Today, circus is one of the most unusual and revered forms of art. The demonstration of fun and originality in circus programs influenced the development of modern entertainment art, because the circus is always relevant.
Circus performances have reached enormous proportions. Each new production surprises and shows something unusual to the modern viewer. Therefore, the performances include not only performances by a theater group, but also magic tricks, dangerous stunts, and the skills of trained animals.
Story
The celebration of Circus Day took place in 2010 for the first time. Two large international organizations proposed patenting and holding this holiday:
- European Circus Association.
- International Circus Federation.
The proposal to create a holiday was justified by the almost complete lack of interest among young people in the circus as an art form. In addition, the holiday includes acquaintance of curious spectators with the inner world of the circus, the life of the actors, and their rehearsals.
In the first year of the celebration, no more than 30 countries supported the idea, and Russia was among the celebrating states whose circus school has an international level. By the next year, about 40 countries had already decided to take part in the celebration, and this included more than 100 thematic productions. In general, about two hundred circus troupes organized Circus Day celebrations. Already in 2012, the number of celebrating countries increased to 47. The organizers are young groups from cultural cities and industry leaders, demonstrating their skills.
April 16 was not chosen by chance to celebrate International Circus Day. This day has gone down in history since 2008, when Europe first celebrated this holiday, pursuing the same goals.
Traditions
Considering that the holiday was patented recently, professionals and spectators have already managed to reward it with special traditions.
To attract spectators and young professionals, on this day many circuses invite everyone to a special program that attracts visitors not only holidays visit them, but also get acquainted with the scheduled performances of the artists. Circus troupes hold holiday festivals, in most cases for charity.
The public's spirits are supported by clowns and carnival participants who take to the streets of cities around the world. Performances that lift the spirits of city residents create an atmosphere of joy and carefreeness on this day.
Spectacular performances by acrobats, funny jokes clowns, gymnasts flying under the dome and trainers with pets - all this is a circus. So that world society can fully appreciate the contribution of this type of art to culture, a holiday was dedicated to it.
International Circus Day is celebrated on the third Saturday of April every year. In 2019 it falls on April 20.
Story
The initiator and creator of the celebration is the World Circus Federation. This idea was supported by the European Circus Association. The circus performers themselves were the most happy about the new holiday. In 2010, they celebrated their professional day at the international level for the first time.
Two years earlier, European Circus Day was celebrated on the third Saturday in April. In order not to break tradition, the date of the new holiday was left unchanged.
The first circus that was built in Ancient Rome, bore little resemblance to what is considered classic entertainment, with clowns and trained bears. The Romans used the circus as a venue for horse racing and chariot racing. Fights between gladiators were also held there. Entertaining people is the only similarity between the circus that existed in the Roman Empire and the one familiar to contemporaries.
After the collapse of the Empire, circuses lost popularity and ceased to operate until XVIII century. The circus craft owes its resurrection and new look, which resembled the one familiar in the 20th century, to the English Astley. Father and son held their first performance in Paris. In the built round arena they showed performances with horses and acrobatic exercises.
In the German city of Stuttgart, a circus bear was issued a driver's license.
The circus arena has a strict size. Its diameter is 13 m. This value is optimal for horses galloping in a circle.
In circus jargon, throwing sharp objects is called the “picket fence art.”
Along with development human civilization, entertainment art progressed and changed. Over time, it managed to become an integral part of people's lives. Therefore, it is not surprising that over the years humanity has come up with more and more new types of art for entertaining people. One of the most significant, valuable and spectacular views The circus is rightfully considered an entertainment art. In many ways, it was circus performances, the purpose of which is to demonstrate the funny and eccentric, that had a huge influence on the development of modern entertainment art.
Now, like many other types of entertainment art, the circus has undergone significant changes. Nowadays, circus performances have become larger, more interesting and unusual than they were before. And this is quite understandable, because modern viewer much harder to surprise. Therefore, in modern circus performances, in addition to the classic performances of clowns and acrobats, there are magic tricks, balancing act and trained animals.
A feature of all modern circus troupes is that they cannot all constantly perform in the same city, since the program of performances changes quite rarely. Residents of the same city are not interested in watching the same program, then circus troupes have to move from place to place. That is, at this point they are no different from a traveling circus.
Today, the programs of all circus troupes differ from each other. These differences can be both dramatic and insignificant. The level of performances demonstrated by certain troupes also differs. Therefore, only a few circus troupes become truly famous throughout the world. Perhaps the most popular circus group today is Cirque du Soleil. Hundreds of thousands of people all over the world want to attend their performances. However, not only this Canadian circus has interesting program, but many other troupes around the world also have interesting and original acts in their stock. It is therefore not surprising that circus, which is one of the most spectacular forms of art, is so popular throughout the world. Looking at such popularity, it becomes clear why International Circus Day was established.
history of the holiday
Like many other forms of art, circus has its origins in Ancient Rome. However, in fairness, it is worth noting that although the ancient Roman circus was very popular, it is completely different from modern performances.
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the circus did not disappear anywhere. For example, several circuses were built in Paris, in which Parisians were shown certain performances. But all of them were not of interest, since people preferred the theater. Therefore, the circuses were broken down and abandoned.
However, already at the end of the eighteenth century, everyone in the same Paris began to revive interest in circus performances. They began to build new large arenas where they would demonstrate unusual performances. These new programs attracted viewers. Therefore, from Paris the circus began to spread to Italy and England, and then to others. European countries. At the same time, the circus came to Russia, where the people fell in love with it.
As you can see, at the circus rich story, which had a great influence on modern culture. Therefore, this type of entertainment art deserves its own holiday, just like theater.
The first International Circus Day took place in 2010, when the European Circus Association, based in Monte Carlo, and the International Circus Federation proposed establishing this holiday. They explained their proposal by saying that people began to lose interest in such an amazing art form as the circus. In addition, with the help of such a holiday, these two organizations decided to introduce viewers to the behind-the-scenes life of circus troupes and rehearsals. They also wanted to draw people's attention to the fact that the circus had a great influence on the development of modern culture.
Initially, only 25 countries supported the idea of the holiday. Russia was no exception, its circus school is one of the best in the world. Already on next year 39 countries already took part in the celebration. In celebration of the second International Day more than a hundred circus events took place thematic events. More than 150 circus troupes performed at these events. In addition to young groups, real leaders of the industry, for example, the Soleil and Medrano circuses, joined the celebration.
In 2012, the number of countries celebrating this holiday increased to 46 states. That is, every year International Circus Day attracts more and more popularity.
The date of celebration (the third Saturday of April) was not chosen by chance, since it was on this day in 2008 that the European Circus Day took place, which pursued approximately the same goals.
How to mark and celebrate International Circus Day
Despite the fact that this professional and cultural holiday was established relatively recently, it has managed to acquire certain traditions and customs. So, on this day, circus troupes prepare special festive performances. Some circuses organize days on this holiday open doors, whose goal is to attract attention to the industry. In addition, some arenas host charity performances by circus troupes. On the same day, a huge number of street circus performances and carnivals take place around the world. That is, this holiday is truly fun and joyful.
Today April 16 and every year, on the third Saturday of the month, all circus performers and circus lovers celebrate one of the most happy Holidays - International Circus Day.
The Circus Association has created a new holiday
website / Day in history. The purpose of this holiday is not only to show the circus as it really is, but also to preserve the memory of all those who devoted their lives to this wonderful branch of culture. Circus lovers live all over the planet, their ages range from young to old, because circus is for everyone.
The creation of this holiday was inspired by the performance of the European Circus Association ( European Circus Association) and the World Circus Federation (Federation Mondiale Du Cirque) in 2009, which operate under the patronage of Princess Stephanie of Monaco. It was then that Princess Stephanie and the President of the European Circus Association, which numbers 21 circuses, told all circuses about the initiative to create an annual holiday - International Circus Day, which was celebrated for the first time in 2010 and thus became a holiday that is celebrated every year in all countries.
The initiator of the holiday in 2008 was the headquarters of the World Circus Federation, which is located in Monte Carlo. Since the first European Circus Day was held on April 19, 2008, it was therefore proposed to celebrate Circus Day on the third Saturday of the month.
Many countries celebrate national days circus For several years in Russia there have been debates about the establishment Russian day circus, since there is no specific day in Russia. On the day of the celebration of the first International Circus Day, it was celebrated by more than 25 countries, together with Russia.
Despite the fact that the circus is one of the ancient forms of art and mentions of riders, jugglers, equestrians, acrobats date back to the times Ancient world, in the form in which we can observe circus art now, it appeared only in late XVIII century. The unofficial founder of the circus is considered to be the rider Philip Astley, who conducted various experiments and found that the diameter of the circle in which it is convenient for horses to perform various tricks while galloping is a circle of 13 meters. These recommendations are still used today in almost all circus arenas in the world.
Since Astley was an excellent horseman, he performed his tricks while on a horse. Later, in the arena, clowns, trainers, tightrope walkers and acrobats began to join him. TO mid-19th centuries, circus genres expanded. For example, when the safety net appeared, the tricks associated with it were quite complicated.
The emergence of the circus in Europe
In Europe, the circus, in its current form, appeared much earlier than in Russia. The oldest circus is considered to be Gaetano Ciniselli's circus, located in St. Petersburg, which still operates today. Famous Nikitin brothers, were the founders Russian circus, since the first gave a circus performance called “Russian Circus of the Nikitin Brothers”, in the city of Penza, Saratov region. Later, they opened many circuses throughout Russia.
Circus in the modern sense is acrobatics, illusionism, clowning, pantomime, musical eccentricity, sideshow and many other genres. Some of the most famous circuses in the world are the Canadian “Cirque of the Sun” (Cirque du Soleil), or the Chinese acrobatic circus “Paradise Show from the Celestial Empire”. In America there is the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, which is known for modernizing the circus business; there is also the famous French Fratellini Circus, in which the main role is played by clowns.
Russian circus
In Russia, the most famous circus is considered the Great Moscow State Circus, which is located on Vernadsky Avenue, this is the largest permanent circus in the world. Over the entire period of its existence, it has produced more than 100 various programs, in which the best artists of the foreign and, of course, our circus took part. Names associated with the circus are known throughout the world, such as Vitaly Lazarenko, Oleg Popov, Yuri Nikulin, Mikhail Shuidin, Anatoly and Vladimir Durov, Williams Truzzi and Valentina Filatova, who created the “Bear Circus”.
Many circus teams make up entire dynasties. Such names as Kio, Zapashny, Tuganov, Doveiko, Durov, Kantemirov, Volzhansky were included in the golden fund of the Russian circus. Many films have been made about this art form, thousands of books have been written, and a lot of festivals have been created. The oldest festival takes place in Monte Carlo, where awards similar to the Oscars are awarded.
On International Circus Day, many circuses open their doors to everyone. Circuses are making free shows of masters obsolete, holding various exhibitions, carnivals and programs. International Circus Day is important event for all those who love the circus in all its forms.
With the initiative of holding an annual world day The circus was performed by the European Circus Association and the World Circus Federation (Federation Mondiale Du Cirque).
The World Circus Federation, headquartered in Monte Carlo, was founded in 2008 under the patronage of Princess Stephanie of Monaco. Federation is non-profit organization, created to promote the development of circus art and culture throughout the world, as well as to represent the interests of the circus at the international level.
The first circus was opened in London in 1777 (according to other sources in 1768) by Philip Astley. It was the first theatrical performance in Europe in a building with a round arena and a dome-shaped roof. Initially, the round arena in the circus existed exclusively for horses. Astley's circus was dominated by equestrian acts: figure riding, training, acrobat jockeys, living pyramids of riders, which were built at full gallop. Astley was the first to show vaulting - a set of gymnastic exercises on a horse moving at a walk, trot and gallop in a circle. He is also responsible for determining the diameter of the circus arena - 13 meters, which was chosen in such a way that the optimal centrifugal force of a galloping horse was created for the rider. In addition to horse shows, Astley's circus staged story shows. musical performances, extravaganzas and melodramas on historical topics, which included fencing and equestrian battle scenes. Philip Astley became the founder of the first circus dynasty. In 1782, a branch of his theater opened in Paris. Astley's Amphitheater existed until 1895 and was one of the most popular entertainment venues in London during the first century. half of the 19th century century.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the structure of the circus performance was changing dramatically. Appear in a stationary circus carpet clowns and clown trainers. After the introduction of the safety net, it becomes possible to qualitatively complicate aerial gymnastics tricks, where a new role has appeared - “catcher” (an artist who belays and catches flying partners), and the “cross flight” routine is performed for the first time. In the art of tightrope walking, the hemp rope is replaced with a stronger metal cable, which makes it possible to perform complex acrobatic pyramids on the rope. With the technical revolution of the early 19th century, performances and attractions based on the use of technology multiplied - from racing along a vertical wall to “flying from a cannon to the moon,” from extravaganzas on the water to new possibilities of illusion.
The origins of the Russian circus were in the performances of traveling buffoon artists, known since the 11th century. In the 18th century, fairground booths became increasingly widespread. folk festivals, where acrobats, gymnasts, and jugglers perform. At the beginning of the 19th century, circus performances were held in the arena of Count Zavadovsky in St. Petersburg, and a special building was built for equestrian performances on Krestovsky Island. In 1849, a state-owned imperial circus was opened in St. Petersburg with a special department for training circus personnel. In 1853, a stationary circus was built in Moscow on Petrovka. There were traveling circuses in the provinces. In December 1877, a meeting took place in St. Petersburg Grand opening the first stone building in Russia, built taking into account circus specifics. The initiative to build the circus belonged to the Italian rider and trainer Gaetano Ciniselli, the head of a large circus family.
Currently, there are stationary circuses in almost all regional and major cities Russia.
After October revolution The Main Directorate of Circuses (GUTs) was created, a self-supporting organization that existed within the system of the Committee for Arts under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. In addition to stationary ones, the State Center included traveling circuses and attractions under the general name Circus Association.
In 1957, the State Center was transformed into the All-Union Association of State Circuses - SoyuzGoscircus, which managed the circus business in the USSR. Soyuzgoscircus provided economic activity circuses; supervised the production work of stationary circuses and circus groups, conducted training and retraining of artists of various genres.
After the collapse of the USSR there was "Rosgostsirk", which became the successor to "Soyuzgostsirk". This is the largest circus company not only in Europe, but also in the world, uniting 42 stationary circuses in Russia. The Russian State Circus system, based on the so-called circus conveyor, presents almost 500 original circus acts and programs. Its artistic cadre consists of almost three thousand people, which are replenished by graduates State school circus and pop art named after M.N. Rumyantsev (Karandash), as well as members of amateur circus groups from 70 regions of the country. Almost two thousand animals take part in circus performances.
The program for celebrating World Circus Day over the years - on this day, circus troupes organize open days for spectators and charity events, hold street performances, exhibitions, carnivals and processions with the participation of clowns, gymnasts, acrobats, jugglers and other circus performers.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
