The Untold Story Of Europe’s First Black Female Circus Star
2018 MARKED the 250th anniversary of the circus. In celebration, an exhibition which highlights diversity and complexity within the circus…
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History
The Hartford Courant Let Survivors of a Tragic 75-Year-Old Circus Fire Tell Their Own Stories
Seventy-five years ago, a fire broke out in Hartford, Connecticut. On July 6, 1944, fire erupted inside the big top…
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How a German Circus Saved a Jewish Family of Circus Artists
Back in 2013, I had typed a few words into the Google search bar, and little did I know that…
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Director Sharon Grimberg On Her Big Top Historical Doc ‘The Circus’: “It Was Transgressive In All Sorts Of Ways”
Traditional circuses still crisscross the country, but on a much-reduced scale from when they ruled America as the undisputed “greatest…
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Pascal Jacob, Straddling the Circus of Yesterday and Tomorrow
Picture the word impressario, and you will have a perfect image of Pascal Jacob, Vice President of the Festival Mondial…
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New Circus Children’s Book About Historic Australian Performer May Wirth–Interview with the Author
It is a precious opportunity to learn about and from circus from folks who have traveled with and performed in…
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Past: Arthur Konyot
I first learned of the Konyot family through professor Ron Beadle, a renowned British circademic and a descendant of the Konyot…
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Philip Astley; the Man Behind the Myth
So, here we are in 2019 and the circus celebrations of last year are behind us – or are they?…
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The Maroma of Mexico, Then & Now
My first approach to the Maroma was in 2008. I was member of Otro Circo and Circo Atayde Hnos invited us to a gathering with…
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25 Moments from the Life of Cirque Éloize–Part 2
Cirque Éloize is celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2018. That equals 25 years of shows and innovation in the circus…
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Black and Female Circus Artists Take Center Ring in New Museum Show
In 1879, the artist Edgar Degas attended a performance at the Cirque Fernando in Paris where he was dazzled by…
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San Francisco Style Circus from Pickle Family to Bella
In front of the blue, red, and gold circus ring looms the iconic North Beach church, a bright white beacon…
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After the Big Top: CarlosAlexis Cruz on the Evolution of Modern Circus
The classic circus, featuring performing animals in three rings under the big top, has passed away. What’s taken its place?…
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Circus Performers Killed in Hammond Train Crash Remembered 100 Years Later
For more than 100 years, the remains of 56 performers and roustabouts of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus lay at the Woodlawn…
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Rock N Roll Circus: Pioneers of the Brisbane Contemporary Circus Sector
With its roots embedded in the thriving bohemian and nomadic local arts scene, the origins of Brisbane’s (Queensland, Australia) contemporary…
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Circus250 – Museums and Galleries Celebrate 250 Years of the Modern Circus
This year hundreds of circus-related exhibitions and events are taking place in towns and cities throughout the UK as part…
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250 Years of Circus: Why Straps Are the Most Balletic and Stripped Back of Aerial Disciplines
I do straps because it’s just me and the air up there. It’s the most stripped back of aerial disciplines….
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250 Years of Circus: The Death Defying Feats of Early Handbalancers
Handstands may sound like a ridiculously niche skill but they are actually a staple of many circus disciplines. My handbalancing…
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250 Years of British Circus Posters!
When I was about 11, a shopkeeper gave me an out-of-date circus poster of a growling lion’s head to stick…
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250 Years of Circus: The Street Origins of Foot Juggling
I began acrobatics 15 years ago when I was 7 years-old. I started to train in foot juggling in 2008….
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Philip Astley and the First Circuses; A Very British Institution
Here is a challenge for you – stop anyone in the street and ask them if they know what a…
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250 Years of Circus: the Truth Behind the Cyr Wheel
This year marks 250 years since the start of modern circus. It was in 1768 that Philip Astley began his…
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50 Years of Circus Photography – In Pictures
The year 2018 is the 25oth anniversary of the creation of the circus, and Peter Lavery has been photographing behind…
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Chainsaw Juggling, Human Cannonballs and Coco the Clown! The Astounding 250-Year Story of Circus
When was the first trapeze performance? Who launched ‘the greatest show on Earth’? And which showman was celebrated in song…
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Circus History Talk 250 : Dominique Jando Pays Tribute to the 250th Anniversary of Circus with a New Book
Circus Talk is happy to announce a new yearlong series titled Circus History Talk 250, where we will explore the…
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The Great Omi
Horace Leonard Ridler (1882-1965) was born in Surrey, South East England. He was the youngest son of an upper-class family…
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Almanac: The First Flying Trapeze Act
And now a page from our “Sunday Morning” Almanac: November 12, 1859, 158 years ago today … a day for…
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Amazing Photos Emerge of 19th Century Traveling Performers
The collection of over 150 images tells the story of the circus of the great showman ‘Lord’ George Sanger …
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The Juggling Genius of Paul Cinquevalli
As a boy, Emil Otto Paul Braun, born in 1859 in a Prussian (now Polish) village, was renowned for his…
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Performers of the Past; A Proud Legacy–Lulu Adams
Lulu Adams was born Louise Craston in 1900 to Joe Craston and Martha Cashmore. Lulu was born into a family…
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Tribute Concert at Renovated Communist-era Circus Building Features Elation Lighting
Moldova – Elation dealer Eventika Grup SRL of Moldova recently finished an interesting project that the company worked long and…
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Bindlestiff Family Circus Talks About the Nouveau Sideshow
The Bindlestiff Family Circus shared their review of the circus panel discussion on the sideshow resurgence and history that took…
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Circus250 Pre-Show Behind-the-Scenes Vlog Post on Circus Dairies
Katharine Kavanagh is at it again with another great vlog post on the Circus Diaries Youtibe channel, this one with…
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The Leeds Tragedy which Killed Wife of Britain’s First Black Circus Owner
The mixed race showman of African heritage was the first non-white man to run his own circus, and he often…
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Traveling Exhibit in Lincoln Looks at the Height of the Circus Era, When Shows Were the ‘Home of Technological Splendor’
A new circus exhibit in Lincoln, Nebraska hearkens back to the golden era of traveling circus, a history that will…
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This Archive Is Digitizing the History of the Circus
In a bid to preserve circus culture, Illinois State University’s Milner Library is making more than 300 circus route books…
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15 Phenomenal Female Circus Performers
For many the circus is a place of wonder and fantasy come alive. But for these 15 women, it was…
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A Mass Grave Holds These Circus Performers. They’re Buried Togetherfor a Tragic Reason
Showmen’s Rest is a mass burial of clowns, trapeze artists, and other circus performers. The wandering families of entertainers were…
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France’s First Black Icon Makes Comeback on Stage and Screen
The son of slaves and darling of bourgeois Paris, Rafael Padilla – known as “Chocolat” – has long been forgotten….
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Flesh for Beasts: Circus under an Evil Spell in the Madrid at War
Carne de fieras (Flesh for Beasts) is a 1936 Spanish film in which French animal tamer Georges Marck and dancer…
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