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==In The Spotlight==
 
==In The Spotlight==
  
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===THE INDIAN CIRCUS===
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===VALENTIN GNEUSHEV===
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[[File:Rambo_Circus_Poster_(2014).jpg|right|320px]]
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[[File:Valentin_Gneushev.jpg|300px|right]]
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The circus tradition in India dates back to the late nineteenth century—although India has of course a much more ancient tradition of traveling entertainers, comparable and parallel to those of Asia and Europe, and who often cross-pollinated with them. But the first Indian circus, according to the definition of the art form created by Philip Astley in 1770, didn’t appear until 1880.
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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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Its creator was Vishnupant Chatre, a riding master who doubled as a singing teacher. Chatre was born in the village of Ankakhop (now part of the city of Sangli), in the province of Maharashtra, southeast of Bombay (the present Mumbai). Chatre was in charge of the stables of the Rajah of Kurduwadi, where he occasionally performed "feats of horsemanship"—in the tradition of old English riding masters such as Philip Astley.
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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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As legend has it, Chatre and the Rajah went to see a performance of the Royal Italian Circus of Giuseppe Chiarini in Bombay. The peripatetic Italian director (whose company was generally based in North America) was on one of its many world tours, and visited Bombay for the first time in 1774. Chiarini was a remarkable equestrian, and Chatre was duly impressed by his performance, and also by his show. During a conversation with Chatre and the Rajah, Chiarini bluntly stated that India was not ready to have a circus of its own, and that it would take at least ten years before it could happen; Chatre was piqued.
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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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Thus Vishnupant Chatre decided to organize his own circus, of which he would be the star equestrian, and his wife would become a trapeze artist and an animal trainer. He probably used some of his pupils in the equestrian department as well. The first performance of Chatre’s Great Indian Circus was held on March 20, 1880 in the presence of a selected audience—among which was the Rajah of Kurduwadi, who may have helped him in starting his venture.
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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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Following the model of Chiarini, Chatre’s Great Indian Circus went on to travel extensively, first in the vast regions of North India, then further south, to the large east-coast city of Madras (today’s Chennai), and down to the Island of Ceylon (today’s Sri Lanka). In 1884, Chatre embarked in a tour of Southeast Asia, and, according to Indian circus lore, he then crossed the ocean to conquer the United States. But here, Chatre had badly overestimated his powers: He was indeed unable to measure up to the giant American circuses, neither in size nor in quality, and he returned to India in defeat. However, no record is known of Chatre's performing in the United States.
... ([[The Indian Circus|more...]])
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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...]])
  
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
 
==New Essays and Biographies==
  
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* [[Cirque Bureau]], circus
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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)
 
* [[Richiardi Jr.]], magician
 
* [[Richiardi Jr.]], magician
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* [[Astley's Amphitheatre]], circus
 
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* [[Virginie Kenebel]], equestrienne
 
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* [[Cirkus_Verdensteater_(Oslo)|Cirkus Verdensteater]], Oslo Circus Building
 
  
 
==New Videos==
 
==New Videos==
  
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* [[Rokashkovs_Video_(2026)|Sergei & Olga Rokashkov]], horizontal bars (2026)
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* [[Tulga_Video_(2025)|Tulga]], stromgman (2025)
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* [[Angelina_Richter_Video_(2026)|Angelina Richter]], equestrienne (2026)
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* [[China_Troupe_-_Bicycle_Video_(2025)|China Acrobatic Troupe]], bicycle act (2025)
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* [[Francesco_Fratellini_Video_(2024)|Francesco Fratellini]], clown (2024)
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* [[Dorning_Cow_Video_(1978)|Günter Dorning]], trained cows (1978)
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* [[Madagascar_Video_(2025)|Massimiliano Martini]], mixed animals act (2025)
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* [[Kims_Video_(1963)|The Kims]], comedy acrobatics (1963)
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* [[Burger_Sisters_Video_(1980)|The Burger Sisters]], trapeze act (1980)
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* [[Kolfe_Video_(2026)|Kolfe Troupe]], Risley/teeterboard act (2026)
  
 
==New Oral Histories==
 
==New Oral Histories==

Latest revision as of 21:11, 13 March 2026


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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

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.

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Founder and Curator
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