Mapping Contortion in Japan– Part Three: Cultural Heritage & The Lion Dance
Following up with part one of my series, Mapping Contortion in Japan, I continue exploring the history of contortion and body…
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History
Black Performers of the Nineteenth Century Circus
As we move into Black History Month we should be celebrating the lives of black performers of the nineteenth century…
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The Rise of the New Woman Within the Circus
Women have always had a place in the circus, but it would not be until 1896 that the “New Woman”…
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From Wirth’s to Circus Oz, Melbourne’s Art Centre is Still Home for Australia’s Greatest Circus Troupes
What began as equestrian events in the 1860’s led to travelling troupes of performers and exotic animals which became known…
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Meet Khalil Oghab: “The Father of Iranian Circus”
Born Khalil Tariqat Peyma in 1924, the athlete acted as a stuntman in different world countries and set a record…
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Walking a Tightrope
Clowns, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians and dancers does this sound like a fantasyland to you? If yes, then probably you…
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The Female Aerialist: Androgyny, Femininity, and Muscularity
As a child, I was what some would call a tomboy, clad in baggy hand-me-downs while leaping from trees onto…
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After 76 Years and a DNA Investigation, the Identities of Five Victims from the Hartford Circus Fire Remains a Mystery
Chief State Medical Examiner James Gill said Tuesday that experts were unable to extract viable DNA from the exhumed bones…
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SSoP Podcast Episode 11 — The Circus: Found Family and Daring Feats
For centuries, the circus has transported audiences to an enthralling in-between place: a version of our world where gravity seems…
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Somersaulting Out of the Archive: Facets of Circus Studies in German-Speaking Countries
A conversation by Mirjam Hildbrand & Anna-Sophie Jürgens In times of climate catastrophe, refugee crises and Covid-19, the question of…
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The Tiger King of the 19th Century
Netflix’s hit docuseries Tiger King is so relentlessly crazy that it’s easy to think that its particular breed of bananas…
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Showbiz & The Spanish Flu: Lessons from Last Century’s Pandemic
The entertainment world is in a spiral, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cirque du Soleil has temporarily laid off 95%…
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Mapping Contortion in Japan– Part One, A History
I recently published my anthropological research study The Art of Contortionism: An Introduction to and Analysis of Chinese Contortionism in…
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Circus Sarasota Reinvents the Great American Circus for the 21st Century
The circus is an ancient art form, dating back to the Roman Empire, at least. The reason it’s still around?…
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The Forgotten ‘Gentleman of Colour’ of the Victorian Circus; Joseph Hillier
The Victorian era was the golden age of the circus. Popular entertainment for the masses, it embraced all classes of…
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Keeping Tradition of Circus Music Alive Is Focus of Retirees’ Windjammers Group
More than a hundred, mostly retired, part-time musicians from around the country gathered last week in Sarasota to revive what…
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Colliding Expectations: Cautionary Tale from the Circus
It was the widespread use of trains that finally got the circus business on track. But wild success also brought…
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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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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 Together for 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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