Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

From Circopedia

 
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<div style="font-size:162%; border:none; margin:0; padding:.1em; color:#000;">Welcome to Circopedia,</div>
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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:95%;">the free encyclopedia of the international circus.<br />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>
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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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*[[:Category:Artists and Acts|Artists and Acts]]
 
*[[:Category:Circus Arts|Circus Arts]]
 
*[[:Category:Circuses|Circuses]]
 
*[[:Category:History|Circus History]]
 
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*[[:Category:Oral History|Oral History]]
 
*[[:Category:Photo Archive|Photo Archive]]
 
*[[:Category:Video Archive|Video Archive]]
 
*[[Links|Circus Links]]
 
 
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==In The Spotlight==
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===VALENTIN GNEUSHEV===
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[[File:Valentin_Gneushev.jpg|300px|right]]
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Born on December 20, 1951, in Nizhny Tagil, in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, (close to the boundary between Asia and Europe), Valentin Aleksandrovich Gneushev (1951-2026) was one of the most influential circus directors-choreographers of the second half of the twentieth century, and the creator of some of the most innovative and celebrated circus acts of the 1990s.
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As the “new circus” movement was drastically changing the traditional imagery of the circus (roughly between 1975 and 1995), Gneushev became the ultimate trendsetter, completely renewing the language of the ring. A master at discovering untapped talents in the disintegrating Soviet circus world, then creating and designing original acts for them, he eventually influenced the style of many young circus artists and companies, including Cirque du Soleil.
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Valentin Gneushev fell in love with the circus as a teenager. He was fourteen when he began to perform in 1965 in a local Amateur Circus (the Russian equivalent of our Youth Circuses, albeit at a much higher artistic and technical level than in the West). He eventually decided to leave the Sverdlovsk Province and the industrial fumes of Nizhny Tagil (birthplace of the first Russian steam locomotive) and headed for Moscow, where he was accepted in the State College for Circus and Variety Arts (the legendary "Moscow Circus School"). There, he specialized as a clown.
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In Moscow, Gneushev studied under Roman Viktiuk, Firs Zemtsev, and especially Serguei Kashtelyan, who had a lasting influence on his work. He graduated in 1978 and formed a short-lived clown trio with two partners, in which he revealed a special aptitude for pantomime, as well as a need to distance himself from the conventional circus clowning of the period.
  
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An eager student of the arts (literature, history, painting, music), Valentin developed a remarkable artistic culture, and an aesthetic vision rooted in classic as well as contemporary art, and widely open to new influences—a far cry from the prevalent rhetoric of the Soviet artistic scene.... ([[Valentin Gneushev|more...]])
  
==Featured Performer==
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==New Essays and Biographies==
  
[[Image:Giacomino_Photograph_4.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Giacomino]]
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* [[Alexis Gruss, Jr/fr|Alexis Gruss, Jr]] (version française)
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* [[Cirque_d'Hiver/fr|Le Cirque d'Hiver]] (Version française)
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* [[Virginie Kenebel/fr|Virginie Kenebel]] (Version française)
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* [[Cirque Bureau]], circus (English/Français)
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* [[Richiardi Jr.]], magician
  
===[[Giacomino]]===  
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==New Videos==
  
Giacomo Cireni (1884-1956), better known as Giacomino, was one of the most celebrated clowns in Europe at the turn of the 20th century.
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* [[Bondarev_Video_(1985)|Bondarev Troupe]], teeterboard (1985)
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* [[Luna_Video_(2025)|Duo Luna]], aerial hoop (2025)
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* [[Tulga_Video_(2025)|Tulga]], stromgman (2025)
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* [[China_Troupe_-_Bicycle_Video_(2025)|China Acrobatic Troupe]], bicycle act (2025)
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* [[Dorning_Cow_Video_(1978)|Günter Dorning]], trained cows (1978)
  
He was born in Milan, Italy, in March 1884, to a poor family. His father was perhaps a cobbler, who is said to have died at the age of 90. Other sources say that Giacomo was the son of a jockey from the Bocconi stables who had suffered from a bad fall in England during a race in 1890 and had died soon after. What is certain is that Giacomo's mother let him join, at a very young age, the troupe of Circo Pulaiot.  [[Giacomino|more...]]
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==New Oral Histories==
  
==Recent Biographies==
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* [[Dominique_Jando_Video_(2025)|Dominique Jando interview]] by the Circus Historical Society (2025)
*[[Picaso Jr|Picaso, Jr.]], Juggler
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* [[Evelyn_and_Andre_Video_(2015)|Evelyn & André Interview]] on Blikk TV (2015)
*[[Charlie Rivel]], Clown (New Pictures)
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* [[BAC_Blumberg_Video_(1977)|''For A Moment You Fly'']], The First Season of The Big Apple Circus (1977)
*[[Paulina Schumann]], Equestrienne (New Pictures)
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* [[Durov_Documentary_Video_(c.2000)|Vladimir Durov Documentary]] on Russian Television (c.2000)
*[[Egorov Troupe]], Flying Act and Russian Barre
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* [[Dolly_Jacobs_Interview_Video_(2018)|Dolly Jacobs Interview]] at The Ringling (2018)
*[[The Dancing Gauchos]], Bolleadora Dancers
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*[[Les Casaly]], Aerial Cradle
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*[[Vladimir Durov]], Clown and Animal Trainer
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==Featured Oral Histories==
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==Circopedia Books==
*[[Barry Lubin Interview 2008|Barry Lubin]], Clown (Grandma) - Interview (Jando 2008)
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*[[Fumagalli Interview 2008|Fumagalli]], Clown - Interview (Jando 2008)
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*[[Kris Kremo Interview 2007|Kris Kremo]], Juggler - Interview (Jando 2007)
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*[[Yasmine Smart Interview 2007|Yasmine Smart]], Equestrienne - Interview (Jando 2007)
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==Featured Essays and Videos==
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* [[Circopedia Books|Philip Astley & The Horsemen who invented the Circus]], by Dominique Jando (2018)
* Essay: [[New_York_Circuses|The Circus Buildings of New York]]
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* Video: [[Dynamotion_Jugglers_BAC_Video_1986|The Dynamotion Jugglers (1986).]]
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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. Keep visiting us: even if you don't find something today, it may well be here tomorrow!''  
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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
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:'''Dominique Jando'''
 +
:Founder and Curator

Latest revision as of 20:24, 18 March 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

VALENTIN GNEUSHEV

Valentin Gneushev.jpg

Born on December 20, 1951, in Nizhny Tagil, in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, (close to the boundary between Asia and Europe), Valentin Aleksandrovich Gneushev (1951-2026) was one of the most influential circus directors-choreographers of the second half of the twentieth century, and the creator of some of the most innovative and celebrated circus acts of the 1990s.

As the “new circus” movement was drastically changing the traditional imagery of the circus (roughly between 1975 and 1995), Gneushev became the ultimate trendsetter, completely renewing the language of the ring. A master at discovering untapped talents in the disintegrating Soviet circus world, then creating and designing original acts for them, he eventually influenced the style of many young circus artists and companies, including Cirque du Soleil.

Valentin Gneushev fell in love with the circus as a teenager. He was fourteen when he began to perform in 1965 in a local Amateur Circus (the Russian equivalent of our Youth Circuses, albeit at a much higher artistic and technical level than in the West). He eventually decided to leave the Sverdlovsk Province and the industrial fumes of Nizhny Tagil (birthplace of the first Russian steam locomotive) and headed for Moscow, where he was accepted in the State College for Circus and Variety Arts (the legendary "Moscow Circus School"). There, he specialized as a clownGeneric term for all clowns and augustes. '''Specific:''' In Europe, the elegant, whiteface character who plays the role of the straight man to the Auguste in a clown team..

In Moscow, Gneushev studied under Roman Viktiuk, Firs Zemtsev, and especially Serguei Kashtelyan, who had a lasting influence on his work. He graduated in 1978 and formed a short-lived clown trio with two partners, in which he revealed a special aptitude for pantomimeA circus play, not necessarily mute, with a dramatic story-line (a regular feature in 18th and 19th century circus performances)., as well as a need to distance himself from the conventional circus clowning of the period.

An eager student of the arts (literature, history, painting, music), Valentin developed a remarkable artistic culture, and an aesthetic vision rooted in classic as well as contemporary art, and widely open to new influences—a far cry from the prevalent rhetoric of the Soviet artistic scene.... (more...)

New Essays and Biographies

New Videos

  • Bondarev Troupe, teeterboardA seesaw made of wood, or fiberglass poles tied together, which is used to propel acrobats in the air. (1985)
  • Duo Luna, aerial hoopA heavy metallic hoop used as a variance of trapeze, usually with contortion moves. (Also called Cerceau.) (2025)
  • Tulga, stromgman (2025)
  • China Acrobatic Troupe, bicycle act (2025)
  • Günter Dorning, trained cows (1978)

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