Determination of places in the circus. What is a circus - history, description, types and interesting facts

Every child knows what a circus is - it's laughter, fun, clowns, smart animals, magicians and clever acrobats. But rarely can any adult explain what the features of circus as an art form are. After all, we most often imagine it as a fascinating spectacle, a show. But in fact, circus performers spend their entire lives mastering not only skill, but also art - the ability to convey emotion and evoke aesthetic feelings in the audience.

The emergence of the circus

The name “circus” comes from the Roman oval grounds, where various folk festivals, competitions, and shows were held. In those days, the Romans loved to watch people compete in strength, dexterity, and various skills. This is how a special type of spectacle appeared, which today is called a circus. But it only became the way we know and love it in the 18th century. In Paris, a special round building was built to display the art of horse riding and acrobatic sketches. Later, the Italians picked up this idea and added numbers with animals and mimes to the performance program. What a circus is, people in Russia learned at the end of the 18th century. In 1764, an English rider visited Moscow on tour, and this show marked the beginning of the opening of several stationary circuses. By the mid-19th century, such sites were built in many Russian cities. Gradually, the scope of the show expanded, traditional programs were formed and circus professions emerged. The modern circus is a complex synthesis of the entertainment industry, art, management and technology.

Circus as an art form

Researchers see the origins of the circus in ancient competitions of strength and dexterity. It was formed as a way to demonstrate special skills that often had no practical application. Experts who characterize circus as an art primarily pay attention to the lack of any effectiveness in the actions of the artists. They do not compete to win prizes, but rather allow one to see a person’s capabilities and experience aesthetic pleasure. The main expressive means of circus art is a trick, it is designed to evoke emotions in the audience: laughter, surprise, fear, delight. All this makes the circus similar to other types of performing arts: theater, cinema. In the arena, a person shows nature’s ability to metamorphose, only the object of these transformations is not stone, clay or paint, but the person himself. He creates eccentricities according to the laws, demonstrating the highest The main principles of circus art are: reprise, trick, act, super task, eccentricity.

Circus structure

Special art requires a special space. The circus is not just a round building, but a complex structure with numerous possibilities. The circus arena is the heart of the site. Traditionally, it is round in shape, about 13 meters in diameter. The spectators' seats rise up from the stage like an amphitheater. In modern, stationary circuses there are often several arenas for different types performances: equestrian, illusion, light, ice, water. But the arena is only the visible part of the circus. Behind the scenes there are many office spaces: dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms, areas for keeping animals, costume rooms. Also play a big role in the design of the theater technical services: light, equipment mounting, scenery, curtain - all this serves to ensure that the viewer sees an unusual and complex performance.

Circus professions

When we hear the question “what is a circus,” we remember people of different professions. Each of them requires special skills and abilities from the artist and is a special art, with its own laws, secrets and traditions. The classical circus program includes performances by various artists; they can be classified according to the main means of expression and materials. So, there are people who work with animals - these are trainers, with human body- jugglers, tightrope walkers, gymnasts, tightrope walkers. There are also special professions that are at the intersection of skill and technology - these are illusionists. The highest level in the circus professional hierarchy is occupied by clowns, who combine acting, pantomime, and buffoonery. But circus performers cannot work without theater servants, who take upon themselves the provision of various services and assistants.

Jugglers

As is already clear from the name of the profession, jugglers first appeared in France. This word literally means "amusement". Initially, people of this profession sang songs and danced in market squares and fairs. But juggling as an activity dates back to Ancient Egypt. Clever manipulations with many objects fascinated the audience, causing surprise and admiration. Today, a rare circus performance can be performed without these artists; their performances have become mandatory element circus art. In their performances, jugglers surprise the audience by throwing many different objects into the air, and also use balancing act, comic and acrobatic elements to complicate the trick. Juggling can be paired or solo; performers not only throw and catch objects, they can simultaneously rotate them, alternate them rhythmically, throwing them to a partner. The rhythm of juggling forces the audience to keep an eye on the flying objects, and the artist’s dexterity evokes feelings of delight in them.

Equilibrists

Another artist, without whom it is impossible to imagine a circus performance, is the tightrope walker. This genre of circus art is based on a person’s ability to maintain balance on unstable surfaces. Traditionally, tightrope walkers performed various movements on ropes, balls, and cylinders. Often the artist combines the ability to maintain balance with acrobatic, comic actions, as well as juggling. Even in ancient China, performances of tightrope walkers were very popular. In many cultures of the world, folk entertainments were often accompanied by performances by tightrope walkers. There are such variants of this genre as performances on a ball, on a wire, on reels, on ladders, on a trapeze (stein ladder), on unicycles.

Illusionists

Magicians or illusionists are representatives of a profession that has glorified circus art. The basis of the genre was sleight of hand. Artists who knew how to perform magical manipulations with various items, for example, cards, were mandatory participants in medieval fairs. Modern illusionists, in addition to the ability to make amazing movements with their hands, use various technical tricks to mislead the audience. Among the magicians there are real world celebrities, whose names are passed down from generation to generation. Such illusionists include Harry Houdini, Alessandro Cagliostro, the Keogh family, Uri Geller,

Clownery

Ask any child what a circus is, and you will get the answer: Masters working in this role have become a real symbol of the circus; without them, performances are impossible. The beginning of the profession was laid in the institute of buffoonery, because jesters were at the court of all royalty. Their task was not only to entertain, but also to ridicule vices, while the jester, the clown, could tell the truth to anyone. The art of a clown is often built not on humor, but on irony, buffoonery and grotesquery. The exaggerated manner of playing goes back to the traditions of farcical performances at fairs. The clown should not only make people laugh, but also mock, but at the same time his performance should not be cruel or offensive. Often clowns perform in pairs, where the roles are clearly distributed. In the Italian theater, these roles were assigned to Pierrot and Harlequin, in the Russian tradition they are the Red (cunning and rogue) and White (an important, prim gentleman) clowns. Conflicts constantly occur between them, which are funny scenes that fill the pauses in the performance. In the circus world, clowns are considered to be the artistic elite. They often include elements of juggling, acrobatics, training, and pantomime in their performances. Among them there are real, greatest actors. The most famous clowns are M. N. Rumyantsev (Pencil), V. Polunin, Yu. Nikulin and M. Shuidin, who worked in pairs, L. Engibarov, O. Popov. Any circus show can be saved by a clown who appears in the arena whenever there is a pause in the program.

What is a circus? It seems that each of us knows the answer to this question. But it is worth recognizing that most have only superficial information. But little is known about its history and varieties. The main difference between this type of art is the demonstration of something funny and unusual. As a rule, in a performance you can see pantomimes, reprises, tricks, and clownery. Often circus acts are associated with the demonstration of exceptional human abilities, often involving risks to life and health. This applies to tightrope walkers, tightrope walkers, and trainers of wild animals. Often the troupe is based in a specific city, having a specific building. But it often performs in different places, like a traveling circus.

Historical reference

They knew what a circus was back in Ancient Rome. At that time, this was the name for a structure similar to a modern hippodrome. The largest and most famous was the so-called Circus Maximus, which was located in Rome itself.

Circus performances of that time had little in common with modern ones. First of all, these were chariot races and horse racing. Later, circus performances began to be organized in amphitheaters. They included gladiator fights and hunting of wild animals.

In the Middle Ages, the circus ceased to be the main place of entertainment. Theatrical performances and mysteries that became popular at that time eclipsed it.

The circus in our modern understanding appeared in France only at the end of the 18th century. Its creators were the English riders Astley, son and father. In 1774, they built a round hall in the suburbs of the French capital, which they called the circus. What was it like at that time? The Astleys began to give performances that consisted of acrobatic sketches and exercises on horses.

The Italians Franconi played a big role in the history of the circus. They introduced pantomimes and also staged fights between wild animals and dogs. It was from Paris that circus performances soon spread throughout Europe.

From the history of the circus it is known that at the end of the 19th century performances with trained animals appeared. On the eve of the 20th century, stationary circuses existed in all European capitals.

Circus in Russia

What a circus is, people in Russia learned in 1764. It was then that the British jockey Bates built an arena for horse shows not far from the Kazan station. The very next year he went on tour to St. Petersburg.

In Russia, performances were often organized in private homes - in arenas or temporary premises. As a rule, foreign troupes performed.

It was the Russian circus that appeared in 1873 in Saratov. It was founded by the Nikitin brothers. And today it is considered one of the best in Russia. In addition, at that time, traveling circuses roamed around Russia and Europe, giving performances every day in a new place.

Significant damage to circus art was caused during the Great Patriotic War. The buildings were mostly destroyed during the bombing. Props and equipment were destroyed. Many trained animals died. The artists went to the front. After the Nazi attack on the USSR, the main circus department was evacuated to Tomsk. At the same time, historians note that the management nevertheless took care of preserving the circus art. By order of Stalin, the Soviet circus was supported, funds were allocated for the maintenance and nutrition of animals.

Circus today

Today, various types of art are developing in the circus. For example, this is acrobatics, clowning, balancing act, as well as musical eccentricity, sideshow, pantomimes, juggling, illusionism.

There are a large number of circus specialties known. Some include tightrope walking, trapeze routines, aerial gymnastics, and animal training. A unique circus genre is clownery. A clown must master several disciplines, including Lately A common technique is when a clown “suddenly” takes part in other people’s performances.

Nowadays, the almost forgotten specialty of fire swallowers, which were popular many centuries ago, is being revived. Today, many circuses around the world include a fire show in their program.

In Russia, circus is one of the key nominations in competitive program Delphic games.

Meaning of the word

When defining the word "circus", we should not forget that it has several meanings.

Firstly, circus is a special type of entertainment art, which today includes a variety of techniques and disciplines.

Another meaning of the word circus is the building in which all these performances take place.

Description of the circus

The circus building itself is most often a round tent with a high dome on top. This is a classic circus tent. Inside there is an arena or circus arena, as well as seating for spectators.

Another type of circus is capital. It is noteworthy that it usually also has a round shape.

An interesting fact is that the arena in the circus where the performers perform is always the same size. Moreover, no matter how many spectators the circus itself is designed for - 500 or five thousand. Moreover, this size is unchanged throughout the world. The diameter of the arena is 13 meters (or 42 feet). This requirement dates back to the 19th century and remains unchanged to this day.

This tradition started out of professional necessity. The fact is that for exercises on horses and acrobats, it is necessary that the back of the running horse is always at the same angle relative to the center of the arena. This result can only be achieved by maintaining a constant average speed of the horse in an arena of a certain diameter. As a result, all circus arenas where horse performances were held were unified.

Another feature is that the circus arena is always separated from the amphitheater by a small but very wide barrier. Its height reaches at least the average height of a standard horse so that the animal can place its front hooves on the barrier and continue to move its hind legs around the arena.

Yuri Nikulin Circus

Of the domestic circuses, it is worth highlighting, first of all, the Nikulin Circus. It is located in Moscow on Tsvetnoy Boulevard. This is one of the oldest stationary circuses in the country. It seats two thousand spectators. Currently it general director is the son of Yuri Nikulin Maxim.

This circus first opened its doors to visitors back in 1880. It was founded by Albert of Salamonsky. The architect of the building was August Weber. Everyone remembered the opening. It featured the gymnast Henrietta, who managed to juggle on a wire stretched at a great height, Mrs. Truzzi galloped around the arena on a bareback horse, and Albert of Salamonsky himself demonstrated an act with 14 trained stallions.

Initially, the circus employed many clowns. Salamonsky insisted that his audience must laugh. It is noteworthy that before this the circus was not considered a place where it was worth coming with children. Only Salamonsky realized that children are a wonderful audience from which you can make good money. He was the first to initiate morning performances, which soon became known as matinees. At the same time, he specially adapted the programs to children's perception.

Nikulin on stage

Yuri Nikulin ended up in the clownery studio at the capital's circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard after he was not accepted into VGIK. In 1948, he first appeared on stage together with Boris Romanov. Their act was called “The Model and the Hack.”

Soon after this, he began working as an assistant to the then popular clown Mikhail Rumyantsev, better known as Pencil. Then I met Mikhail Shuidin. All three of them began to go on tour throughout the country.

In 1950, after a conflict, Nikulin and Shuidin began working separately from Rumyantsev, forming the famous clown duet.

In 1981, Nikulin stopped performing on stage when he turned 60. He became the director of the circus. Under him, a new building was built, which opened in 1989. Today, many closely follow the performances on the schedule of the Nikulin Circus. After all, this is one of the most popular circuses in the country.

"Aquamarine"

The circus of dancing fountains called “Aquamarine” is also very popular in Russia. Spectators witness a unique show when circus art is combined with fountain dancing and ice ballet. The incredible abilities and capabilities of a person are revealed against the backdrop of fantastic beauty.

The Aquamarine circus is proud to have preserved the best traditions of the domestic circus. At the same time, they constantly use Newest technologies, current scenography, immersing the viewer in a real modern show.

Trainers and specially trained animals - horses, dogs, monkeys - often take part in the performances. Performances are always accompanied by live vocals.

Circus genres

Among the main circus genres, it is necessary to highlight acrobatics, which are divided into power, aerial and jumping.

Vaulting is very popular - performing gymnastic and acrobatic exercises on a horse. As well as training of circus animals, juggling, illusionism, clowning, circus shows, pantomime and balancing act.

Illusionism

Today anyone who has ever been to a circus or seen a performance on TV knows what the circus genre of illusionism is. This is a special type of circus performing art. In it, with the help of sleight of hand, as well as through tricks and the use of special equipment, usually hidden from the eyes of others, the illusionist performs unique tricks or tricks. It creates the illusion of violating everyone’s usual physical properties objects and phenomena. The name of this circus genre literally translates as “to mislead.”

The art of creating illusions dates back to ancient times. At that time, priests or shamans used special techniques and techniques for manipulation to impress ordinary people, thus confirming its uniqueness and specialness. Over time, they began to be used to entertain the public by fakirs, sword swallowers and others.

Juggling

This type of circus art, such as juggling, appeared before our era. You can also see people throwing more than three objects at the same time in wall paintings in Egypt.

Today, there are several types of juggling - classic, flip, contact, juggling from the floor, flaring (when bottles and glasses are used), kendama juggling (the name comes from Japanese game, which consists of throwing a ball from hole to hole), power, combat juggling.

Circus is one of the favorite forms of art not only for children, but also for adults. Circus performances include acrobatics, horseback riding, balancing act, animal training, juggling, illusion and clowning. The history of the circus goes back several thousand years. Back in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece, there were magicians, acrobats and animal trainers. But the very first circus appeared in Ancient Rome and it was called Circus Maximus (“big circus”).

It was a huge hippodrome where chariot races were held. Under Augustus, the circus received its permanent architectural form - two floors of seats for spectators and external arcades where taverns and shops were located. Under Trajan, the number of seats for spectators was increased.

Over time, the circus gradually developed. Circus performances were very popular in Medieval Europe. Not a single mass celebration was complete without performances by tightrope walkers, jugglers and acrobats. In the 16th century, the first riding schools began to appear, training riders and horse trainers. On the basis of such schools, circuses began to be created in various European cities, although they were called amphitheaters.

Horsemanship demonstration in London

At the end of the 17th century, horsemanship demonstrations organized by Philip Astley (England) in Lambert, London, became the prototype of the first circus. In 1772, the first stationary circus was opened in London, called Astley's Amphitheater. By 1777, Astley hired a strongman, and by 1780, two clowns and several acrobats.

The first circus on mainland Europe was founded in 1780 by Juan Porte (Spain) in Vienna, Austria, the first in America was the Ricketts Circus in Philadelphia, founded in 1792.

How the circus became a circus

In 1807, the brothers L. and E. Franconni opened the first building with the sign “Circus” in Paris. In Russia, a stationary circus appeared in 1873 in Penza; its founders were the Nikitin brothers.

Since then, the buildings where trainers and riders performed began to be called circuses. Other circus performers continued to perform in the squares.

From the middle of the 19th century, stationary circuses with a tent canopy and a round arena began to emerge in Europe, and then in Russia. The presence of lamps in the circus made it possible to hold performances at a later time, which increased the number of spectators. In the 20th century, the circus gained worldwide fame.

Bertram Mills Circus

The first to be shown on television was the Bertram Mills Circus, broadcast from the Olympia, London, in 1938.

The modern circus is a round hall with an arena inside, around which there are seats for spectators. There are also traveling and collapsible circuses, they are called “tents”. Despite the fact that the circus originated in ancient times, it still does not lose its popularity today, because the language of the circus is understandable without translation in all countries.

By the way, the largest circus in the world is located in Moscow on Vernadsky Avenue.

Material from Uncyclopedia

The word "circus" comes from the Latin word circus, which means "circle". Circuses are buildings with a thirteen-meter round arena, a dome where the equipment of aerialists and acrobats is suspended, and an amphitheater of spectator seats. In addition, there is another type of circus - mobile, dismountable - tent, with a tarpaulin tent and prefabricated structures. The tents are assembled and disassembled very quickly. In the United States of America, there are traveling three-ring circuses, where artists perform in three arenas at once.

The world's first circus was founded in London in 1780 by the Englishman F. Astley. At the open-air arena, performances began every day, weather permitting, at five o'clock in the evening. In addition to equestrian acrobatic acts, rope dancers, acrobats, jumpers and jugglers appeared for the first time in the program. But then this spectacular enterprise was called an amphitheater. In 1807, the brothers L. and E. Franconi built a building in Paris, on the pediment of which the word “circus” appeared.

But there is also a broader meaning of the word “circus”. It defines an art form that has become as firmly entrenched in our lives as theater, music and cinema. The art of circus is based on a specific exercise - a trick - a difficult to perform and emotionally impressive action, when, for example, musical eccentrics appear arm in arm with bears, a juggler sends eleven rings upward, and a gymnast makes a triple flip in the air. From the combination of tricks, emotionality, artistry, an artistic image is born. Each artist has his own image. This is a naive, childishly touching eccentric clown, and a fearless tamer, and hapless funny musicians who, in the finale, instantly transform into the most charming people. “In the circus,” writes Yu. V. Nikulin, “you always need a revelation, a discovery. If the circus does not meet the increased demands of the audience, they will no longer need it.”

The origins of the circus are in the labor, ritual, and military activities of people. We find the first mentions of the distant predecessors of today's ringmasters in ancient papyri, manuscripts and manuscripts. For example, the Egyptian Westcar papyrus tells about the magician and trainer Djedi, who, during the time of Pharaoh Cheops, allegedly knew how to “put a severed head back in place and regrow a bird,” and “forced a lion to follow him without fetters.” In archival documents you can find interesting information about the circus art of Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, India, China, and Japan. From them we learn that in the last three countries the favorite genres were acrobatics, balancing act and juggling, which were distinguished by their originality of plasticity and a pronounced national flavor. Indispensable integral part performances were tricks.

The Russian circus also has an interesting past. At folk festivals and fairs one could often see performances by traveling artists - strongmen, acrobats, tightrope walkers, animal trainers, sword swallowers, and magicians. In 1619, Grigory Ivanov from Ryazan came to the court of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich with his tamed lion. In the 18th century Foreign guest performers appeared in Moscow and St. Petersburg, giving performances in secular living rooms, as well as in hastily built rooms. In the 19th century The first stone permanent premises were built in St. Petersburg and Moscow. In 1880, on Tsvetnoy Boulevard in Moscow, the office of the merchant Danilov built a circus building for the famous equestrian and trainer Albert Salamonsky. (Russian artists, in order to achieve enterprise and recognition, were forced to change their names and surnames in a foreign way.)

The first Russian stationary circus was created by the Nikitin brothers, who traced their ancestry back to serfs. Akim, Pyotr and Dmitry Nikitin walked around Saratov courtyards with a barrel organ and a parsley screen. In 1873, they bought their own tent, as they called it then, and on December 25 installed it in Penza on the ice of the Sura River, cleared of snow. In 1876 they opened a circus in Saratov. In 1870-1880 wooden and stone circuses of the Nikitin brothers grew up in Ivanovo, Kyiv, Astrakhan, Baku, Kazan, Simbirsk and other cities. This is how the foundations of the circus business in Russia were laid.

The famous satirical clowns and trainers Anatoly and Vladimir Durov performed at the Nikitins. The wonderful clown and acrobat Vitaly Lazarenko worked here. In 1914, near the Nikitin Circus building in Moscow, on Sadovo-Triumfalnaya, he made his record jump over three Indian elephants. The Nikitins started multiple champion world in French wrestling, unsurpassed strongman Ivan Poddubny and his student, also world champion Ivan Zaikin. At the arena, Zaikin held a platform on which up to 30 people climbed. Telegraph poles were broken on his shoulders. Masterly jugglers Ksenia and Mikhail Pashchenko demonstrated their skills. So, Mikhail, holding a burning kerosene lamp on his forehead, juggled four candlesticks. And Ksenia, holding a tray with a boiling samovar on a cane placed on her forehead, balanced a tray with glasses on the same cane with one hand, and with the other rotated the basin on a stick.

The names of Russian artists sparkled brightly in various arenas - in the provincial circuses of P. S. Krutikov, E. A. Strepetov and others. Acrobat I. E. Sosin, invited to Paris in 1888 for the First International Acrobat Competition, was the first in the world to perform a double somersault on the ground there. He was awarded a gold medal and a first degree diploma. The verses of the musical clowns Bim-Bom, who accompanied themselves on frying pans, brooms, bells and other eccentric instruments, were recorded on gramophone records. They were the first of the circus artists to participate in concerts along with opera and drama artists. I.K. Podrezov, known under the name Yana Poldi, balanced on a bicycle standing on two chairs, performed pirouettes over the handlebars and performed various acrobatic tricks on a unicycle.

The October Revolution marked a major turn in the nature and organization of the creative activity of the arena masters.

On August 26, 1919, V.I. Lenin signed the decree of the Council of People's Commissars “On the unification of the theatrical business”; It paid special attention to circuses. The decree noted “circuses as enterprises, on the one hand, profitable, on the other hand, democratic in terms of the public visiting them and especially in need of cleansing from unhealthy elements and in the artistic uplift of their programs...”. Circuses were nationalized and transferred to the People's Commissariat of Education.

In his report at the Moscow Circus House, People's Commissar of Education A.V. Lunacharsky said: “Let's preserve the traditions of circus craftsmanship, we will come to the aid of circus workers, people of great dedication to their work, hard work on themselves. Let us cleanse their art of dirt, gradually remove from it all sorts of tasteless tricks and leave to the circus its great tasks: to demonstrate strength, dexterity, courage, to arouse laughter and admiration with a brilliant, bright and exaggerated spectacle.”

Manege learned to speak in a new way. In 1921, at the circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, the plastic suite “Samson the Victorious” was staged by sculptor S. T. Konenkov. The wrestlers on the rotating pedestal froze in expressive compositions, and in the finale the unconquered Samson broke the chains that bound him. In 1930, V. V. Mayakovsky’s heroic-revolutionary pantomime “Moscow is Burning” was staged there. The Kiev Circus created the pantomime “Rebel Karmelyuk”.

Innovation has become an integral feature of Soviet circus art. The act of vaulting acrobats with a pole is often called the “Russian stick” abroad, as if once again emphasizing that the patent for its discovery belongs to our circus. In 1958, in Omsk, such vaulting was first demonstrated by Boris and Valentin Isaev and Irina Shestua. Irina performed a number of difficult tricks, completing them with a somersault on one leg. Now double and even triple somersaults are performed from similar poles (and often poles). They were raised up for aerial vaulting. They began to perform jumps on stilts. And even trainers used them in their performances.

Vladislav Zolkin and Svetlana Mikityuk brought Antipodean bears into the arena, which rotated a Hutsul hatchet, a cigar, a barrel with their paws, threw balls with trainers and threw out various funny knees.

Anatoly Kalinin and his comrades released the number “Acrobats on Skateboards” (skateboards are boards on wheels). The performers fly into the air from a springboard slide, jump over each other, perform puzzling flips and fall back down to their nimble “platforms”. Acrobats slide down on skateboards, standing on their heads, jump through and over rings, and do side Arabian somersaults in the air.

The aerial flight, which was presented to the circus by the Frenchman Leotard in the last century, has also undergone changes. Leotard flew from trapeze to trapeze with air jumps. Then the performers began to set off towards each other from two bridges. A catcher appeared under the dome, which, by picking up and redirecting the pilots, gave the performance a new dynamic. In 1919, the Mexican A. Codona performed the first triple somersault in flight. Soviet director-teacher Yu. G. Mandych, creating his flight “Galaxy”, raised an air swing - loping - above the safety net. And the gymnasts, led by Alexander Herts, installed lopings on both sides, pulling up a bridge with a catcher so as not to cut the distance. From loping to loping - 20 m. In the finale, the artists fly, as they say, without any landings - from one end of the circus to the other.

Many athletes become excellent circus performers. The famous predator tamer, pioneer of mixed training Nikolai Gladilshchikov was the absolute champion of the RSFSR in classical wrestling. Grigory Novak, who worked in the arena with the number “Athletic Poem”, was the first of the Soviet athletes to win the title of world champion in weightlifting and during his performances on the big platform he improved over 100 world records. The magnificent horseman Irbek Kantemirov was the national champion in equestrian competitions five times. Behind last years Hundreds of masters and candidates for master of sports came to the arena.

Memorable attractions were created at various arenas - colorful circus shows, full of unexpected tricks and invention. A. A. Volzhansky’s attraction “Prometheus” was awarded the State Prize. The Volzhanskys were nicknamed star tightrope walkers. Using thin cables, they rise to the very top of the circus, to the height of a multi-story building, performing their amazing tricks.

P. N. Mayatsky staged the “Ball of Courage” attraction. Inside a huge mesh ball suspended under the circus dome, motorcyclists rushed rapidly, making zigzags and loops. Then the lower hemisphere sank, and in the upper hemisphere, as if left without a bottom, the motorcyclist continued to spin at a dizzying height.

Newspapers from many countries around the world wrote about the attraction of E. T. Kyo: “Kyo - a mystery of the 20th century” (Japan). “If you want to see that miracles exist, go to the Kio tour” (Denmark). The World Magic Club in London put his name first on the red board of honor. The International Lodge of Variety and Circus Artists in Copenhagen awarded him its gold medal.

In 1959, in London, E. T. Keogh saw a catalog of all the magic tricks in the world. It compiled and explained 6,000 tricks. Only under one drawing, instead of an explanation, there was a caption: “No one has ever done this trick and will never do it.” A gymnast climbed up a rope that seemed to suddenly rise from the ground and froze in the air, like a pole. Three years later, E. T. Keogh staged this trick. Today, the Kio circus dynasty is continued by his sons - I. E. and E. E. Kio.

The tamers showed interesting attractions with trained animals. Almost 100 species of animals and birds were brought to the arena by representatives of the famous Durov dynasty: Yu. V. and V. G. Durovs worked with ponies and camels, zebras and elephants, dogs and monkeys, pelicans and pigeons, cheetahs and sea lions. I. N. Bugrimova, the first predator trainer in the USSR, proved herself to be a remarkable master of the arena. Her lions swung over the cage on swings, climbed up inclined ropes, spread out on a carpet and lined up in pyramids. “Bear Circus” was created by V.I. Filatov. The bears in the arena juggled, did balancing exercises, rode bicycles and motorcycles, boxed, and roller skated.

There are many names in the Soviet circus that brought it worldwide fame. These are the light and graceful tightrope walkers of the Koch sisters, who demonstrated miracles of balance in their “Giant Semaphore” attraction on a rotating metal ellipse under the circus dome. Brave and flexible jugglers Alexander and Violetta Kiss, who introduced elements of balancing act and acrobatics into juggling. And of course, wonderful clowns, loved by audiences in many countries around the world. The unique master of clownery M. N. Rumyantsev is known to everyone as Pencil. Pensive Leonid Engibarov, who presented his mimic scenes about the joys and sorrows of man in the arena. Yuri Nikulin and Mikhail Shuidin, who played genre scenes with indescribably funny performances. Emotional and bright Oleg Popov, nicknamed the Sunny Clown.

The Soviet circus has become truly multinational. Dagestan artists “Tsovkra” dance lezginka on a rope, do somersaults from shoulders to shoulders, fly up from a throwing board, lining up three on top of each other. The Ukrainian team is proud of the attraction “Lions and Tigers” by Vladimir and Lyudmila Shevchenko. The whole of Uzbekistan knows the rider and now dog trainer Lola Khodzhaeva. Many people are familiar with the Turkmen horsemen from Davlet Khojabaev’s “Echo of Asia” attraction, the gymnasts from Azerbaijan, the Nazirovs, the Tuvan jugglers and tightrope walkers Oskal-Ool, and entire national teams of the union and autonomous republics.

Directors, artists, composers, and choreographers take part in the creation of colorful attractions. We can talk about the established style of Soviet circus directing. It began to be developed by the outstanding artist and director V. Truzzi, who in the first post-revolutionary years staged the pantomimes “The Black Pirate” and “Makhnovshchina”, where more than 100 people participated in crowd scenes. This style was created by A. G. Arnold and G. S. Venetsianov, B. A. Shakhet and M. S. Mestechkin, and many other talented directors.

In the Soviet circus, entire performances were created with a cross-cutting plot action in two parts: “Carnival in Cuba”, “Pipe of Peace”, “The Bakhchisarai Legend”. Performances: “Little Pierre”, “Musicians of Bremen”, “The Crystal Slipper” are intended for children. The groups “Circus on Ice”, “Circus on Water”, “Circus Revue” appeared.

Every year the family of circus performers grows. In 1927, the State School of Circus and Variety Arts (GUTSEI) was opened in Moscow, which in 1987 was named after M. N. Rumyantsev. Here future ringmasters master their profession and receive secondary education. Among the graduates of the school are clowns G. T. Makovsky and G. A. Rotman, A. N. Nikolaev, Yu. D. Kuklachev, A. P. Marchevsky, tightrope walkers V. I. and N. I. Frantsuzov, jugglers E. E. Bilyauer and S. M. Ignatov and many others. Following the model of GUCEI, schools were opened in Kyiv and Tbilisi, as well as in Hungary, Bulgaria, the GDR and other socialist countries.

Film director A.I. Medvedkin wrote: “Circus is an art of the greatest precision. Unlike cinema, nothing is done approximately here.” This jewelry precision and craftsmanship is assessed every year by the International Circus Festival in Monte Carlo. The best artists from all over the world come here. The best of the best is awarded the Grand Prix of the festival - “Golden Clown”. You can only win it once. Of the Soviet artists, this honorary prize was taken away by acrobats on swings with bears, the Belyakovs, tightrope walkers on perches led by Leonid Kostyuk, clown Oleg Popov, Chechen-Ingush horsemen Nugzarovs and the acrobatic ensemble “Romantics” led by Vladimir Doveiko.

The circus language is understood in all countries without a translator. Especially when it is bright, imaginative, and emotional. The high performing skills, colorfulness and musicality of our circus performances, and their optimistic attitude make the tours of Soviet artists desirable on all continents of the planet.

The birth of circus art is shrouded in darkness - whether it came from fairs or from churches, no one knows for sure. And documents show that it quickly filled the streets. Acrobats dance on the friezes of Egyptian tombstones. Juggling and tightrope walking as an ancient art of the Far East were documented at the court of Kublai Khan long before Marcus Polo. Bull dances decorate the walls of the Knossos Palace in Crete, and in every state famous for its cavalry - or Mongolia - brave antics on the back of a frisky stallion were a source of pride. As for lions, tigers and bears, we find these and other predators in the records of the menagerie, about cheetahs and crocodiles dear to the hearts of the pharaohs, trained by Egyptian priests.

Dancing with bulls (it was from them that the famous Spanish bullfight later originated) had a cult significance, like Greek drama. In Dorian Hellas, acrobats and mimes performed clowns both during holidays and on weekdays in the streets. The phallus was the main element of the costume. Holy or not, buffoonery on this matter was far from decency.

When, several centuries later, on the other side of the Adriatic, the statesmen of Rome built the first real circus building, there was no time for jokes.

"Panem et cirsenses", loosely translated as "bread and circuses", was a formula for pacifying the Roman crowd. And behind this there was a bloodbath in the arena. For example, the outdoor oval hippodrome of the Roman circus delighted 150,000 bloodthirsty spectators with the spectacle of carnage between chariot races. Elephants, bears and wild cats died by the dozens—sometimes hundreds—in a day. Subsequently, in the Colosseum, convicts and the first Christians followed the same path. With the march of the Roman legions north, the circus of violence spread across Europe. Amphitheaters were built in Verona, Capua and Pompeii, in Sicily and Spain, in Arles, Nimes, Bordeaux and reached Britain - in order to turn into quarries after the decline of the empire.

Jesters and MImes

The word “circus” itself has disappeared from many languages. The circus as a mass spectacle was not able to recover at a similar level until the twentieth century. The Roman circus died, but its last ones went their separate ways. During the Middle Ages, trainers and acrobats traveled throughout Europe, Asia and Africa, spending the night on carts or under fences, entertaining people at village fairs, and even crowned heads when they wanted it. King Alfred loved the “parade of wild animals”, with jesters and magicians. William the Conqueror brought a group of magicians from France. Thirty-seven Hannibal elephants, the only ones that survived the great campaign from Carthage, gave birth to a group of trained pachyderms in Europe - an amazing thing, because elephants do not breed in captivity.

The archivist of the French Center for National Circus Arts, Jean Villiers, discovered traces of the circus in medieval church carvings. When 13,000 people work hard to build a cathedral, he says, the natural need for entertainment is inevitably satisfied by whole bands of jesters. Pickpockets did their job, while other tricksters had fun with open gapes (such things were called in the Italian manner “jumping on a bench”). The bench served both for keeping an eye on the crowd and for performing magic tricks. Rope walkers pulled their ropes between the cathedral spiers, others, who understood mechanics, turned the handles of the mechanisms at performances of mysteries - plays of religious content. Many of them were accused of witchcraft and burned alive, and others turned out to be more agile - like, say, those wits who even taught their horses to bow to the image of the cross.

Medieval laymen passionately loved such spectacles. The clergy showed less enthusiasm, but tolerated the circus performers as pilgrims who had gathered for All Saints' Day. Begun at abbeys and gatherings, the fairs subsequently invaded the neighboring meadows, where merchants and entertainers pitched their kingdom of colorful tents. Once a year, a Christian could take care of his own soul, wallet and pleasure at the same time.

The most popular was St. Bartholomew's Fair, which was held at a monastery on the outskirts of London. In 1133, an abbot named Reyer, who had once been Henry I's jester, asked for royal privilege to hold a three-day fair. The Fair of St. Bartolomeo lasted 700 years, becoming something of an annual circus inspection.

Reyer had a reputation as a miracle worker. A hundred years later, other tricks came into fashion: one woman did a stand on the points of two swords, another walked on stilts, carrying water in a jug on her crown and a child in her arms.

Bartolomeo's fair lasted up to two weeks, and then up to six. Under Henry VIII, religious motives were forgotten. Rows of tents formed streets, they were paved and finally fenced. In 1614, playwright Ben Jonson described the splendor of these tents - with rattles, whistles, rattles, pipes, puppets, cages of rats, wooden horses, dancing dogs, toy eagles, ravenous wolves, bulls and hares beating drums.

Fifty years later, the biggest form of entertainment was “rope dancing.” Modern tightrope walking is a child’s toy versus the craftsmanship of the seventeenth century: horses and elephants walked along the tightrope, some Italian jumped on the tightrope, holding a duck on his head, pushing a cart where two children and a dog were sitting, and even singing a canzone.

Each fair was famous for something of its own: some showed jokes, others showed dolls. The Bartolomeo Fair became the headquarters of traveling talents who wandered overseas for a year. It was also a base for traveling menageries, an object of constant love for the British - great friends of animals.

PARADES AND CLOWNS

The circus parade - or its prototype - was restored and flourished in Renaissance Italy. The traditions of the Ancient Roman triumph were remembered in 1500 by Cesare Borgia, and a few years later by the Florentine guild of merchants. Masterfully reproduced flotillas, carrying allegorical or comic figures, sailed majestically through the streets of Florence and Milan. They were stuffed with fantastic machines, rotating spheres, boats and balls, where sweet-voiced cherubs sat. For one such holiday, Leonardo da Vinci made a mechanical lion that walked on two legs and opened its mouth full of lilies. In Siena, twelve ballerinas jumped out of the belly of a large golden wolf.

Another gift from Italy to circus art was the figure of the clown. Dozens of comic types performed in noisy street theaters. The classic pair of clowns - two servants - makes audiences laugh today in almost every circus in the world. Harlequin - or the smart rogue - is a truly ancient character, coming from early ideas about the devil and from his stupid victim, gradually turned into a melancholic crazy Pierrot in a wide white robe, with a whitened face, Pierrot, who is an incorrigible romantic.

WITHOUT ARENA - OPEN AIR

This continued until the end of the 18th century, until London ended with it. The creation of the circus in its modern form is unanimously attributed to Philip Astley, a great lover of horses, the son of a cabinetmaker. One fine day, Astley received a reward for his services from the French Queen Marie Antoinette - a medal studded with diamonds. After his death, he left his descendants two magnificent amphitheaters - in London and in Paris. Astley also bequeathed to them a remarkable display of horses, acrobats, gymnasts and jesters in a 42-foot arena - which is still the standard.

However, Astley's talent blossomed on a muddy field near Westminster Bridge in London. He then had two horses, two flute players and a woman who beat a tambourine and threw a hat around. In just two years, he covered his stage with a roof and called this structure “Astley's British Riding School.”

For 150 years, equestrianism was the key to the development of the European circus. It absorbed everything. For Astley and his followers, the horse was what the motorcycle is for modern bikers: on its back they dreamed of leaving the earth and reaching the heavens.

The paradox of all revolutions - in the circus or elsewhere - is that advanced ideas quickly become obsolete. Every new circus must reinvent the wheel. The Americans invented the three-ring circus, subjugated it to the canons of high art and declared it a grandiose world show. Hollywood contributed to this, and now the American circus has become synonymous with monumental kitsch. In other countries there was a different scale of values ​​- here the high individual skill was cultivated, which is the achievement of the old school circus - from the famous Moscow Circus to the Kneisives in Switzerland or the French circus family Grüss.