balancer (2026)
  • Lothara Brothers, high wireA tight, heavy metallic cable placed high above the ground, on which wire walkers do crossings and various acrobatic exercises. Not to be confused with a tight wire. (1983)

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