What is a circus - history, description, types and interesting facts. What is a circus? Circus art. Circus performers New circus acts

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Historical reference

What is a circus, they knew 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 Great Circus, 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 in late XVIII 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 XIX 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, 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.

First of all, the circus is special kind performing arts, 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 the conflict, Nikulin and Shuidin began to work separately from Rumyantsev, making up famous clown sky 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 is also very popular in Russia. dancing fountains called "Aquamarine". The audience witnesses 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 circus animals, juggling, illusionism, clowning, circus show, 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 a violation of the usual physical properties of 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 the Japanese game of throwing a ball from hole to hole), power, combat juggling.

Spectators imagine the circus arena as a place of entertainment, where gymnasts, clowns and trainers, replacing each other, give out bright show. However, for workers in this field, creating beautiful numbers is a deadly job, which often leads to tragedies. Gazeta.Ru has compiled a list of 10 cases when the circus was no laughing matter.

Many people have loved going to the circus since childhood: to admire the performances of trained animals, laugh at the antics of mischievous clowns, or hold their breath looking at the complex acrobatic performances. But behind the superbly performed numbers there are not only years of work and rehearsals, but also real human tragedies, the cause of which is someone’s mistake, an absurd accident or animal instincts.

Death under the hooves

On August 30, 2015, circus rider Anastasia Maksimova and her group took part in a performance at the sports complex in the village of Abrau-Dyurso near Novorossiysk.

While performing an acrobatic stunt, the 24-year-old girl fell out of the saddle, catching her foot in the stirrup, after which the horse dragged her several times across the arena. Then the horse jumped onto the podium.

They were able to stop the frightened animal only after a couple of minutes, but during this time Maksimova received several severe blows to her hooves and to the head. She died from her injuries in the ambulance.

During the investigation, it turned out that Maksimova was far from a beginner in equestrian sports: she had been doing it for six years and had numerous awards for horse riding. At the 2012 World Championships in this discipline, she received a silver medal. Some experts then put forward a version that the cause of the incident was a violation of safety regulations during horse riding: the girl’s second leg, contrary to all the rules, was rigidly secured in a tarpaulin loop. This was probably done to make it easier to perform the trick. But it is precisely because of the fixation of the leg that the athlete cannot jump off the horse in time.

Last straw"

In the spring of 2013, the “Drop” act was held at the circus on Vernadsky Avenue. According to the scenario, a group of acrobats had to jump from 30 meters (which corresponds to the eighth floor of the building) straight into the arena upside down. In flight, they managed to perform complex acrobatic figures. The act was performed by a group of athletes from Kenya. According to the author's idea, the first to land was 23-year-old Caro-Christopher Kazungu.

Everything went well, the audience, including numerous relatives of the acrobat, who specially came from Africa, were delighted. But the falling Kenyan was not stopped by the safety net or cable as they should have been, and he collapsed into the arena. The acrobat was urgently taken to the nearest First City Hospital, doctors diagnosed him with a concussion, a comminuted fracture of the first spine and a number of other injuries. Kazungu miraculously survived.

The State Labor Inspectorate found out that, firstly, the victim was not a professional acrobat, but in his homeland, together with a group of colleagues, he was engaged in dancing. Secondly, he jumped without a safety rope.

In the circus itself, the incident is not associated with the gymnast’s low qualifications: supposedly no one performed the “Drop” better than Kazungu. Allegedly, everything was in order with the net before the Kenyan’s performance, and the point of the act, according to the head of the aerial acrobats’ act at the circus on Vernadsky Avenue, Vladimir Doveyko, was precisely to jump without insurance. Eventually official reason The emergency was recognized as a defective net, and the circus management paid for the artist’s subsequent treatment.

Falling on ice

The performance of Yulia and Alexander Volkov, who performed in the circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard in Moscow, ended in an accident. In 2009, they rehearsed the number “Aerialists on Canvases”; it lasts 5.5 minutes and is performed without harness. Yulia was sitting in the splits, her legs were secured with rings of fabric, her hands were holding onto the fabric, and belts were attached to her waist, which Alexander was holding on to. But at some point the artist’s leg slipped out of the ring, and the acrobats fell onto artificial ice (the circus also held ice show): Alexander from six meters, Yulia - from eight. The couple survived, but received numerous injuries. After a long rehabilitation, the artists returned to the arena.

"Flight" is over

Also in 2009, a gymnast from the Moscow Starfish Circus crashed in Khabarovsk. The 26-year-old acrobat was rehearsing the “Flight” routine.

For some reason, his colleagues did not have time to catch the gymnast flying under the dome and he, working without a safety harness, fell onto the net.

He fell so badly that he suffered a dislocation of a cervical vertebra and damage to the spinal cord - but remained alive.

Tiger-tiger, burning fear

In 2006, during a performance at the circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, trainer Artur Bagdasarov wanted to push one of the tigers towards the rest of the animals with a stick, but approached him too quickly. As a result, when the man raised his hand, the tiger raised its paw at him, and then crushed Arthur under itself and squeezed his head with its teeth. They tried to drive away the predator with whips, but he only responded to several shots from a pistol into the air. Doctors put about a hundred stitches on the trainer’s head alone. The tiger, by the way, who even refused to eat for a while due to stress, was not punished: they decided that Bagdasarov himself had violated safety regulations.

Lions on the hunt

Trainer Alexander Shatirov was attacked by two lions during a performance in the Ufa circus in 2005. One of the animals tore the man’s leg, the second threw him into the arena. Assistants tried to ward off predators cold water from a fire hose, but it was not possible to do this right away.

It is noteworthy that Shatirov, on principle, did not give his pets special sedatives, although this practice is often used in many circuses: he believed that this had a bad effect on the abilities of lions.

I came, I saw, I bit

On March 8, 2004, in the Moscow circus on Vernadsky Avenue, the tiger Caesar, whom everyone considered harmless (by predatory standards, of course), suddenly attacked the pregnant trainer Svetlana Sobenko. The woman was taken to intensive care with serious wounds and fractures, there was even a threat of miscarriage, but the child, fortunately, was born healthy.

Dodon attacks

In December 2003, a bear named Dodon attacked three people. The tragedy occurred in “Durov’s Corner”, in the room where the animals are kept, when assistant trainer Umar Zakirov was going to feed the pet. Somehow Dodon got out of the cage, bit Zakirov to death, and then attacked two trainers - Timur Shchedov and Vladimir Soshin, who tried to stop the bear and save their colleague. Zakirov died on the spot, Shchedov was seriously wounded, Soshin received a wound to his right hand.

Trampled by elephants

One of the most tragic incidents occurred on February 22, 2001, in the same “Durov’s Corner”. Trainer Alexander Terekhov rehearsed with two elephants - Dasha and Masha. When he tried to put a harness on Dasha, for which, apparently, he got up to some kind of attack. It is still unknown whether he fell off it himself, losing his balance, or whether the elephant accidentally threw him off with her trunk, but in addition, Dasha stepped on Terekhov several times. The ambulance was unable to save the artist.

"The Old Lady on the Lampshade"

Tragedies also occurred in Soviet time. A terrible incident was the death of the clown Irina Asmus, known for her role as Toffee in television program"ABVGDeyka." Asmus was born in April 1941, she miraculously survived the siege of Leningrad. For some time after graduating from school, she was an acrobat, but after an injury she moved to the V.F. Komissarzhevskaya Theater, where she played Cinderella, Juliet and other roles. Then Irina Asmus returned to the circus, but as a clown: she performed in solo numbers under the stage name Iriska.

The tragedy that ended Iriska’s life occurred in 1986 in the circus of Belarusian Gomel. 44-year-old Asmus had a spectacular “Old Lady on a Lampshade” trick: she rotated around her axis right under the dome.

But when the clown spun upside down, putting her leg through the loop and unfastening the safety net so that the rope would not interfere with her movements, she fell off. The body fell like a stone from a 12-meter height. The artist died from numerous fractures and internal hemorrhage. Later it turned out that the spinning machine had broken down: after the death of the circus performer, this type of mechanism was prohibited.

Circus performances are good because they appeal to people of all ages and social status. Therefore, circus acts are suitable for almost any holiday:

• . The most obvious solution for children's day birth, because children love the circus so much. A bright performance will be the main decoration children's party and will be remembered by the little participants for life.
• . The atmosphere of a professional holiday will be diluted by funny circus acts, will help guests relax and make the atmosphere less official.
• . At any family celebration, circus acts will be an entertainment that will unite people of different ages. Both children and adults will be delighted with the bright performance.
• Wedding . The circus performance will be one of the brightest and most relaxing parts of the evening, will amuse the guests and delight the newlyweds.

Circus numbers from the VIP-stars agency are suitable for almost any holiday and will bring an atmosphere of magic and happiness.

Which circus acts are right for you?

Our agency offers a wide range of circus performances and artists, among which you are sure to choose what you like:

• Classic entertainment designed for children: clowns, magicians, play artists;
• Complex circus acts that will appeal to a wide variety of audiences: acrobats, jugglers, trained animals.

Each circus act follows a pre-prepared program, is discussed in advance with the customer and fits perfectly into the overall program of the evening.

If you don’t know which rooms to choose, we suggest ordering them all at once. This way you will receive a bright, rich program that is guaranteed to impress guests and create an unforgettable holiday.

Why is it worth ordering circus performances from our company?

Because in this case you get maximum benefits and advantages:

• You will receive a world-class show, because we work only with professionals in their field.
• Our cost of circus performances is minimal, because we work directly with the artists.
• You just need to decide on the choice of numbers for the circus program, and that’s all organizational issues we'll take over.

All you have to do is come to the party on time and enjoy the bright show.

In order to order circus performers for your holiday, you just need to call the specified phone number or contact us using the special contact form below.

The fundamental principle of the circus act

Number is the most important component circus performance, its artistic core. Circus acts are the bricks that make up the building of the program. What is a circus act? What are its components? The term "number" arose in the second half of the 19th century. It indicated the order of performance of artists in ballet and opera divertissements. Later, this term migrated to the stage and to the circus, where, in addition to the main meaning (“What number are you going in?”) it also received a different meaning (“What a good number!”).

In the circus, a number is a work of art that is a combination of specially selected tricks performed in a certain sequence according to the principle of increasing their complexity and expressiveness. In the artistic community, the word "trick" has a very broad interpretation. However, we should agree on what exactly we mean by this concept. A stunt is a circus act, one of the main expressive means circus art. For example: handstand or somersault in acrobatics, disappearance and unexpected appearance objects, people, animals in the illusion genre, a lion swinging on a swing in the training genre, tears flowing like a fountain from the eyes of a clown in the clownery genre. A trick, as the main element of a performance, always has a beginning and an end, that is, it has completeness of action. Through tricks during the performance, the stage image of the performer is revealed, his professional capabilities and achievements are revealed. But, of course, tricks acquire the power of emotional impact only in combination with other means of expressiveness - the artist’s facial expressions and gestures, his plasticity and performing manner. Great importance for the number as a whole there is a director's decision, musical accompaniment, decoration- in a word, all the components of a circus work. Without this, tricks are deprived of imagery and, therefore, remain outside the scope of art. A clear composition is very important for a performance, thanks to which individual fragments, merging into a single whole, form a complete work with its own dramaturgy. The composition of the act is dictated by artistic expediency. Like the ancient Russian builders and architects, who, when contracting to build a log temple, reserved the right to “cut in height as measure and beauty dictate,” the creators of a circus act also subordinate their work to this wise principle of measure and beauty - the golden rule of all art.

So, each act is characterized not only by a trick and composition, but also by its ideological and creative tasks, dramaturgy specific to the circus and expressed by circus means, and, finally, the direction of the emotional impact. A topical word spoken by a clown from the arena not only makes you laugh, but also makes you think; air flight evokes heroic and romantic associations; trained animals - a feeling of admiration for a person who managed to tame representatives of the wild. Not all circus acts are equal. Based on their artistic significance Each number is given its own place in the program. The number, which is highlighted on the poster with a special, so-called red line, is called an “attraction” (from the French “attraction” - attraction). This is a particularly interesting and most effective number, occupying a central position in the program and designed for increased attention of the audience. As a rule, the attraction is the culmination of the program, so the requirements for it are higher than for an ordinary number. The attraction is not characterized by the scale of the props, equipment or participation in it large quantity animals, as well as many assistants, as is sometimes mistakenly believed, but its ideological and artistic value, originality of design, compositional harmony, figurative solution and completeness of every detail. This is precisely where its attractive power lies.

Creating a circus act is a complex process. The main role here belongs to the artist. First, he outlines, based on his performance capabilities, outline of the future number. Then he selects tricks and composes an approximate composition that corresponds to the concept of the act. If an artist has directorial skills and artistic taste, then he will be able to stage his own act. Many of the works included in the golden fund of the Soviet circus were created by the artists themselves.

However, in the modern circus the role of the director is becoming increasingly important. It is the director who helps the artist select the most expressive means, find the best staging solution, and identifies the creative and professional capabilities of each participant in the act or attraction.

Sometimes in circus practice it becomes necessary to establish which genre or variety of it the act belongs to. What guidelines should be followed here?

Circus genres differ from each other both in content and form. Let's take acrobatics for example. What is its essence, content? Demonstration of a person’s strength, dexterity, courage, and ability to coordinate complex movements. But the same can be said about gymnastics, athletics, and balancing act routines. This means that the difference between genres is determined not only by their content, but also by the form in which it is expressed. And the form consists of the sum of expressive means characteristic of a particular genre. These include the stunt repertoire, props, equipment, as well as style and performing style.

It is important to clarify exactly what is meant in the circus by the terms “projectile”, “equipment”, “props”.

The apparatus is the simplest device in design, used in gymnastics, acrobatic and tightrope exercises. A series of exercises specially designed for it is performed on each apparatus. Circus equipment, for example, includes: bamboo, frame, horizontal bar, trapeze, rings, cord de shuttle, vertical rope - in gymnastics; feathers, ladders, wire - in balancing act; throw board, trampoline, springboard * - in acrobatics, etc. As a rule, apparatus in the circus are traditional. Naturally, as new ones are invented, their diversity increases more and more. The shape and design of the projectile provide unlimited scope for the inventive thoughts of the artist and director. It is also necessary to take into account the presence of so-called live equipment in the room - horses, elephants, camels, etc. - and methods of working with them. Circus equipment includes:

* (For more information about each of the shells, see the corresponding section.)

a) Special mechanical structures, including a system of electric winches and motors. These structures are suspended under a dome or installed on an arena. They are intended to complicate and enhance the spectacular effect of the artists’ performance. This is achieved through technical features apparatus, rotating, rising, descending, swinging and similar structures.

b) A combination of several equipment and devices used in one performance. For example, an air flight apparatus consists of bridges, trapezoids, bollards *, and a catcher.

* (Stamboard (from German “Stamm” - barrel, “Bord” - edge) is a metal crossbar suspended horizontally by the edges and immovably reinforced with guy wires, from which projectiles and apparatus are suspended.)

By props we mean all kinds of objects, different in nature, size, configuration, material and having a specific purpose in the rooms. The props include a chair played by a clown, a juggler's clubs, a fan in the hands of a tightrope walker on a wire, and loops used when performing exercises by gymnasts, acrobats, and roller runners. Most circus acts are based on the use of apparatus and props, which contribute to the complexity of the act and help to identify the professional capabilities of the artist.

For example, any performance by a gymnastics artist under a dome or in an arena is necessarily associated with an apparatus. The performer and the projectile represent, as it were, a single whole. This is the defining feature of the gymnastic genre. Other genres are characterized by an equally close connection between the performer and the props: with rings, balls, clubs, etc. for jugglers; with cannonballs, weights for an athlete; with specially trained animals from a trainer; with cards, balls, handkerchiefs, illusion equipment from the magician; with balls, reels, cubes, canes at the tightrope walker.

Another sign of definition genre affiliation numbers is a specific action. In gymnastics, this is performing exercises on apparatus (or in the hands of a partner who is on the apparatus) and flying from apparatus to apparatus (for example, from trapeze to trapeze) or from apparatus to hands to a catcher. In balancing act - maintaining balance. In athletics - lifting, pushing, throwing heavy objects. In training, it is a demonstration of animals obedient to the will of man. The tricks involve demonstrating the performer’s sleight of hand, “mysterious” transformations and movements of objects. In juggling, the skillful tossing and throwing of several objects. In acrobatics - vaulting, building columns and pyramids by several participants, ground jumps. In clowning - pantomimic actions that cause laughter, as well as comedically pointed conversation.

To identify the genre of a performance consisting of heterogeneous elements, one should be guided by the dominant element in its stunt repertoire.

Each artist specializes in one genre, striving to achieve the greatest professional results in it. Tricks of this genre most often occupy the main position in the composition of the act. They should be used to determine its genre.

An analysis of circus acts by genre gives reason to believe that they can be divided into two groups: the first - acts with clear features of the genre and the second - acts consisting of elements of different genres.

It is not difficult to determine the genre of numbers belonging to the first group. But the numbers combined in the second group require more careful consideration.

To what genre, for example, can a clown performing with trained animals be classified - clowning or training? What about "Musical Acrobats" or "Flying Acrobats"?

Here, first of all, you should determine the essence of the number. If all the tricks performed by trained animals help the clown to more vividly, in a fable-like way, reveal the semantic content of a particular scene, reprise, or pantomime, then the use of animals is only a means of expressiveness. Before us is an artist whose main role is a clown (even if he is stronger than a clown as a trainer). By the way, it is no coincidence that the posters read: “Clown-trainer”, and not vice versa. True, some trainers perform with animals in clown costumes, but here the costume is only a tribute to a certain tradition.

What genre should the “Musical Acrobats” act be classified into? As a rule, performances of this kind are created by acrobats who manage to master playing musical instruments. For example, in a head-to-head stand they perform a duet on a concertina, and during a stand of the top one on one hand on the head of the bottom one, both partners play the trumpets, pressing the valves with their free hands. Naturally, we are talking about high quality workmanship here. piece of music no need to. The main purpose of the issue is to show musical art, but the ability of artists to play instruments in unusual conditions of a complex acrobatic stunt. Now let’s look at the genre of the “Flying Acrobats” act. If they are “flying,” that means they are flying and, therefore, we are looking at gymnasts. But then why are they called acrobats? Two catchers, standing on equipment installed in the arena opposite each other at a distance of 6 m, throw and catch vaulters * performing tricks adopted in flight. But the flight combinations end with tricks of getting into the arena, which are characteristic of acrobatics (Fig. 3, 4). For example, in a routine under the direction of S. Arnautov, the vaulter performed a back somersault from the catcher on the shoulders to the lower one located in the arena, or in a hand-to-hand position towards him, etc. And in the routine under the direction of R. Spikhin, the performers’ flights are combined with jumps on a trampoline installed in the arena between both apparatuses. Here the basis of the performance is flight, and some acrobatic elements only enhance the spectacular form. Consequently, such a number, which is a type of ground flight, can rightfully be attributed to the genre of gymnastics.

* (A vaulter (from the French "voltiger" - to flutter) is a gymnast who flies from trapeze to trapeze, or into the hands of a catcher, or from one catcher to another.)

So, all circus genres have certain, only them inherent characteristics and properties. It is they who allow us to distinguish one genre from another.

Analyzing the numbers “Clown Trainer”, “Musical Acrobats”, “Flying Acrobats”, we noted that they are the result of a fusion of elements of various genres. This is another extremely important property of circus genres - to fuse individual elements into a single artistic work of circus art. Acrobatic jumping from a springboard over obstacles has long been known in the circus. They were especially common at the beginning of the 20th century. The famous clown Vitaly Lazarenko was a virtuoso performer of such jumps. His repertoire included topical satirical reprises, agitation-pathetic poetic monologues, slogans, appeals, the execution of which he accompanied with acrobatic jumps. A unique creative fusion emerged: clown-jumper-publicist. The bright artistic form of his performances was achieved by specific means of the circus, contributing to the intelligibility of the political repertoire.

When working on creating new original acts, many talented performers resort to combining elements of various circus genres. For example, artists Violetta and Alexander Kiss combined juggling with antipodean and acrobatics elements in their act. So, Violetta, performing a one-handed handstand on Alexander’s head, rotated the hoop with her other hand, and spun the stick with her feet. At this time, the partner was juggling four sticks and walking through the arena.

Equally interesting is the performance of Lithuanian artists Vita and Zigmund Cherniauskas, which is a fusion of two ancient genres - balancing act and juggling. Standing on freestanding ladders, the artist balances on his forehead high stairs, on top of which his partner rotates eight rings on her outstretched arms. Another double balance trick: sitting on a tall unicycle on a small pedestal, the performer juggles eight rings while balancing a cane on his forehead.

Once upon a time there was a now rare number called “sprung-rope” (from the German “Sprung” - jump). It was built taking into account the springing properties of a rope with shock absorbers. The performer performed all kinds of jumps, pirouettes and so-called sedamas on it, that is, coming to a sitting position. Experienced teacher-director N. Stepanov created for young artists the Solokhins a unique act “Voltigeurs on a throwing projectile”, which was based on the principle of a spring rope. There are three participants in the room - the bottom two and the top. The rope is replaced by a metal crossbar, the ends of which are connected to rubber shock absorbers attached to the barrier. The lower ones hold the crossbar on their shoulders. Their role in this act is extremely complex: they must finely control their throwing projectile, flying over which the top one performs a series of acrobatic jumps.

Innovation is the most characteristic Soviet circus artists. In the 30s, when the task was set to free ourselves from the influence of the Western circus, whose representatives were quite numerous in our programs of those years, the artist Dmitry Zementov, in collaboration with the director and partners at the Leningrad Experimental Workshop of Circus Art, created an original act. This number combined gymnastics on the horizontal bars with jumping on a trampoline. Instead of the traditional three horizontal bars in the arena, Zementov installed four, and of different heights. The artists took off onto the horizontal bars using a trampoline track. It is important to emphasize that in such a combination, both types of different genres had a fruitful mutual influence.

So, what conclusions can be drawn from the examples given? Some genres, when combined with each other, allow you to create original numbers, enriching the palette of the circus. But not all genres can be combined. It is hardly possible to combine, for example, juggling on a horse with tightrope balancing on a wire, or aerial flight with balancing on a perch. And if something like this does occur, then only... in the movies. In the movie "Mr. X", for example, main character, a circus performer, sitting on a trapeze swinging under the dome, plays the violin. But then he “breaks off” and ends up on a horizontal bar installed in the arena, and then, after several revolutions around the bar, he finds himself riding a horse. Comments, as they say, are unnecessary. Film editing and combined filming can demonstrate not such miracles. In circus practice, the matter of combining genres is not so simple.

As a rule, performers suffer creative failure when they try to combine genres mechanically. As an example, we can cite the number of jockeys-riders of the Alexandrov-Serge brothers. One of them, standing on a galloping horse, performed a musical piece on the saxophone, and the other, on a horse running on the opposite side of the arena, accompanied him on the accordion. And although the performers were professional musical instruments and it was obvious to the audience that it was very difficult to play while standing on galloping horses, the act was still received with coldness. (By the way, it did not last long in this capacity - the artists themselves gave up playing instruments.)

What was the reason for the failure? Maybe it’s because the performers tried to combine alien elements - playing musical instruments and riding horses? But we know examples from the history of the circus when such elements coexisted well. Juggler Victor Ferropi, standing on a running horse, played the mandolin and hit the ball with his head in time to the melody. This trick looked spectacularly impressive, was a success, and most importantly, it was organic to the overall concept of the act.

Another example. In the early 30s. Maria Rothbert successfully combined balancing act with the performance of a piece of music. At the end of the number, standing on top of the perche, balanced by the one below, she sang a song to her own accompaniment on the accordion, accompanied by an orchestra. Sounding in unusual conditions, “the song gave the act a special charm,” as circus historian Yu. Dmitriev later wrote. Of course, the professional skills and performing culture of the artist were important, but it was also important that the song organically fit into general composition numbers. This innovation was warmly received by the audience and generated many followers. For example, Nikolai Olkhovikov performed a song while juggling on a running horse, Zoya Kokh - balancing on the boom of the "Giant Semaphore", and Lolita Magomedova - standing on the head of a partner climbing an inclined rope.

Thus, playing music or singing in unusual conditions can enrich the performance. This means that it is important to understand for what creative purpose this or that element is introduced into the fabric of the work. Thus, in the room of the Alexandrov-Serge brothers there was a formal demonstration of mastery of musical instruments, which made the room eclectic. In other cases musical elements are organically connected with the number, emphasize its character and enhance the visual impression. For example, L. and G. Otlivanik combined eccentric juggling with musical eccentricity. The performers juggled balls, which, when they landed on multi-colored squares of the musical table, produced a melody. Bone balls, hitting the plates of a hanger or falling into a recess in hats, also give rise to musical sounds (metal plates and musical beeps, selected according to voices, are hidden in the objects). The artists performed comic tricks perfectly in accordance with their eccentric images.

The desire to master several genres is a natural phenomenon; it has been established in the circus for a long time. Naturally, this requires versatile training of artists. However, versatility has its limits. After all, even a gifted artist is able to thoroughly master no more than two, rarely three, genres, bringing them to a professional level. If an artist knows how to juggle, say, four objects, performs a back somersault and is able to fix a planche * on the trapeze, this does not mean that he has mastered three genres - juggling, acrobatics and gymnastics.

* (Planche (from the French "planche" - board, flat surface) - in gymnastics, a horizontal position of the body, held hanging on the hands. Back plop - the gymnast hangs face down, front plop - face up.)

Not only in the past, but, unfortunately, even today in the arena you can find weak performances consisting of a set of different elements that are not organically connected with each other. Created on the principle of “a little bit of everything,” they often hide the artist’s weak qualifications rather than demonstrate his “versatility.” In the old circus, enterprising directors came up with an advertising name for such acts - “Melange-act” (from the French “Melange” - mixing, “aste” - action). And although the proportion of such “assortments” in the programs was small, they nevertheless contributed to the fact that in the professional environment this term to some extent became shameful and gradually disappeared from circus usage.

The mechanical use of individual elements borrowed from other forms of art or sport as means of expression does not enrich the circus and does not bring success. Let's talk about a large group act on motorcycles created by P. Mayatsky. The failure that befell this issue is very instructive. "Motor racing" was born in the 30s. under the influence of physical culture parades, which became especially popular in those years. On four motorcycles, rapidly racing towards different directions Along the track installed in the arena, performers in theatrical costumes of motorcycle racers built acrobatic pyramids and performed various exercises, moving at high speed from one motorcycle to another. In the final, all seven demonstrated a group pyramid on one motorcycle. The number was dynamic professional level The performers are also quite tall, but his life turned out to be short-lived. Moreover, numbers of this type have not become widespread in our programs at all, which is the primary evidence of the value and vitality of this or that artistic innovation. So what's the big deal?

“Motor racing” as a whole was a spectacle of a sporting nature and did not correspond much to the artistic imagery of the circus. The perception of the performance was also hampered by the noise inherent in motorcycles, the crackling noise from the engines and the exhaust fumes that abundantly filled the circus premises. All this caused negative emotions among the audience.

To summarize the above, we note once again: not all genres can be combined into the composition of a number. In each individual case, a careful “compatibility assessment” is required. This means that when creating an act, you should think about whether the combination of certain elements of different genres is justified in the sense of artistic expediency. In this case, knowing the laws of the trick combination helps.

Deviation from these rules, neglect of the specific techniques of the circus, rejection of its language lead the artist and director to creative failure.

Along with well-established concepts and definitions in the circus, there are many controversial issues that have not yet become the subject of serious discussion and research. The polemical conversation that arises around them usually does not extend beyond a narrow circle of professionals. The theory of circus art has not yet been sufficiently developed, so what is controversial continues to remain controversial. We consider it appropriate to dwell on some issues that, in our opinion, are of practical interest.

In the circus, the concept of “equestrian genre” has long existed, covering all acts associated with the participation of horses. We are used to this definition: it can be heard in conversations behind the scenes, found in official documents, in reviews. But is this legal?

To understand the essence of the issue, let’s analyze the structure of horse numbers. To do this, first of all, let’s clarify: is there anything in common between the work of a jockey and, say, a horse trainer, between high school riding and juggling on a horse? Nothing except the participation of horses in these acts. But the horse itself cannot be a sign artistic form. And its meaning is not the same for each number. In some cases, the horse is just a moving support point for an artist demonstrating his creative achievements, in others it is an object of trick training. Therefore, a horse that can waltz, walk on its hind legs, and much more, should certainly be placed on a par with “scientific” elephants, dogs, and bears.

What is the basis of the work of a circus jockey? Acrobatic jumps, the execution of which involves the horse running in a circle of the arena. What about a juggler on a horse? Dexterous throwing of objects and, to a minimal extent, horsemanship. So, the main thing is juggling.

From the above examples it follows that different horse numbers should be assigned to different genres. Some are for equestrian acrobatics, others are for training, and still others are for juggling. (These numbers are described in more detail in the relevant sections.)

The concept of “equestrian genre” is devoid of any basis and is used only out of habit. (By the way, for some reason the definition of “camel genre” has not come into use, although we know the numbers of vaulting on camels, acrobatics on camels, trained camels.) Most likely, it arose as a derivative of the term “equestrian circus”, known since that time there were times when programs were almost entirely based on horse performances (a similar kind of performance was shown in 1965 at the Moscow Circus and in France, stage director M. Tuganov), but an equestrian circus is not at all the same thing as the equestrian genre.

Another controversial issue is the definition of the genre of various equilibria numbers (from the Latin “aequlibris” - the art of maintaining balance). What is this - an independent genre or a type of acrobatics? And in fact, in many balancing acts - for example, on a staircase, on ropes, on balls, on a rope, etc. - acrobatics occupy a significant place. And in some types of balancing act there is no acrobatics at all. For example, the sisters R. and K. Korzhenevsky performed balancing act on balls in combination with juggling, artists A. and R. Slavsky performed an eccentric scene on a free wire, O. Popov performed comic juggling on a free wire, A. Hertsog, L. Koshkina, N. Tkachenko demonstrated trick balancing on a matte trapeze (balancing trapeze). So what is balancing act - a type of acrobatics or an independent genre? Starting from the 20th century, elements of acrobatics began to be increasingly introduced into equilibria performances, which were organically combined with balancing and significantly enhanced the expressiveness of the performances. Today we almost never meet balance balancers in their programs who do not use acrobatics or juggling in their routines. However, this does not give reason to cross out the genre of balancing act, one of the oldest and most resilient in the circus art, which has its own clear characteristics.

Let us also focus on such a number as “Power Jugglers”. Sometimes it is classified as a genre of juggling on the grounds that the performers throw and catch cannonballs, weights, and balls. In the circus museum catalogue, dedicated to the exhibition“The Art of the Juggler” (1929), it is said: “By the nature of their work, jugglers are called “craft-jugglers,” that is, strongman jugglers...” Is this true? Is there any reason to classify strongmen who toss cannonballs into the genre of “agile and fast”, or into juggling? After all, power jugglers use techniques of throwing heavy objects only to demonstrate their athletic capabilities, to emphasize professional excellence, and not at all to demonstrate a juggling technique that they do not even master. Athletics is an independent genre, and the term “juggler” in relation to athletes is only symbol certain nature of the artist’s work. Classifying athletes as jugglers is as illogical as considering a tightrope walker on a wire to be a ballerina only on the grounds that during the routine she performs arabesques and splits.

Sometimes the opinion is expressed that the antipodean numbers and the Icarian games, according to the classification of genres, should be classified in the same group, since both the antipode and the lower Icarist, lying on the antipodean pillow, perform approximately the same actions with their feet. But this, in fact, is where their similarity ends. Training techniques, performing tricks and the nature of work in Icarian games and antinode numbers are completely different. An antipodist is essentially a juggler, throwing and balancing objects with his feet. And Icarian games are a unique type of acrobatics.

Undoubtedly, the first attempts to demonstrate simple antipodean tricks were made by ancient jugglers, and from them the technique of throwing a person with their legs was borrowed by acrobats. The history of the development of circus art convinces us of this.

Juggling dates back thousands of years, but Icarian games appeared only at the end of the 18th century. And, finally, the most important thing is that the antipodean operates with objects, and the lower icarist throws up a person who must have special acrobatic training to facilitate the performance of stunt elements. And without the actions of the top, clearly coordinated with the actions of the bottom, the latter simply will not be able to perform its functions.

In addition to those noted above, there are a number of other controversial issues regarding the types of differences in circus acts. We will dwell on them in more detail in the appropriate sections.

You can do any circus act. There is nothing inaccessible to you! Remember, for example, such an amazing number - balancers on perches. One performer holds a perche, a huge aluminum barbell, on his forehead. His partner climbs the barbell to the very top and does gymnastic exercises there, and at this time the “bottom”, holding the barbell on his forehead, bends, sits down, lies down, turns and straightens again.

What kind of relationship and interdependence of partners should there be in such a number! After all, you won’t actually climb onto your partner’s head! You are standing on the floor in front of him, but you are standing as if you were on top of the perch and as if your partner was holding this perch on his forehead. The slightest inaccuracy, loss of balance, and your partner will not be able to hold the punch! Work!

Can you show me trained horses? Certainly! And you don't need to get down on all fours to do this - let your horses run on two legs as if they knew how to do it!

Everyone’s task: come up with several circus acts at home, practice them and show them to us.

Circus show

Work on individual circus acts can culminate in a mass exercise - a circus performance, with an orchestra on imaginary instruments, with first-class attractions and, of course, with an audience - what is a circus performance without applause? We also definitely need uniform specialists to prepare the arena for each performance.

The performance begins. The orchestra is thundering. The Ringmaster announces the numbers:

Brothers Kurochkin! Icarian Games!

Sisters of Zanzibar! Top class riding! Equestrian ballet revue!

Trained dogs!

Sawing through a box with a living artist Emma Vavilonskaya!..

Acrobats on a trampoline!.. A juggler on a motorcycle!.. Acrobats with a flip board!.. An eccentric on a wire!.. Aerialists!.. Balancers on balls!.. Flying on an arrow!.. An equilibrist on reels!.. A group of Himalayans bears!.. Original genre!..

Power acrobats!.. Musical eccentrics!.. Roller skaters!.. Aerialists!.. Jumpers!.. Football monkeys!.. There are sea lions and bathers in the pool!..

Unscrewed head

In the play-fairy tale “An Ordinary Miracle” by Evgeniy Schwartz, a cheerful and kind wizard performs miracles in an amazingly simple way: “Walking, you know, through the forest, I see: a young bear, still a teenager. Head with a forehead, smart eyes. We talked, word for word, I liked him me. I picked a nut branch, made a magic wand out of it - one, two, three...” And what did he do? Just a little - turned a bear into a man!

Let's perform ordinary miracles! Well, let's say, play a trick on a friend: while he is sleeping, unscrew his head and hide it in the room. Let him look when he wakes up!

Two students go out onto the playground. One lies down on the bench and falls asleep. Another begins to “unscrew” his head.

Twist it carefully, otherwise he will wake up. What, is it difficult to give in, is the thread rusty? Watch whether his breathing is calm, whether his eyelids are trembling.

Finally the head is unscrewed, and the student carries the imaginary head to the corner of the room and hides it. Then he wakes up his friend: “Get up, it’s time to go to class!”

What happens when you wake up? Do you see anything? Nothing! True, your head woke up with you, but it lies in such darkness that it can’t see anything. Feel your shoulders, neck with your hands... but not your head! Of course, these are your friend's jokes. He's always joking... But he ran away. You'll have to blindly search for the head throughout the room. Search!

The friend silently sneaks into the corner, takes the head and slips it to the owner.

Is she or isn't she? Check, maybe it’s someone else’s? Feel your imaginary head. Do you recognize your nose, your hair? It's okay, screw it in place!

When practicing exercises on miracles with students, you need to strive to find the logic and sequence of miraculous actions in them.