How long does it take to perform in the circus. Circus burlesque performance. Circus in Russia


The oldest Russian circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard in Moscow never ceases to amaze its audience! This time, a truly grandiose program awaits those who come to the performance. It will not only delight you with new attractions and numerous surprises, but will also allow you to "visit" the world's largest Circus Festival in Monte Carlo.

The best artists are on the circus arena in Moscow

The performance will appeal to everyone without exception - both children and adults. And this is not surprising: the artists performing at Tsvetnoy are always very careful in preparing any program. The result of their work each time is an interesting plot and thoughtful, incredibly complex and beautiful numbers that make the audience, with bated breath, follow what is happening on the stage.

This time the show will be just enchanting! The main event dedicated to the new program of the Nikulinsky circus is the Festival in Monte Carlo! The creators of the show tried to convey the atmosphere that reigns in this amazing city as accurately as possible - the shine of the casino lights, elegant luxury. The participation of leading artists and circus groups from all over the world will be a real surprise for the audience. Just imagine: the best numbers of 2018, selected by an experienced commission and presented to the most sophisticated public in Monte Carlo - at the Nikulin Circus in Moscow!

The performance will be attended by trapeze artists and equilibrists, acrobats and jugglers. The highlight of the show, as always, will be the numbers with the participation of animals:

  • lions;
  • tigers;
  • bears;
  • dogs.

The entire evening at the arena will be a world-class star, the outstanding Italian clown David Larible, an artist in the seventh generation, who has decided to continue the dynasty, from the age of eight engaged in horse riding, juggling, acrobatics, and the study of foreign languages. Now he works in arenas around the world and is the owner of the highest circus award - "Golden Clown" at the International Festival in Monte Carlo.

Don't miss: the show will premiere in Moscow on February 22, tickets for the circus performance are already on sale!


The circus is a group of performers who host a variety of entertaining shows featuring clowns, acrobats, trained animals, gymnasts, musicians, dancers, rope walkers, jugglers, wizards, unicyclists, as well as other object manipulation masters and stunt-oriented artists. The program of any circus is very rich and contains many interesting performances - and in this regard, it does not matter how long the performance is in the circus on Vernadsky Street or in any other similar institution. The timing of performances is not too different from circus to circus, but the differences in its quality are sometimes simply amazing.

Circus in antiquity

In ancient Rome, the circus was a building for the exhibition of horses and chariots, horse shows, battles, gladiator fights and performances with trained animals (as well as fights with them). The circus of Rome was similar to the ancient Greek racetracks, although they served different purposes and differed in design and construction. For the show with imitations of naval battles, the structure was flooded with water.

However, Roman circus buildings were not round, but rectangular with semicircular ends. The lower seats were reserved for the nobility. The circus was the only public spectacle in which men and women were not separated. Some circus historians, such as George Speight, write that: “These performances may have taken place in the huge arenas that the Romans called 'circuses' - but it is a mistake to equate these grand and bloody spectacles with the modern circus.

Others argued that the pedigree of the modern type of performing arts still goes back to Roman buildings, and the chronology of entertainment associated with circus shows can be traced back to Roman gladiator fights and Constantinople racetracks that existed before the 13th century, through medieval and Renaissance jesters, minstrels and troubadours to Britain in the late 18th century and innovations by Philip Astley.

The origin of the modern circus

The origin of the modern circus is attributed to Philip Astley, who was born in 1742 in Newcastle under Lyme, England. He became a cavalry officer who founded the first modern amphitheater to demonstrate horsemanship at Lambeth, London on April 4, 1768. Astley was not the inventor of horse riding tricks, and he certainly wasn't the first to introduce actors and clowns to the English public, but he was the first to create a space where all of these actions were brought together to perform in a show. Astley rode in a circle, not in a straight line, as his rivals did, and thus played in a circular performance format. He performed tricks in a 42-foot ring, which is the standard size used by circuses since then. Astley invented the arena for the performance, which looks like a circle under the roof, as an amphitheater, and later it was this invention that became known as the circus. At that time, there was still no clear idea of ​​how long a performance was in the circus, and in 1770 Astley hired acrobats, tightrope walkers, jugglers and clowns to fill in the pauses between performances with their performances.

Circus in Russia

In 1919, Lenin, the head of the USSR, expressed his desire for the circus to become a "form of folk art" with a prestigious status alongside theater, opera and ballet. The USSR nationalized Russian circuses. In 1927, the State University of Circus and Variety Arts, better known as the Moscow Circus School, was established. The performers were trained using methods developed from the Soviet gymnastics program. When a troupe called the Moscow State Circus began international tours in the 1950s, its originality and artistic skills were highly acclaimed throughout the world, especially in the West.

Circus show

To find out how long a performance is in a circus, you need to understand the very structure of circus performances. A traditional circus show is often led by a ringmaster who plays a role similar to the Master of Ceremonies. He introduces the performers, speaks to the audience, and typically manages the show itself. Circus activities traditionally take place inside the ring - large circuses, for example, may have several rings, like the hexagonal Moscow State Circus. He travels frequently with his band, whose arsenal traditionally includes brass instruments, drums, a glockenspiel, and sometimes the characteristic calliope sound.

Animal acts

Many animals have historically been used in circus performances. The most common are large felines, camels, llamas, elephants, zebras, horses, birds, sea lions, bears, and pets such as cats and dogs.

The earliest involvement of animals in the circus was only a way to show exotic creatures to the public (zoos did not exist then). Back in the early 18th century, many of them were brought to North America for display in circuses, and animal fighting was a popular form of entertainment. The first domesticated animals on the arena were horses. Soon, elephants and large felines such as lions and leopards appeared. Isaac A. Van Amburg entered a cage with several large cats in 1833, and is rightfully considered the first trainer of dangerous animals in the history of the world circus.

Circus acts

Common acts include various types of acrobatics, gymnastics (including drum and trampoline), aerial acts (such as trapeze, aerial silk, rope or cord climbing), flexibility tricks, stilts, and many other techniques. Juggling is one of the most common activities in the circus. The combination of juggling and gymnastics is called balancing and includes activities such as spinning plates and rolling a ball. Such actions are among the most common and common.

Clowns are common in most circuses and are usually featured in almost all performances. "Clowns getting into the act" is a very familiar theme in any circus. Famous circus clowns in the West are Austin Miles, the Fratellini family, Rusty Russell, Emmett Kelly, Grock and Bill Irwin. The most popular representatives of this profession in the USSR were Karandash and Yuri Nikulin.

Nikulin Circus

The Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, or Nikulin's Circus, is located on Tsvetnoy Boulevard in the Tverskoy district of Moscow. It was the only circus in the city between 1926 and 1971 and is still the most popular. If you want to become one of the happy visitors to this amazing place, and are interested in how long the performance takes in the Nikulin circus, then the answer will not surprise you much - from 2 to 3 and a half hours.

The circus building was opened as the Salamon Circus on October 20, 1880. He is one of the oldest in Russia. His troupe was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1939, even before the arrival of Yuri Nikulin. For those who are interested in knowing in advance how long the performance is in the Nikulin circus, we advise you to read the article to the end - in principle, the timing of performances is usually the same for all circuses.

Among the famous performers who worked here were the clowns Karandash, Oleg Popov and Yuri Nikulin. Nikulin ran this establishment for fifteen years, and the circus got his name after the artist's death in 1997. In front of the building there is a wonderful statue of Nikulin, whose son inherited his father's business and now runs the circus.

Great Moscow State Circus

Many are interested to know how long the performance is in the circus on Vernadsky Street. The Great Moscow State Circus is indeed located on Vernadsky Prospekt, for which it received its "popular" name. It was opened on April 30, 1971. It can accommodate up to 3400 people, and the height of its amphitheater reaches 36 meters. Performances are held there every day, afternoon and evening.

The circus building has 5 arenas (horse, water, illusionist arena, ice skating rink and arena for lighting effects).

The original building of the circus was just a venue for a performance. In the early 1990s, a company was formed to run the circus. It was headed by Leonid Kostyuk, a former circus artist and equilibrist. The former organizer of circuses in Soviet Russia was the Gost-Circus Union (loosely translated as Russian People's Circus). Under Soviet rule, there were more than 70 circus buildings in the republics of the USSR, as well as special educational institutions in which future artists were trained. Thousands of performers have worked in circus organizations. All of them were civil servants, and therefore their salaries were low compared to the West, but employment was stable, and all equipment, suits, travel and accommodation were provided on time by the state, as well as pensions. Having learned how long the performance at Vernadsky is going on, young artists are in no hurry to get a job there - in the end, state work with such a great responsibility repels many. And there is something to work on, because it is necessary to please the audience for 2-3 hours.

So how long does a circus show take?

Speaking of the average duration of a performance in any circus, any performance lasts at least two hours (plus an intermission of 15-20 minutes). In general, 2-3 hours is the optimal time to perform in a circus. This is relevant for all organizations of this kind, and this information should be known both to casual readers who have decided to visit the circus after a long time, and to people who are interested in specialized issues, such as how long the circus performance on Tsvetnoy takes.

For some people it is difficult to sit for so long, but an interesting performance can be watched for hours, and then it does not matter at all how long the performance is in the circus.

Why is intermission needed?

During the intermission, the circus employees rearrange the stage - they set up a cage-fence from animals and other attributes for a full-fledged performance with tigers, horses and other circus animals. This information is especially important for those who are interested in how long the performance is in the Zapashny circus - world-famous animal trainers. There it is obligatory, since the program includes numbers with predators.

On average 2 to 3 hours. For example, on Vernadsky - 3 hours, on Tsvetnoy Boulevard - around 2 hours 20 minutes.

This is useful

Cirque du Soleil- a bright representative of the modern genre of circus art. The company was founded in 1984 by Guy Laliberté and Daniel Gaultier and is based in Montreal, Canada. Many titles of the performances of the Circus of the Sun are proper names and do not need translation.

Big Moscow State Circus on Vernadsky Avenue - the largest stationary circus in the world. The capacity of the auditorium is 3310 seats, the height of the amphitheater is 36 meters. It has five fast-changing arenas - equestrian, ice, water, illusion and light, and a separate rehearsal arena. The Great Moscow Circus was built under the direction of architects Efim Petrovich Vulykh and Yakov Borisovich Belopolsky and was inaugurated on April 30, 1971.

Nikulin Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard- one of the oldest stationary circuses in Russia. Located in Moscow on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, its capacity is 2000 people, the nearest metro stations are Tsvetnoy Boulevard, Trubnaya. The head of the circus is Maxim Nikulin, the son of Yuri Nikulin. The Moscow circus was opened on October 20, 1880 by Albert Salamonsky.

How long does a circus show last?

    Oh, how long have I been to the circus ... The last time my family went to the circus was five or six years ago, and even then our little boy wanted to look at the overseas animals.

    Naturally, I didn’t experience those feelings that I experienced in childhood, but it was great. The performance itself lasted three hours, together with a forty-minute intermission. During the intermission, we managed to sit in a cafe and eat ice cream and even took pictures with a monkey. Our little viewer really liked the performance and left the circus full of positive emotions.

    But only after that, for some reason, he no longer asked to take him to the circus - the computer came first. Now in the cinema you can only pull it out with a shout.

    The circus show lasts on average 2 hours with a 30-minute intermission in the middle of the performance, during which a rearrangement is made on the stage - they install a cage-fence from animals and other attributes for a full-fledged performance with tigers, horses and other circus animals.


    Yesterday I just went with my son to the circus, to the circus Fiesta our show lasted 2.5 hours with a 20-minute intermission. On average, a circus performance lasts from 2 to 3 hours, more children are unlikely to sit out. The intermission is 20-30 minutes.

    We went to the Bagdasarovs this year. The performance lasts 2.5 hours, intermission is 30 minutes. Not everyone can sit out that long. I'm tired, but my son for 4.5 years was doing well. The circus is magic, but frequent visits I think will be tiresome. You can go once a year.

    Typically, a circus performance will last 2 to 3 hours. Most often, after a performance, acrobats, gymnasts, jugglers, equilibrists, an intermission of 20-30 minutes is arranged. The second part usually shows trained animals. On weekends, performances can be held according to an abbreviated program.

    Most circus performances last 3 hours, but with a mandatory break of 20 to 30 minutes.

    During the break, you can go to the toilet, buy something to eat, children can buy some toys that are sold in the circus.

    During a break, we even managed to go to a nearby park.

    Children love to go to the circus. Basically, the circus program is designed for a children's audience.

    The circus show lasts an average of 2.5 hours with a break of 30 minutes. Therefore, the time from the beginning of the performance to the end (including a break) is approximately 3 hours.


    Since the circus performance is mainly for children, it should take so long so that the children do not get tired. An intermission is arranged between performances, which, as a rule, does not take more than 30 minutes. And each part of the performance, there are 2 of them, lasts about 1-1.5 hours. As a result, a trip to the circus can take three hours.

    A trip to the circus Is a sea of ​​positive emotions. For both children and adults. Trained animals, funny clowns, dexterous acrobats - all this causes delight and surprise... Personally, as a child, I often went to the circus. And I always discovered a lot of new and interesting things.

    Speaking of the duration of the performance, any performance lasts at least two hours (plus an intermission of 15-20 minutes). Generally 2-3 hours- the most optimal time for a circus performance. For some people hard sit so much, but you can admire this pleasure for hours. And if that always you can go out and stretch your legs. (rare, but possible).

    The performance time depends on the number of performances that the artists choose to show in the performance. At least 45 minutes each two branches, and half an hour between them. In the first section, they show numbers that are technically light, in the second, those that need bulky equipment. If a circus show consists only of light numbers, then it can be very long. I once left the show, having served it with my son for 3 hours, and the performances continued for about an hour.

The oldest Russian circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard in Moscow never ceases to amaze its audience! This time, a truly grandiose program awaits those who come to the performance. It will not only delight you with new attractions and numerous surprises, but will also allow you to "visit" the world's largest Circus Festival in Monte Carlo.

The best artists are on the circus arena in Moscow

The performance will appeal to everyone without exception - both children and adults. And this is not surprising: the artists performing at Tsvetnoy are always very careful in preparing any program. The result of their work each time is an interesting plot and thoughtful, incredibly complex and beautiful numbers that make the audience, with bated breath, follow what is happening on the stage.

This time the show will be just enchanting! The main event dedicated to the new program of the Nikulinsky circus is the Festival in Monte Carlo! The creators of the show tried to convey the atmosphere that reigns in this amazing city as accurately as possible - the shine of the casino lights, elegant luxury. The participation of leading artists and circus groups from all over the world will be a real surprise for the audience. Just imagine: the best numbers of 2018, selected by an experienced commission and presented to the most sophisticated public in Monte Carlo - at the Nikulin Circus in Moscow!

The performance will be attended by trapeze artists and equilibrists, acrobats and jugglers. The highlight of the show, as always, will be the numbers with the participation of animals:

  • lions;
  • tigers;
  • bears;
  • dogs.

The entire evening at the arena will be a world-class star, the outstanding Italian clown David Larible, an artist in the seventh generation, who has decided to continue the dynasty, from the age of eight engaged in horse riding, juggling, acrobatics, and the study of foreign languages. Now he works in arenas around the world and is the owner of the highest circus award - "Golden Clown" at the International Festival in Monte Carlo.

Don't miss: the premiere of the show in Moscow took place on February 23, tickets for the circus performance are already on sale!

Circus in antiquity

In ancient Rome, the circus was a building for the exhibition of horses and chariots, horse shows, battles, gladiator fights and performances with trained animals (as well as fights with them). The circus of Rome was similar to the ancient Greek racetracks, although they served different purposes and differed in design and construction. For the show with imitations of naval battles, the structure was flooded with water.

However, Roman circus buildings were not round, but rectangular with semicircular ends. The lower seats were reserved for the nobility. The circus was the only public spectacle in which men and women were not separated. Some circus historians, such as George Speight, write that: “These performances may have taken place in the huge arenas that the Romans called 'circuses' - but it is a mistake to equate these grand and bloody spectacles with the modern circus.

Others argued that the pedigree of the modern type of performing arts still goes back to Roman buildings, and the chronology of entertainment associated with circus shows can be traced back to Roman gladiator fights and Constantinople racetracks that existed before the 13th century, through medieval and Renaissance jesters, minstrels and troubadours to Britain in the late 18th century and innovations by Philip Astley.

The origin of the modern circus

The origin of the modern circus is attributed to Philip Astley, who was born in 1742 in Newcastle under Lyme, England. He became a cavalry officer who founded the first modern amphitheater to demonstrate horsemanship at Lambeth, London on April 4, 1768. Astley was not the inventor of horse riding tricks, and he certainly wasn't the first to introduce actors and clowns to the English public, but he was the first to create a space where all of these actions were brought together to perform in a show. Astley rode in a circle, not in a straight line, as his rivals did, and thus played in a circular performance format. He performed tricks in a 42-foot ring, which is the standard size used by circuses since then. Astley invented the arena for the performance, which looks like a circle under the roof, as an amphitheater, and later it was this invention that became known as the circus. At that time, there was still no clear idea of ​​how long a performance was in the circus, and in 1770 Astley hired acrobats, tightrope walkers, jugglers and clowns to fill in the pauses between performances with their performances.

Circus in Russia

In 1919, Lenin, the head of the USSR, expressed his desire for the circus to become a "form of folk art" with a prestigious status alongside theater, opera and ballet. The USSR nationalized Russian circuses. In 1927, the State University of Circus and Variety Arts, better known as the Moscow Circus School, was established. The performers were trained using methods developed from the Soviet gymnastics program. When a troupe called the Moscow State Circus began international tours in the 1950s, its originality and artistic skills were highly acclaimed throughout the world, especially in the West.

Circus show

To find out how long a performance is in a circus, you need to understand the very structure of circus performances. A traditional circus show is often led by a ringmaster who plays a role similar to the Master of Ceremonies. He introduces the performers, speaks to the audience, and typically manages the show itself. Circus activities traditionally take place inside the ring - large circuses, for example, may have several rings, like the hexagonal Moscow State Circus. He travels frequently with his band, whose arsenal traditionally includes brass instruments, drums, a glockenspiel, and sometimes the characteristic calliope sound.

Animal acts

Many animals have historically been used in circus performances. The most common are large felines, camels, llamas, elephants, zebras, horses, birds, sea lions, bears, and pets such as cats and dogs.


The earliest involvement of animals in the circus was only a way to show exotic creatures to the public (zoos did not exist then). Back in the early 18th century, many of them were brought to North America for display in circuses, and animal fighting was a popular form of entertainment. The first domesticated animals on the arena were horses. Soon, elephants and large felines such as lions and leopards appeared. Isaac A. Van Amburg entered a cage with several large cats in 1833, and is rightfully considered the first trainer of dangerous animals in the history of the world circus.

Circus acts

Common acts include various types of acrobatics, gymnastics (including drum and trampoline), aerial acts (such as trapeze, aerial silk, rope or cord climbing), flexibility tricks, stilts, and many other techniques. Juggling is one of the most common activities in the circus. The combination of juggling and gymnastics is called balancing and includes activities such as spinning plates and rolling a ball. Such actions are among the most common and common.

Clowns are common in most circuses and are usually featured in almost all performances. "Clowns getting into the act" is a very familiar theme in any circus. Famous circus clowns in the West are Austin Miles, the Fratellini family, Rusty Russell, Emmett Kelly, Grock and Bill Irwin. The most popular representatives of this profession in the USSR were Karandash and Yuri Nikulin.

Nikulin Circus

The Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, or Nikulin's Circus, is located on Tsvetnoy Boulevard in the Tverskoy district of Moscow. It was the only circus in the city between 1926 and 1971 and is still the most popular. If you want to become one of the happy visitors to this amazing place, and are interested in how long the performance takes in the Nikulin circus, then the answer will not surprise you much - from 2 to 3 and a half hours.

The circus building was opened as the Salamon Circus on October 20, 1880. He is one of the oldest in Russia. His troupe was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1939, even before the arrival of Yuri Nikulin. For those who are interested in knowing in advance how long the performance is in the Nikulin circus, we advise you to read the article to the end - in principle, the timing of performances is usually the same for all circuses.

Among the famous performers who worked here were the clowns Karandash, Oleg Popov and Yuri Nikulin. Nikulin ran this establishment for fifteen years, and the circus got his name after the artist's death in 1997. In front of the building there is a wonderful statue of Nikulin, whose son inherited his father's business and now runs the circus.

Great Moscow State Circus

Many are interested to know how long the performance is in the circus on Vernadsky Street. The Great Moscow State Circus is indeed located on Vernadsky Prospekt, for which it received its "popular" name. It was opened on April 30, 1971. It can accommodate up to 3400 people, and the height of its amphitheater reaches 36 meters. Performances are held there every day, afternoon and evening.


The circus building has 5 arenas (horse, water, illusionist arena, ice skating rink and arena for lighting effects).

The original building of the circus was just a venue for a performance. In the early 1990s, a company was formed to run the circus. It was headed by Leonid Kostyuk, a former circus artist and equilibrist. The former organizer of circuses in Soviet Russia was the Gost-Circus Union (loosely translated as Russian People's Circus). Under Soviet rule, there were more than 70 circus buildings in the republics of the USSR, as well as special educational institutions in which future artists were trained. Thousands of performers have worked in circus organizations. All of them were civil servants, and therefore their salaries were low compared to the West, but employment was stable, and all equipment, suits, travel and accommodation were provided on time by the state, as well as pensions. Having learned how long the performance at Vernadsky is going on, young artists are in no hurry to get a job there - in the end, state work with such a great responsibility repels many. And there is something to work on, because it is necessary to please the audience for 2-3 hours.

So how long does a circus show take?

Speaking of the average duration of a performance in any circus, any performance lasts at least two hours (plus an intermission of 15-20 minutes). In general, 2-3 hours is the optimal time to perform in a circus. This is relevant for all organizations of this kind, and this information should be known both to casual readers who have decided to visit the circus after a long time, and to people who are interested in specialized issues, such as how long the circus performance on Tsvetnoy takes.

For some people it is difficult to sit for so long, but an interesting performance can be watched for hours, and then it does not matter at all how long the performance is in the circus.

Why is intermission needed?

During the intermission, the circus employees rearrange the stage - they set up a cage-fence from animals and other attributes for a full-fledged performance with tigers, horses and other circus animals. This information is especially important for those who are interested in how long the performance is in the Zapashny circus - world-famous animal trainers. There it is obligatory, since the program includes numbers with predators.

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