Notes

Affordable South Florida Circus Events
Brief History of Circus
George Speaight defines the history of circus as "the story of that entertainment of human bodily skills and trained animals that is presented in a ring of around 13 metres in diameter having an audience grouped all around it." The form of popular entertainment known as circus developed in England around horse acts.

Although travelling zoological exhibitions (referred to as menageries), acrobats and trick animal acts were all features of entertainment in the eighteenth century and earlier, it had been the mix of these features inside a circular structure which became referred to as circus. Philip Astley (1742-1814), the founder of modern circus, staged a show in London in 1768 featuring trick horse riding and live music. It had been presented in a circular structure, and named Astley's Amphitheatre. He later added other acts, such as for example acrobats, a clown and a band to his performances. However, the word 'circus' to describe this kind of exhibition was coined by Astley's contemporary and rival Charles Dibdin, who opened The Royal Circus in London in 1772.


Dibdin's term was used internationally to spell it out the mixture of horsemanship, comic turns and animal acts programmed as a theatrical spectacle. In 1793, John Bill Ricketts opened the first Astley-type circus in america in Philadelphia. Ricketts' circus featured a rope-walker, a clown, and riding acts. By the start of the nineteenth century nearly all early circuses in America and Europe based their acts on ideas laid down by Philip Astley.

By the middle of the Victorian era travelling circuses had become large commercial concerns ranging from small tenting affairs to gigantic enterprises housed in permanent buildings or amphitheatres. For the first half of the nineteenth century, circus was largely performed in wooden buildings rather than in tents and proprietors such as for example Frederick "Charles" Hengler constructed purpose-built buildings known as hippodromes, circuses and amphitheatres in cities through the entire United Kingdom.

Hengler was one of the greatest circus proprietors of the nineteenth century. He was an equestrian, musician, all-round performer and manager of his brother Edward's circus. live entertainment South Florida was initially a touring concern, but from the 1850s onwards Charles opened permanent circus sites in Glasgow, Dublin, Hull, Birmingham and Bristol and ran his shows from his headquarters in Liverpool.

The idea of using canvas tenting for outdoor performances was imported from America in the 1840s. At that time Hengler was opening his circus building in Liverpool, Howe's and Cushing's USA Circus was advertising that "Tents now take precedent of Marble Halls." By the 1850s, circuses in America and the uk already had a lot of the elements that are connected with them today. Established American circuses prior to the Civil War (1861-1865) included Dan Rice's Circus, Van Amburgh's Circus, Spalding & Rogers Circus, and Howe's and Cushing's American Circus. Through the middle of the nineteenth century European and American circus begun to diverge in style and structure. The British and European circus was based on the Astley principal of an individual ring. Although the acts performed in the ring became more innovative and complex, the concept remained the same.

In the usa, however, the growth of the new railways in the 1870s allowed circus shows to travel large distances on a scale never seen before and the fantastic train shows were born. To support the bigger attendances the circus owners added extra rings with larger tents, or tops. The circus show became an event with a big cast of performers, more extravagant animals, production numbers, and side-shows. Barnum and Bailey's circus train contains between sixty to seventy train carriages.

As the circus evolved so too did the programme. Acts within the Victorian circus included aerial performances like the tight-rope and the trapeze, equestrian riding, ground acts such as acrobats incorporating such novelties because the perch act and breakaway ladder, juggling and of course the staple of circus performance the clown. The combination of showing wild animals in the menagerie tradition with tricks and routines resulted in the rise of the pet circus incorporating lion-taming, elephant acts alongside feats of horsemanship. Circus performers became household names. The most famous tight-rope artist was Blondin who crossed the Niagara Falls in 1859. However, possibly the greatest innovation was the flying trapeze act, first introduced by Jean Leotard at the Circque d'Hiver in Paris in 1859.

By the finish of the nineteenth century the circus was an established and popular form of family entertainment, the aristocracy of travelling entertainment. Queen Victoria invited a variety of circus showmen including P.T. Barnum to perform for the royal family at Windsor and Balmoral from the 1840s and this royal patronage secured its place as both an art form and one of the very most popular of all forms of entertainment exhibited during her reign.

From that auspicious amount of time in the late eighteenth century, the circus has travelled, developed and incorporated a lot more elements, with each generation of circus showmen challenging and innovating the talent. The showmen that feature largely in the NFCA's collections have two things in common. First, do not require originated from traditional circus backgrounds. Second, each played an integral part in expanding the idea of circus, thereby bringing the circus experience to new audiences. Each one of them defined circus because of their generation. Beginning with the daddy of Circus, Philip Astley, we move to the two great showmen of the nineteenth century Lord George Sanger, who did more than any to broaden the circus's appeal in britain and P.T. Barnum, showman supreme.

The twentieth century circus is dominated by three major personalities, each one having defined the talent for his generation. Bertram Mills, who entered the business enterprise as the result of a wager, fairground showman Billy Smart, who purchased a circus to the amazement of his family and finally Gerry Cottle, a stockbroker's son from London. Their stories demonstrate that circus is definitely the place where probably the most talented can try to escape to.

Today's circus incorporates dance and new media, is conducted with or without animals and could even contain a narrative structure predicated on immersive theatrical practice. Modern circus isn't limited to the idea of a thirteen-meter diameter ring with an audience grouped around it, but taking care of should distinguish all circuses: it should always incorporate at its heart exceptional human bodily skills being pushed to the extreme for the gratification and entertainment of the audience.

The NFCA is wanting to cover all aspects of how this great and wonderful talent has evolved over the last three centuries. Recent donations have extended our collections to the birth of contemporary or new circus, alongside the more traditional shows. Our international poster and programme collections encompass the annals of circus from the nineteenth century for this day.

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