Circus

A circus is most commonly a traveling company of performers that may include acrobats, clowns, trained animals, and other novelty acts and the word also describes the performance that they give. A circus is held in a oval or circular arena with tiered seating around its circumference; in the case of traveling circuses this location is most often a large tent.

History of the circus

Circus in the ancient world

In Ancient Rome the circus was a building for the exhibition of horse and chariot races, equestrian shows, staged battles, displays featuring trained exotic animals, jugglers and acrobats and other amusements. The circus of Rome is thought to have been influenced by the Egyptians and Greeks where chariot racing and the exhibition of exotic animals were popular events. The Roman circus consisted of tiers of seats running parallel with the sides of the course, and forming a crescent round one of the ends. The lower seats were reserved for persons of rank; there were also various state boxes, eg. for the giver of the games and his friends. In Ancient Rome the circus was the only public spectacle at which men and women were not separated.

Related Topics:
Horse - Chariot

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The first circus in Rome was the Circus Maximus, in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills. Next in importance to the Circus Maximus in Rome was the Circus Flaminius, the Circus Neronis, from the notoriety which it obtained through the Circensian pleasures of Nero. A fourth, Circus Maxentius, was constructed by Maxentius; the ruins of this circus have enabled archaeologists to reconstruct the Roman circus.

Related Topics:
Circus Maximus - Circus Flaminius - Circus Neronis - Circus Maxentius - Maxentius

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Following the fall of Rome, Europe lacked a large and organized circus. Itinerant showmen traveled the fair grounds of Europe. Animal trainers and performers are thought ot have exploited the nostalgia for the Roman circus, traveling between towns and performing at local fairs. Another possible link between the Roman and modern circus could have been bands of gypsies who appeared in Europe in the 14th century and in Britain from the 15th century bringing with them circus skills and trained animals.

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The development of circus

The modern concept of a circus as a circular arena surrounded by tiers of seats, for the exhibition of equestrian, acrobatic, and other performances seems to have existed since the late 18th century. {{mn|OED|1}} The popularity of the circus in England may be traced to that held by Philip Astley in London, the first performance of his circus is said to have been held on January 9, 1768. Astley was followed by Andrew Ducrow, whose feats of horsemanship had much to do with establishing the traditions of the circus, which were perpetuated by Henglers and Sangers celebrated shows in a later generation. In England circuses were often held in purpose built buildings in large cities, such as the London Hippodrome, which was built as a combination of the circus, the menagerie and the variety theatre, where wild animals such as lions and elephants from time to time appeared in the ring, and where convulsions of nature such as floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions have been produced with an extraordinary wealth of realistic display.

Related Topics:
England - Philip Astley - January 9 - 1768 - Andrew Ducrow - London Hippodrome

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In the first half of the 19th century the establishments of Purdy, Welch & Co., and of van Amburgh gave a wide popularity to the circus in the United States. In 1825 Joshuah Purdy Brown was the first circus owner to use a large canvas tent for the circus performance. The original American circuses were primarily travelling menageries. The American circus was revolutionized by P. T. Barnum and William Cameron Coup, who launched P. T. Barnum's Museum, Menagerie & Circus, a travelling combination animal and human oddities, the exhibition of humans as a freakshow or sideshow was thus an American invention. Coup was also the first circus entrepreneur to use circus trains to transport the circus from town to town; a practice that continues today and introduced the first multiple ringed circuses.

Related Topics:
United States - Joshuah Purdy Brown - Menagerie - P. T. Barnum - William Cameron Coup - Freakshow - Sideshow - Circus train

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In 1840 the equestrian Thomas Cooke returned to England from the United States, bringing with him a circus tent. Three important circus innovators were Italian Giuseppe Chiarini, and Frenchmen Louis Soullier and Jacques Tourniaire, whose early travelling circuses introduced the circus to Latin America, Australia, South East Asia, China, India, South Africa and Russia. Soullier was the first circus owner to introduce Chinese acrobatics to the European circus when he returned from his travels in 1866 and Tourniaire was the first to introduce the performing art to Russia where it became extremely popular. Following Barnum's death his circus merged with that of James Anthony Bailey, and travelled to Europe as Barnum & Bailey "Greatest Show On Earth" where it toured from 1897 to 1902, impressing other circus owners with its large scale, its touring techniques including the tent and circus train and the combination of circus acts, zoological exhibition and the freak-show. This format was adopted by European circuses at the turn of the 20th century.

Related Topics:
Thomas Cooke - Giuseppe Chiarini - Louis Soullier - Jacques Tourniaire - James Anthony Bailey

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The influence of the American circus brought about a considerable change in the character of the modern circus. In arenas too large for speech to be easily audible, the traditional comic dialog of the clown assumed a less prominent place than formerly, while the vastly increased wealth of stage properties relegated to the background the old-fashioned equestrian feats, which were replaced by more ambitious acrobatic performances, and by exhibitions of skill, strength and daring, requiring the employment of immense numbers of performers and often of complicated and expensive machinery.

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The Russian circus underwent an interesting development in 1919 when Vladimir Lenin nationalised the circus and in 1927 the State University of Circus and Variety Arts, better known as the Moscow Circus School was established where performers were trained using methods developed from the Soviet gymnastics program. When the Russian companies began touring in the 1950s, their performances were impressive and had a significant impact on the way contemporary circus developed as a performing art.

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Contemporary circus

In the 1960s and 1970s, the circus began to lose popularity as people became more interested in animal rights and alternative forms of entertainment. Some circuses have stayed afloat by merging with other circus companies.There are numerous circuses that maintain a mix of animal and human performers, these include Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, the Moscow State Circus, Circus Krone from Munich and the Big Apple Circus. Circus Circus is a Las Vegas circus themed casino and the largest permanent big top in the world also presents human and animal performances.

Related Topics:
Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus - Moscow State Circus - Circus Krone - Big Apple Circus - Circus Circus - Las Vegas

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The Cirque Nouveau is a performing arts movement that developed in France in the 1970's and uses the physical theatre aspects of circus to tell a story; there are typically no animals used in this type of circus. Examples include the Cirque du Soleil founded in 1984, Circus Oz founded in 1977 and the West African Circus Baobab. Circuses from China, drawing on Chinese tradtions of acrobatics, like the Chinese State Circus are popular touring acts. The Jim Rose Circus is an intersting take on the sideshow.

Related Topics:
Cirque Nouveau - Cirque du Soleil - Circus Oz - Circus Baobab - Chinese State Circus - Jim Rose Circus - Sideshow

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The International Circus Festival has been held in Monte Carlo since 1974 and was the first of many international awards for circus performers.

Related Topics:
International Circus Festival - Monte Carlo

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