Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

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<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 ήρθατε!</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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<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
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<div style="top:+0.2em; font-size:98%;"> ''Circopedia was originally created with the support of the Big Apple Circus Ltd. and inspired and funded by the [http://www.sdrubin.org/ Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation]''.</div><br/>
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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==
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[[File:Big_Apple_Circus_tent_(1996).jpg|right|400px]]
 
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===THE BIG APPLE CIRCUS===
 
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A cherished New York Institution, the original, not-for-profit Big Apple Circus was created in 1977 by Paul Binder and his juggling partner, Michael Christensen, as the performing arm of the New York School for Circus Arts. Its enormous success soon put the school in the shadows, and the circus took over as the principal activity of the organization. It became one of the world’s most respected and successful circuses—until the economic crisis of 2008, which dramatically impacted its fund-raising capacity, sadly led it to file for bankruptcy eight years later.
 
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Its name and equipment were sold to private investors who brought the Big Apple Circus back to life in September 2017 in its traditional winter venue, Damrosch Park, in New York’s prestigious Lincoln Center for The Performing Arts. The new Big Apple Circus quickly abandoned its spring-summer tours of the northeast United States and beyond, and limited its activity to its Lincoln Center four-month winter season. However, the Covid pandemic prevented it from performing in the winter of 2020-21. (As of August 2021, it is not yet known when or if it will resume its performances.)
 
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As a child, Paul Binder was occasionally taken to the circus by his parents at Madison Square Garden. "I do have one very powerful memory," Paul said, "a spotlighted Unus, alone in the center ring, doing his one-finger stand on a lighted globe. It was very dramatic!" However, the idea that within the circus ring would lie his career never entered his mind.
 
  
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Later, Paul attended Dartmouth College, where he joined the Dartmouth Players and the Hopkins Center Repertory Theatre, and then earned an MBA at Columbia University. After a brief stint at Boston University’s School of Fine and Applied Arts, he went to work on television as stage manager for Julia Child’s cooking shows, and later as talent coordinator for The Merv Griffin Show. It was the end of the 1960s, and Paul was restless with the times.
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===THE ARAGON FAMILY===
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[[File:Pompoff_Thedy_Emilio_Zampabollos.jpeg|right|400px]]
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The Aragón family is one of Europe’s most prolific clown dynasties. A Spanish family with French circus ancestry, it has produced five generations of funnymen, some of whom have become major circus stars in Spain as well as abroad: Pompoff y Thedy, arguably the greatest Spanish clown duet of their generation, which morphed into The Pompoff Thedy Family with the third and fourth generations and have enjoyed an outstanding international career; and Gaby, Fofó y Miliki, from the fourth generation, and their children of the fifth generation, who became major stars on Spanish television.
  
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Meanwhile, in Walla-Walla, Washington, where he was born, Michael Christensen was struggling with a difficult childhood. Somehow, he needed to act out the feelings stirred by his uneasy life, so, quite naturally, he enrolled in the Professional Actor Training program at the University of Washington. As for the circus: "When the circus came to town in the summer, I helped setting up the tents with my brother in exchange for free passes. I also remember laughing uncontrollably at a clown gag—but I don’t remember who the clown was nor what was the gag."
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The founder of the dynasty, Gabriel Aragón Gomez, was a former seminarian who had “run away and joined the circus,” and eventually became a clown under the name of Pepino. Gabriel married the equestrienne Virginie Foureaux (?-1930), daughter of the equestrian Jean-Philippe Foureaux, who came from one of France’s oldest circus dynasties: the Grand Cirque Foureaux had been established by Jacques Foureaux in 1805, and her family had been playing the fairgrounds long before the modern circus was created by Philip Astley in 1770. Gabriel and Virginie had fifteen children&mdash;and four sons among them. Little has been recorded of Arturo, the elder, who was probably significantly older than his more famous brothers: Emilio (later known as Emig&mdash;?-1946), Teodoro (later known as Thedy&mdash;1885-1974), and José-María (later known as Pompoff&mdash;1886-1970).
  
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Both Paul and Michael ended up in San Francisco, where they met at the San Francisco Mime Troupe. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, San Francisco was the epicenter of a whole era of student revolt and social change. The San Francisco Mime Troupe was taking in active part in that change through a political street-theater movement aimed at stimulating people through outrageous, right-in-your-face physicality.... ([[Big Apple Circus|more...]])
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At the end of the nineteenth century, Gabriel Aragón created a successful clown duet with his elder son Arturo. As Pepino y Tonino (Arturo’s stage name), they acquired a strong reputation in Spain and all over Europe. Gabriel’s other sons participated in their father’s act as they grew up (the act was sometimes billed as the Aragón Family), but in 1909, José-María and Teodoro decided to take their independence and create a clown act of their own. They flopped: At twenty-four and twenty-two respectively, they probably still lacked the maturity necessary to carry a comedy act by themselves&mdash;especially in a country that appreciated good clowning, and where great clowns were aplenty!... ([[The Aragón Family|more...]])
  
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
  
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* [[Pablo Noel]], Animal Trainer
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* [[Alexis Gruss, Jr/fr|Alexis Gruss, Jr]] (version française)
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* [[Big Apple Circus]], History
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* [[Cirque_d'Hiver/fr|Le Cirque d'Hiver]] (Version française)
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* [[Gerry Cottle]], Circus Owner
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* [[Virginie Kenebel/fr|Virginie Kenebel]] (Version française)
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* [[Sarah Chapman]], Aerialist
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* [[Cirque Bureau]], circus (English/Français)
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* [[The 3 Bragazzi]], Comedy Acrobats
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* [[Richiardi Jr.]], magician
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
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* [[Wellton_Video_(2010)|John Wellton]], Comedy Juggler (2010)
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* [[Dorning_Cow_Video_(1978)|Günter Dorning]], trained cows (1978)
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* [[Espanas_Video_(1983)|The Flying Españas]], Flying Trapeze (1983)
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* [[Kims_Video_(1963)|The Kims]], comedy acrobatics (1963)
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* [[Wu_Zhengdan-Wei_Baohua_Video_(2008)|Wu Zhengdan & Wei Baohua]], Acrobatic Adagio (2008)
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* [[Kolfe_Video_(2026)|Kolfe Troupe]], Risley/teeterboard act (2026)
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* [[Duo_Unity_Video_(2016)|Duo Unity]], Cyr Wheel (2016)
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* [[Koziaks_Spanish_Video_(1987)|The Koziaks]], Russian barre (1987)
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* [[Credo_Video_(2017)|Trio Credo]], Russian Barre (2017)
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* [[Segura_Video_(1980)|The Segura Family]], trampoline & Risley combination (1980)
  
 
==New Oral Histories==
 
==New Oral Histories==
  
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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)
 
* [[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)
 
* [[Dolly_Jacobs_Interview_Video_(2018)|Dolly Jacobs Interview]] at The Ringling (2018)
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* [[Pinito_del_Oro_RTE_Video_(1970)|Pinito del Oro's Interview]] on Spanish Television (1970)
 
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* [[Eradze_Video_(2015)|Gia Eradze]]'s Interview on SSU TV (2015)
 
  
 
==Circopedia Books==
 
==Circopedia Books==
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* [[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)
  
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==A Message from Dominique Jando==
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==A Message from the Founder==
  
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''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 06:29, 2 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

THE ARAGON FAMILY

Pompoff Thedy Emilio Zampabollos.jpeg

The Aragón family is one of Europe’s most prolific clown dynasties. A Spanish family with French circus ancestry, it has produced five generations of funnymen, some of whom have become major circus stars in Spain as well as abroad: Pompoff y Thedy, arguably the greatest Spanish clown duet of their generation, which morphed into The Pompoff Thedy Family with the third and fourth generations and have enjoyed an outstanding international career; and Gaby, Fofó y Miliki, from the fourth generation, and their children of the fifth generation, who became major stars on Spanish television.

The founder of the dynasty, Gabriel Aragón Gomez, was a former seminarian who had “run away and joined the circus,” and eventually became a clown under the name of Pepino. Gabriel married the equestrienneA female equestrian, or horse trainer, horse presenter, or acrobat on horseback. Virginie Foureaux (?-1930), daughter of the equestrian Jean-Philippe Foureaux, who came from one of France’s oldest circus dynasties: the Grand Cirque Foureaux had been established by Jacques Foureaux in 1805, and her family had been playing the fairgrounds long before the modern circus was created by Philip Astley in 1770. Gabriel and Virginie had fifteen children—and four sons among them. Little has been recorded of Arturo, the elder, who was probably significantly older than his more famous brothers: Emilio (later known as Emig—?-1946), Teodoro (later known as Thedy—1885-1974), and José-María (later known as Pompoff—1886-1970).

At the end of the nineteenth century, Gabriel Aragón created a successful clown duet with his elder son Arturo. As Pepino y Tonino (Arturo’s stage name), they acquired a strong reputation in Spain and all over Europe. Gabriel’s other sons participated in their father’s act as they grew up (the act was sometimes billed as the Aragón Family), but in 1909, José-María and Teodoro decided to take their independence and create a clown act of their own. They flopped: At twenty-four and twenty-two respectively, they probably still lacked the maturity necessary to carry a comedy act by themselves—especially in a country that appreciated good clowning, and where great clowns were aplenty!... (more...)

New Essays and Biographies

New Videos

  • Günter Dorning, trained cows (1978)
  • The Kims, comedy acrobatics (1963)
  • Kolfe Troupe, Risley/teeterboardA seesaw made of wood, or fiberglass poles tied together, which is used to propel acrobats in the air. act (2026)
  • The Koziaks, Russian barreFlexible pole, held horizontally by two catchers, or under-standers, with which they propelled a flyer in acrobatic figures from and to the pole. (1987)
  • The Segura Family, trampoline & Risley combination (1980)

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
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