A circus is a company of performers that may include clowns,
acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers,
jugglers, unicyclists and other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists.
The term 'circus' also describes the performance which has followed various
formats through its 150 year modern history. Philip Astley is credited with
being the 'father' of the modern circus when he opened the first circus in 1768
in England. Early circuses were almost exclusively demonstrations of equestrian
skills with a few other types of acts to link the horsemanship performances.
Performances developed significantly through the next fifty years, with large
scale theatrical battle reenactments becoming a significant feature. The
'traditional' format, whereby a ringmaster introduces a varied selection of
acts that mostly perform choreographed acts to traditional music, developed in
the latter part of 19th century and continued almost universally to be the main
style of circus up until the 1970s.
Contemporary circus has been credited with reviving the
circus tradition since the 1980s when a number of groups introduced circus
based almost solely on human skills and which drew from other performing art
skills and styles. As styles of performance have changed since the time of
Astley, so too have the types of venues where these circuses have performed.
The earliest modern circuses were performed in open air structures with limited
covered seating. From the late 18th to late 19th century bespoke circus
buildings (often wooden) were built with various types of seating, a centre
ring and sometimes a stage. The 'traditional' large tents, commonly known as
'Big Tops' were introduced in the mid 19th century as touring circuses superseded
static venues. These tents eventually became the most common venue and remain
so to the present day. Contemporary circuses perform in a variety of venues
including tents, theatres and casinos. Many circus performances are still held
in a ring usually 13 m (42 ft) in diameter. This dimension was adopted by
Philip Astley in the late 18th century as the minimum diameter that enabled an
acrobatic horse rider to stand upright on a cantering horse to perform their
tricks.
Etymology
First attested in English 14th century, the word circus
derives from Latin circus, which is the romanization of the Greek κίρκος
(kirkos), itself a metathesis of the Homeric Greek κρίκος (krikos), meaning
"circle" or "ring". In the book De Spectaculis early
Christian writer Tertullian claimed that the first circus games were staged by
the goddess Circe in honor of her father Helios, the Sun God. This claim
accords well with the fact that many Roman games were indeed dedicated to the
Sun God.
History
The modern and commonly held idea of a 'circus' is of a Big
Top with various acts providing entertainment therein. However, the history of
circuses is more complex, with historians disagreeing on its origin, as well as
revisions being done about the history due to the changing nature of historical
research, and the ongoing 'circus' phenomenon. For many, circus history begins
with Astley, while for others its origins go back much further—to Roman times.
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