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 ήρθατ
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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
 
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/>
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<div style="top:+0.2em; font-size:98%;"> ''Circopedia is an independent educational website, originally created as a project of the non-profit [[Big Apple Circus]]''.</div><br/>
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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
  
===GIA ERADZE===
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===EVELYN & ANDRÉ===
===''Recipient of the 2022 Circopedia Award''===
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[[File:Evelyn_and_Andre_US.png|right|300px]]
 
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During the communist era in Eastern Europe, circus arts experienced a spectacular evolution in terms of quality and originality, spearheaded by the Soviet Union, where this renaissance had started in 1928 with the creation of the State College of Circus and Variety Arts in Moscow. If the achievements of the Soviet circus were well known in the West thanks to the international tours of the Moscow Circus that started in the 1960s, top performers of the Eastern Bloc countries are often overlooked. However, Hungary, amidst other Eastern bloc states, had a strong independent spirit, and the Hungarian State Circus (as well as, individually, many Hungarian acts) had done countless forays in Western Europe and the U.S. The husband-and-wife duo of Evelyn & André are among those who managed to pursue a brilliant international career.
In his early youth, Gia Eradze fell in love with the circus and decided he would become an animal trainer. From then on, nothing stopped him. Not only did he become a successful animal trainer, but his rich, extravagant visual imagination led him to create extremely successful shows that helped revive the creative image of the Russian circus at home and abroad, and eventually propelled him to new heights in the Russian circus artistic hierarchy.
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Gia Giulevich Eradze was born October 3, 1979 in Tbilisi, Georgia&mdash;which was then part of the Soviet Union. His father managed a supermarket, and his mother was Rector of Economics at the Tbilisi State University. His was a well-to-do family with no connection whatsoever with the performing arts in general, and the circus in particular.  
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Yet, then as now, Tbilisi was a circus town: In 1888, the Nikitin brothers had built a wooden circus on Golovinsky Prospect (today Rustaveli Prospect), and what was then Tiflis became their home base. From there, they created a touring circuit for which they used circus buildings they erected over the years in several other cities, including Moscow.
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The original Circus Nikitin’s structure was destroyed by a fire in 1911, and Tbilisi’s new circus was housed for a long time in a former factory before being rebuilt in 1939 in its present location, on a hill on the left bank of the Kura river. It is there that a young Gia Eradze fell in love with the circus&mdash;and especially with animal acts. There and then, he decided he would be an animal trainer.
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He enrolled in the local Amateur Circus (Youth Circus) and began training in various circus disciplines, but he quickly discovered that Amateur Circuses (and circus schools for that matter) did not teach animal training. Working with animals is something you learn hands on, working with other animal trainers in a circus.
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Gia was a precocious and strong-willed kid, and his determination eventually led him to truancy: when his father’s car took him to school in the morning, Gia waited until the chauffeur had left and changed trajectory, landing inevitably at the circus. In 1990, at age eleven, he managed to get a job as an assistant (or as a groom) with Nana Milkatze’s ''Horsemen of Georgia'' troupe of Cossack riders.
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The duo consisted of Éva Páviács (1941-2021) and Endre Takács (b.1933). Both came from families that had no ties with the circus world. Éva (Evelyn) was born on March 10, 1941, in Budapest, the Hungarian capital. She was a very physical kid, and she soon enrolled in the Ferencváros Torna Club, Budapest's gymnastics club. As soon as she became a teenager, she joined Baross Imre Artistaképző (Imre Baross school for Circus and performing arts) where she continued high school while training in various circus disciplines. She graduated in 1960, and began her professional circus career, first in a parallel bars act, The 4 Hunor with three partners (Károly Deltai, Gábor Hunfi, and Imre László), then in an acrobatic act named the Trio Evelyn, with Károly Deltai and Gábor Hunfi.
  
For a while, Gia’s mother wondered why, when her son came back from school, a whiff of hay and horses followed him in the house. When the cause was finally discovered, Gia held his ground firmly and made it clear that he had decided to work in the circus and that he wouldn’t budge. As a compromise, his parents accepted his decision, on the condition that he continued his schooling while working at the circus... (Gia Eradze|more...)
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Born in Pàpoc, a village in the Western Transdanubia region of Hungary, on April 28, 1933, Endre Takács (André) trained in gymnastics, and joined the Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre (MTK) club in Budapest, with which he competed in acrobatic gymnastics. He and his team won a silver medal at the 1952 Hungarian Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships. For a living, Endre worked as a mechanic, but after his competitive career had reached an end, he was encouraged to join the circus by his friend, the artistic gymnast and Olympic champion (1948) Ferenc Pataki&mdash;or "Szefi bácsi" (Uncle Szefi) as he was affectionately called&mdash; who was a teacher at the Baross Imre Artistaképző.... ([[Evelyn and André|more...]])
  
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
  
* [[Little Billy Merchant]], Clown
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* [[Evelyn and André]], Aerialists, Acrobats
* [[Jacko Fossett]], Clown
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* [[Ramón Rampin]], Clown
* [[Circus Ring of Fame]], History
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* [[Elsane]], Aerialist
* [[Natalya Jigalova]], Aerialist
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* [[Nouveau_Cirque_(Paris)/fr|Nouveau Cirque]], History &mdash; Version Française (French Version)
* [[Guangzhou Acrobatic Troupe]], History
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* [[Cirque Medrano (Paris)/fr|Cirque Medrano]], History &mdash; Version Française (French Version)
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
* [[Olandar_Video_(2022)|Vlad Olandar]], House Cats (2022)
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* [[Monte_Carlo_Video_(1974-2019)|Monte Carlo Festival Highlights]], 1974-2019 (2019)
* [[Nesterova_Video_(2022)|Alice Nesterova]], tiger act (2022)
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* [[Bertram_Mills_Video_(1934)|Bertram Mills Circus]] on the Road and at Olympia (1934)
* [[Demitova_Video_(2022)|Anna Demitova]], hand balancer and foot juggler (2022)
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* [[Phyllis_Allan_Video_(1967)|Phyllis Allan]], dog act (1967)
* [[Swing_High_Video_(1932)|Swing High]], documentary featuring The Codonas (1932)
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* [[Ultra_Jump_Video_(2025)|Ultra Jump]], springboard acrobatics (2025)
* [[Alexis_Brothers_Video_(2006)|The Alexis Brothers]], hand-to-hand balancing (2006)
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* [[Duo_Toldi_Video_(1966)|Duo Toldi]], hand-to-hand balancers (1966)
  
 
==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)
* [[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==
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==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.''  
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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'''
 
:Founder and Curator
 
:Founder and Curator

Latest revision as of 17:24, 1 May 2025


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, originally created as a project of the non-profit Big Apple Circus.

In The Spotlight

EVELYN & ANDRÉ

Evelyn and Andre US.png

During the communist era in Eastern Europe, circus arts experienced a spectacular evolution in terms of quality and originality, spearheaded by the Soviet Union, where this renaissance had started in 1928 with the creation of the State College of Circus and Variety Arts in Moscow. If the achievements of the Soviet circus were well known in the West thanks to the international tours of the Moscow Circus that started in the 1960s, top performers of the Eastern Bloc countries are often overlooked. However, Hungary, amidst other Eastern bloc states, had a strong independent spirit, and the Hungarian State Circus (as well as, individually, many Hungarian acts) had done countless forays in Western Europe and the U.S. The husband-and-wife duo of Evelyn & André are among those who managed to pursue a brilliant international career.

The duo consisted of Éva Páviács (1941-2021) and Endre Takács (b.1933). Both came from families that had no ties with the circus world. Éva (Evelyn) was born on March 10, 1941, in Budapest, the Hungarian capital. She was a very physical kid, and she soon enrolled in the Ferencváros Torna Club, Budapest's gymnastics clubA juggling pin.. As soon as she became a teenager, she joined Baross Imre Artistaképző (Imre Baross school for Circus and performing arts) where she continued high schoolA display of equestrian dressage by a rider mounting a horse and leading it into classic moves and steps. (From the French: Haute école) while training in various circus disciplines. She graduated in 1960, and began her professional circus career, first in a parallel bars act, The 4 Hunor with three partners (Károly Deltai, Gábor Hunfi, and Imre László), then in an acrobatic act named the Trio Evelyn, with Károly Deltai and Gábor Hunfi.

Born in Pàpoc, a village in the Western Transdanubia region of Hungary, on April 28, 1933, Endre Takács (André) trained in gymnastics, and joined the Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre (MTK) clubA juggling pin. in Budapest, with which he competed in acrobatic gymnastics. He and his team won a silver medal at the 1952 Hungarian Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships. For a living, Endre worked as a mechanic, but after his competitive career had reached an end, he was encouraged to join the circus by his friend, the artistic gymnast and Olympic champion (1948) Ferenc Pataki—or "Szefi bácsi" (Uncle Szefi) as he was affectionately called— who was a teacher at the Baross Imre Artistaképző.... (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