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/>
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<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, 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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[[Image:Bill_Woodcock_(1999).jpg|right|300px]]
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[[File:Darix_Togni_1963.jpg|right|thumb|320px|Darix Togni]]
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===BILL WOODCOCK===
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===THE TOGNI FAMILY===
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The Togni dynasty was founded by Aristide Togni (1853-1924), a university student who, in the 1870s, ran away and joined the Circo Torinese, a circus company  headed by Giovanni De Bianchi. Like many Italian circuses at the time, the Circo Torinese performed on stage, in theaters. De Bianchi had married Maria de la Garenne (a.k.a. de Lagarein), a Sinti gypsy, who was said to be the granddaughter of a French nobleman who had fled to Italy during the French revolution.
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Togni married Giovanni's daughter, Teresa De Bianchi. Together, they created a circus company of their own&mdash;which, as legend has it, consisted of a single wagon and a monkey&mdash;and headed for the South of Italy. Circa 1880, they had acquired a small, one-pole big top that could house an audience of forty: the first Circo Togni was born. The couple had eight children, and their circus grew quickly, soon performing under a medium-size big top. It became so popular, apparently, that the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, awarded Circo Togni the title of Circo Nazionale in 1919.
  
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William Woodcock, Jr. (1935-2023), better known as Bill or "Buckles" Woodcock, was one of the great elephant trainers of the second half of the twentieth century American circus. A true circus legend in his own times, he was extremely respected in the profession and loved by circus fans, who enjoyed testing his historical knowledge of the American circus, and his encyclopedic command of the history of elephants in the United States&mdash;an interest passed on to him by his father.
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Aristide's succession was assured by three of his sons, Ercole (1894-1958), Ugo (1897-1981), and Ferdinando (1900-1990). The circus alternated summer seasons under the big top with winter engagements in some of the most beautiful theatres of Italy. For several years, they toured Sicily and Greece. In the 1930s, the Dopolavoro Fascista (the entertainment office of the Fascist government) supported the Circo Nazional Togni, which it considered a major artistic propaganda tool.  
  
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William "Buckles" Woodcock was born on February 26, 1935 in Lancaster, Missouri, to an old American circus family. Although his father, William H. Woodcock (1904-1963), was a first-generation circus man (and became a legendary elephant trainer with a passion for circus history), his mother was Sarah "Babe" Orton (1902-1988), whose grandfather, [[Hiram Horton|Hiram]], a former sailor and tavern-keeper of British origin, had started a circus in Wisconsin in 1854. As the feisty Babe would often say, "My family was in the circus when the Ringling brothers were still wearing wooden shoes."
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The circus began to travel with a menagerie, which included tigers, lions, bears, elephants, and an important collection of horses. Ferdinando became a fine horse trainer and presented beautiful "liberty" horse acts; Ercole was the house clown and a good tumbler; Ugo was a perch-pole acrobat, aerialist, and animal trainer. There were also about twenty talented performers among their daughters and sons, and the company included members of other famous Italian circus families, such as Miletti, Jarz, and Casartelli.
  
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Bill (to differentiate him from his father, William) Woodcock grew up around animals, elephants in particular. When he was a toddler, he was often buckled to his mother on a harness to keep him in check and safe around his father's elephants, thus his nickname. At age 11, he began working in the circus as a candy butcher. But Buckles had other plans: in 1951, over his father's objections, he found a job as an animal handler with another elephant trainer, Eugene "Arky" Scott, who worked with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.
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The third Togni generation created the Tognis's three principal signature acts: pyramids on horseback, "jockey," and flying trapeze. By the late 1940s, Darix Togni (Ercole's son, 1922-1976) became, with his lion act, the star of Circo Nazionale Togni. In that act, Darix began to develop his legendary gladiator character. Circo Togni's large, round cupola allowed the presentation of the Tognis's spectacular cross-flying trapeze act, which had no less than two catchers and nine flyers. Among those, Cesare Togni (Ugo's son) accomplished a double "casse-cou" (front somersault) to the catcher, with a return to the bar with a triple pirouette.  
  
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Obviously, there was not much William Senior could do. He and Buckles reunited two years later and began working together. Since his father's vision was failing, Buckles's role in the partnership became increasingly more prominent. In 1951, William Woodcock had acquired a four-year old Burmese woodland elephant, Anna May, from the Al G. Kelly-Miller Bros. Circus, and Buckles began working with her. Anna May, who was a remarkably smart and talented performer, would become America's most famous elephant and stay in the Woodcock family until May 2004, when she went into retirement at Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary in Greenbrier, Arkansas.... ([[William Woodcock, Jr.|more...]])
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Although it survived and performed safely during WWII, the Circo Nazionale Togni was devastated by a fire in 1951. Ercole, Ugo, and Ferdinando decided that it was time to split their ever-growing family within three separate circuses.... ([[The Togni Family|more...]])
  
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
  
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* [[Rex Williams]], Elephant Trainer
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* [[Richiardi Jr.]], magician
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* [[Little Billy Merchant]], Clown
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* [[Astley's Amphitheatre]], circus
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* [[Jacko Fossett]], Clown
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* [[Virginie Kenebel]], equestrienne
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* [[Circus Ring of Fame]], History
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* [[Chongqing_Acrobatic_Troupe|Chongqing Acrobatic Troupe]], History
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* [[Natalya Jigalova]], Aerialist
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* [[Cirkus_Verdensteater_(Oslo)|Cirkus Verdensteater]], Oslo Circus Building
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
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* [[Bikmaevi_Video_(2022)|Duo Bikmaevi]], strap act (2022)  
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* [[The_Brockways_Video_(1971)|The Brockways]], bicycle act (1971)
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* [[Knie_Elephant_and_Tigers_Video_(1976)|Louis Knie]], elephants and tigers act (1976)
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* [[Giulia_Giona_Video_(2025)|Giulia Giona]], horses at libety (2025)
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* [[Bruno_Togni_Video_(2023)|Bruno Togni]], tiger act (2023)
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* [[Maxim_Voronin_Video_(2025)|Maxim Voronin]], magic/hand-balancing/contortion (2025)
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* [[Rene_Casselly_Jr_Video_(2023)|RenéCasselly, Jr.]], acrobat on horseback (2023)
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* [[Fuentes-Gasca_Video_(2024)|The Flying Fuentes-Gasca]], flying trapeze (2024)
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* [[Ruban_Troupe_Video_(2022)|Anatoliy Ruban Troupe]], teeterboard (2022)
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* [[Diables_Blancs_Video_(1974)|Les Diables Blancs]], high wire (1974)
  
 
==New Oral Histories==
 
==New Oral Histories==
  
 +
* [[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)
 
* [[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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==A Message from the Founder==
 
==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 21:17, 11 December 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, initially created as a project of the original, non-profit Big Apple Circus.

In The Spotlight

Darix Togni

THE TOGNI FAMILY

The Togni dynasty was founded by Aristide Togni (1853-1924), a university student who, in the 1870s, ran away and joined the Circo Torinese, a circus company headed by Giovanni De Bianchi. Like many Italian circuses at the time, the Circo Torinese performed on stage, in theaters. De Bianchi had married Maria de la Garenne (a.k.a. de Lagarein), a Sinti gypsy, who was said to be the granddaughter of a French nobleman who had fled to Italy during the French revolution.

Togni married Giovanni's daughter, Teresa De Bianchi. Together, they created a circus company of their own—which, as legend has it, consisted of a single wagon and a monkey—and headed for the South of Italy. Circa 1880, they had acquired a small, one-pole big topThe circus tent. America: The main tent of a traveling circus, where the show is performed, as opposed to the other tops. (French, Russian: Chapiteau) that could house an audience of forty: the first Circo Togni was born. The couple had eight children, and their circus grew quickly, soon performing under a medium-size big topThe circus tent. America: The main tent of a traveling circus, where the show is performed, as opposed to the other tops. (French, Russian: Chapiteau). It became so popular, apparently, that the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, awarded Circo Togni the title of Circo Nazionale in 1919.

Aristide's succession was assured by three of his sons, Ercole (1894-1958), Ugo (1897-1981), and Ferdinando (1900-1990). The circus alternated summer seasons under the big topThe circus tent. America: The main tent of a traveling circus, where the show is performed, as opposed to the other tops. (French, Russian: Chapiteau) with winter engagements in some of the most beautiful theatres of Italy. For several years, they toured Sicily and Greece. In the 1930s, the Dopolavoro Fascista (the entertainment office of the Fascist government) supported the Circo Nazional Togni, which it considered a major artistic propaganda tool.

The circus began to travel with a menagerie, which included tigers, lions, bears, elephants, and an important collection of horses. Ferdinando became a fine horse trainer and presented beautiful "liberty"Liberty act", "Horses at liberty": Unmounted horses presented from the center of the ring by an equestrian directing his charges with his voice, body movements, and signals from a ''chambrière'' (French), or long whip." horse acts; Ercole was the house clown and a good tumbler; Ugo was a perch-poleLong perch held vertically on a performer's shoulder or forehead, on the top of which an acrobat executes various balancing figures. acrobat, aerialistAny acrobat working above the ring on an aerial equipment such as trapeze, Roman Rings, Spanish web, etc., and animal trainer. There were also about twenty talented performers among their daughters and sons, and the company included members of other famous Italian circus families, such as Miletti, Jarz, and Casartelli.

The third Togni generation created the Tognis's three principal signature acts: pyramids on horseback, "jockeyClassic equestrian act in which the participants ride standing in various attitudes on a galoping horse, perform various jumps while on the horse, and from the ground to the horse, and perform classic horse-vaulting exercises.," and flying trapezeAerial act in which an acrobat is propelled from a trapeze to a catcher, or to another trapeze. (See also: Short-distance Flying Trapeze). By the late 1940s, Darix Togni (Ercole's son, 1922-1976) became, with his lion act, the star of Circo Nazionale Togni. In that act, Darix began to develop his legendary gladiator character. Circo Togni's large, round cupola allowed the presentation of the Tognis's spectacular cross-flying trapezeAerial act in which an acrobat is propelled from a trapeze to a catcher, or to another trapeze. (See also: Short-distance Flying Trapeze) act, which had no less than two catchers and nine flyers. Among those, Cesare Togni (Ugo's son) accomplished a double "casse-cou(French) A front, or forward, somersault." (front somersault) to the catcherIn an acrobatic or a flying act, the person whose role is to catch acrobats that have been propelled in the air., with a return to the bar with a triple pirouette(French) A full rotation of the body in the vertical axle. Double pirouette: two rotations, etc..

Although it survived and performed safely during WWII, the Circo Nazionale Togni was devastated by a fire in 1951. Ercole, Ugo, and Ferdinando decided that it was time to split their ever-growing family within three separate circuses.... (more...)

New Essays and Biographies

New Videos

  • The Brockways, bicycle act (1971)
  • Giulia Giona, horses at libety (2025)
  • Maxim Voronin, magic/hand-balancing/contortion (2025)
  • The Flying Fuentes-Gasca, flying trapezeAerial act in which an acrobat is propelled from a trapeze to a catcher, or to another trapeze. (See also: Short-distance Flying Trapeze) (2024)
  • Les Diables Blancs, 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. (1974)

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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