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Circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows
Circus
that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians,
dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, unicyclists, as well as
other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. The term 'circus' also
describes the performance which has followed various formats through its 250-
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. A skilled
equestrian, Astley demonstrated trick riding, riding in a circle rather than a
straight line as his rivals did, and thus chanced on the format which was later
named a 'circus'. In 1770 he hired acrobats, tightrope walkers, jugglers and a
clown to fill in the pauses between acts. 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 the 19th century and
continued almost universally to be the main style of circus up until the 1970s.

As styles of performance have developed since the time of Astley, so too have
the types of venues where these circuses have performed. The earliest modern
Advertisement for the Barnum &
circuses were performed in open air structures with limited covered seating.
Bailey Circus, 1900
From the late 18th to late 19th century, custom-made circus buildings (often
wooden) were built with various types of seating, a centre ring, and sometimes
Types Contemporary
a stage. The 'traditional' large tents, commonly known as 'Big Tops' were
circus
introduced in the mid-19th century as touring circuses superseded static Ancestor Drama
venues. These tents eventually became the most common venue and remain so arts
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 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.

Contemporary circus has been credited with reviving the circus tradition since the 1980s when a number of groups
introduced circuses based almost solely on human skills and which drew from other performing art skills and styles.

Contents
Etymology
History
Origins
Modern format
Astley and early British circus
Ricketts and the first American circus

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Expansion of American format

Touring
Russia
China
International awards
Contemporary types
Performance
Acts
Animal acts
Controversy
Animals acts controversy and laws in the USA
Animals acts controversy and laws in the EU and the UK
Worldwide Animals acts controversy and laws

Buildings
In art, music, films, plays and books
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links

Etymology
First attested in English 14th century, the word circus derives from Latin circus,[1] which is the romanization of the Greek
κίρκος (kirkos), itself a metathesis of the Homeric Greek κρίκος (krikos), meaning "circle" or "ring".[2] In the book De
Spectaculis early Christian writer Tertullian claimed that the first circus games were staged by the goddess Circe in honour
of her father Helios, the Sun God.[3]

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
Englishman Philip Astley, while for others its origins go back much further—to
Roman times.

Origins
Sells Brothers Circus with Great
In Ancient Rome, the circus was a building for the exhibition of horse and Danes
chariot races, equestrian shows, staged battles, gladiatorial combat and
displays of (and fights with) trained animals. The circus of Rome were similar
to the ancient Greek hippodromes, although circuses served varying purposes and differed in design and construction, and
for events that involved re-enactments of naval battles, the circus was flooded with water. The Roman circus buildings
were, however, not circular but rectangular with semi circular ends. The lower seats were reserved for persons of rank,

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There were also various state boxes for the giver of the games and his friends.
The circus was the only public spectacle at which men and women were not
separated. Some circus historians such as George Speaight have stated "these
performances may have taken place in the great arenas that were called
'circuses' by the Romans, but it is a mistake to equate these places, or the
entertainments presented there, with the modern circus" [4] Others have
argued that the lineage of the circus does go back to the Roman 'circuses' and a
chronology of circus-related entertainment can be traced to Roman times,
continued by the Hippodrome of Constantinople that operated until the 13th
Video of a circus from 1954.
century, through medieval and renaissance jesters, minstrels and troubadours
to the late 18th century and the time of Astley. [5] [6]

The first circus in the city of Rome was the Circus Maximus, in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills. It was
constructed during the monarchy and, at first, built completely from wood. After being rebuilt several times, the final
version of the Circus Maximus could seat 250,000 people; it was built of stone and measured 400m in length and 90m in
width.[7] Next in importance were the Circus Flaminius and the Circus Neronis, from the notoriety which it obtained
through the Circensian pleasures of Nero. A fourth circus was constructed by Maxentius; its ruins have helped
archaeologists reconstruct the Roman circus.

For some time after the fall of Rome, large circus buildings fell out of use as centres of mass entertainment. Instead,
itinerant performers, animal trainers and showmen travelled between towns throughout Europe, performing at local fairs.

Modern format

Astley and early British circus

The origin of the modern circus has been attributed to Philip Astley, who was
born 1742 in Newcastle-under-Lyme, England. He became a cavalry officer
who set up the first modern amphitheatre for the display of horse riding tricks
in Lambeth, London on 4 April 1768.[8][9][10] Astley did not originate trick horse
riding, nor was he first to introduce acts such as acrobats and clowns to the
English public, but he was the first to create a space where all these acts were
brought together to perform a show.[11] Astley rode in a circle rather than a
straight line as his rivals did, and thus chanced on the format of performing in
a circle.[12] Astley performed stunts in a 42 ft diameter ring, which is the Astley's Amphitheatre in London
standard size used by circuses ever since.[11] Astley referred to the performance c.1808
arena as a Circle and the building as an amphitheatre but these were to later be
known as a Circus.[13] In 1770 Astley hired acrobats, tightrope walkers, jugglers
and a clown to fill in the pauses between acts.[11]

Astley was followed by Andrew Ducrow, whose feats of horsemanship had much to do with establishing the traditions of
the circus, which were perpetuated by Henglers and Sangers celebrated shows in a later generation. In England circuses
were often held in purpose built buildings in large cities, such as the London Hippodrome, which was built as a
combination of the circus, the menagerie and the variety theatre, where wild animals such as lions and elephants from
time to time appeared in the ring, and where convulsions of nature such as floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
have been produced with an extraordinary wealth of realistic display. Joseph Grimaldi, the first mainstream clown, had
his first major role as Little Clown in the pantomime The Triumph of Mirth; or, Harlequin's Wedding in 1781.[14] The

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Royal Circus opened in London on 4 November 1782 by Charles Dibdin and his partner Charles Hughes.[15] In 1782, Astley
established the Amphithéâtre Anglais in Paris, the first purpose-built circus in France, followed by 18 other permanent
circuses in cities throughout Europe.[16][17] Astley leased his Parisian circus to the Italian Antonio Franconi in 1793.[18] In
1826, the first circus took place under a canvas big top.[19]

Ricketts and the first American circus

The Scotsman John Bill Ricketts brought the first modern circus to the United
States. He began his theatrical career with Hughes Royal Circus in London in
the 1780s, and travelled from England in 1792 to establish his first circus in
Philadelphia. The first circus building in the US opened on April 3, 1793 in
Philadelphia, where Ricketts gave America's first complete circus
performance.[20][21] George Washington attended a performance there later
Trapeze artists, in lithograph by that season.[22]
Calvert Litho. Co., 1890

Expansion of American format

In the Americas during the first two decades of the 19th century, the Circus of Pepin and Breschard toured from Montreal
to Havana, building circus theatres in many of the cities it visited. Victor Pépin, a native New Yorker,[23] was the first
American to operate a major circus in the United States.[24] Later the establishments of Purdy, Welch & Co., and of van
Amburgh gave a wider popularity to the circus in the United States. In 1825, Joshuah Purdy Brown was the first circus
owner to use a large canvas tent for the circus performance. Circus pioneer Dan Rice was the most famous pre-Civil War
circus clown,[25] popularizing such expressions as "The One-Horse Show" and "Hey, Rube!". The American circus was
revolutionized by P. T. Barnum and William Cameron Coup, who launched the travelling P. T. Barnum's Museum,
Menagerie & Circus, the first freak show. Coup also introduced the first multiple ringed circuses, and was also the first
circus entrepreneur to use circus trains to transport the circus between towns, a practice that continues today.

Touring
In 1838, the equestrian Thomas Taplin Cooke returned to England from the
United States, bringing with him a circus tent.[26] At this time, itinerant
circuses were becoming popular in Britain. William Batty's circus, for example,
between 1838 and 1840, travelled from Newcastle to Edinburgh and then to
Portsmouth and Southampton. Pablo Fanque, who is noteworthy as Britain's
only black circus proprietor and who operated one of the most celebrated
travelling circuses in Victorian England, erected temporary structures for his Circus parade around tents, in
limited engagements or retrofitted existing structures.[27] One such structure lithograph by Gibson & Co., 1874
in Leeds, which Fanque assumed from a departing circus, collapsed, resulting
in minor injuries to many but the death of Fanque's wife.[28][29] Three
important circus innovators were Italian Giuseppe Chiarini, and Frenchmen Louis Soullier and Jacques Tourniaire, whose
early travelling circuses introduced the circus to Latin America, Australia, South East Asia, China, South Africa and
Russia. Soullier was the first circus owner to introduce Chinese acrobatics to the European circus when he returned from
his travels in 1866 and Tourniaire was the first to introduce the performing art to Ranga where it became extremely
popular.

Following Barnum's death, his circus merged with that of James Anthony Bailey, and travelled to Europe as the Barnum &
Bailey Greatest Show On Earth, where it toured from 1897 to 1902, impressing other circus owners with its large scale, its
touring techniques (including the tent and circus train), and its combination of circus acts, a zoological exhibition and a
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freak show. This format was adopted by European circuses at the turn of the
20th century.

The influence of the American circus brought about a considerable change in

the character of the modern circus. In arenas too large for speech to be easily
audible, the traditional comic dialog of the clown assumed a less prominent
place than formerly, while the vastly increased wealth of stage properties
relegated to the background the old-fashioned equestrian feats, which were
replaced by more ambitious acrobatic performances, and by exhibitions of
Lion tamer, in lithograph by Gibson
skill, strength and daring, requiring the employment of immense numbers of
& Co., 1873
performers and often of complicated and expensive machinery.

Russia
In 1919, Lenin, head of the USSR, expressed a wish for the circus to become
'the people's art-form', with facilities and status on par with theatre, 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; performers were trained using methods developed from the Soviet
gymnastics program. When the Moscow State Circus company began
international tours in the 1950s, its levels of originality and artistic skill were
widely applauded. Painting by Venezuelan Arturo
Michelena, c. 1891, depicting a
backstage area at the circus
China
Circuses from China, drawing on Chinese traditions of acrobatics, like the
Chinese State Circus are also popular touring acts.

International awards
The International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo[30] has been held in Monte Carlo since 1974 and was the first of many
international awards for circus performers. From the late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, travelling
circuses were a major form of spectator entertainment in the US and attracted huge attention whenever they arrived in a
city. After World War II, the popularity of the circus declined as new forms of entertainment (such as television) arrived
and the public's tastes became more sophisticated. From the 1960s onward, circuses attracted growing criticism from
animal rights activists. Many circuses went out of business or were forced to merge with other circus companies.
Nonetheless, a good number of travelling circuses are still active in various parts of the world, ranging from small family
enterprises to three-ring extravaganzas. Other companies found new ways to draw in the public with innovative new
approaches to the circus form itself.

Contemporary types
Contemporary circus (originally known as nouveau cirque) is a recent performing arts movement that originated in the
1970s in Australia, Canada, France,[31] the West Coast of the United States, and the United Kingdom. Contemporary circus
combines traditional circus skills and theatrical techniques to convey a story or theme. Compared with the traditional
circus, the contemporary genre of circus tends to focus more attention on the overall aesthetic impact, on character and
story development, and on the use of lighting design, original music, and costume design to convey thematic or narrative

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content. For aesthetic or economic reasons, contemporary circus productions

may sometimes be staged in theatres rather than in large outdoor tents. Music
used in the production is often composed exclusively for that production, and
aesthetic influences are drawn as much from contemporary culture as from
circus history. Animal acts appear rarely in contemporary circus in contrast to
traditional circus where animal acts have been a significant part of circus
entertainment.

Early examples of nouveau cirque companies include: Circus Oz, forged in

Cirque du Soleil performing Dralion Australia in 1978 from SoapBox Circus and New Circus, both founded in the
in Vienna, 2004 early 1970s; the Pickle Family Circus, founded in San Francisco in 1975; Ra-Ra
Zoo in the UK in 1983, Nofit State Circus in 1984 from Wales; Cirque du Soleil,
founded in Quebec in 1984; and Archaos in 1986. More recent examples
include: Teatro ZinZanni, founded in Seattle in 1998; Quebec's Cirque Éloize; Les 7 doigts de la main (also known as The 7
Fingers);[32] and the West African Circus Baobab[33] in the late 1990s. The genre includes other circus troupes such as the
Vermont-based Circus Smirkus (founded in 1987 by Rob Mermin), Le Cirque Imaginaire (later renamed Le Cirque
Invisible, both founded and directed by Victoria Chaplin, daughter of Charlie Chaplin), the Tiger Lillies, Dislocate,[34] and
Vulcana Women's Circus,[35] while The Jim Rose Circus is an interesting take on the sideshow. Swedish contemporary
circus company Cirkus Cirkör was founded in 1995. U.S. Company PURE Cirkus[36] was founded in the subgenre of
"cirque noir" in 2004, and in Northern England, (United Kingdom), Skewed Circus[37] combines punk, rap, dance music,
comedy, and stunts to deliver "pop-circus" entertainment to young urban audiences.

The most conspicuous success story in the contemporary genre has been that of Cirque du Soleil, the Canadian circus
company whose estimated annual revenue now exceeds US$810 million,[38] and whose nouveau cirque shows have been
seen by nearly 90 million spectators in over 200 cities on five continents.[39] Despite the contemporary circus' shift toward
more theatrical techniques and its emphasis on human rather than animal performance, traditional circus companies still
exist alongside the new movement. Numerous circuses continue to maintain animal performers, including UniverSoul
Circus, and the Big Apple Circus from the United States, Circus Krone from Munich, Circus Royale and Lennon Bros
Circus from Australia, Vazquez Hermanos Circus, Circo Atayde Hermanos, and Hermanos Mayaror Circus[40] from
Mexico, and Moira Orfei Circus[41] from Italy, to name just a few.

Performance
A traditional circus performance is often led by a ringmaster who has a role
similar to a Master of Ceremonies. The ringmaster presents performers, speaks
to the audience, and generally keeps the show moving. The activity of the
circus traditionally takes place within a ring; large circuses may have multiple
rings, like the six-ringed Moscow State Circus. A circus often travels with its Ticket Sale of Sirkus Finlandia in
own band, whose instrumentation in the United States has traditionally Jyväskylä, Finland
included brass instruments, drums, glockenspiel, and sometimes the
distinctive sound of the calliope.

Acts
Common acts include a variety of acrobatics, gymnastics (including tumbling and trampoline), aerial acts (such as trapeze,
aerial silk, corde lisse), contortion, stilts, and a variety of other routines. Juggling is one of the most common acts in a
circus; the combination of juggling and gymnastics is called equilibristics and include acts like plate spinning and the

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rolling globe. Acts like these are some of the most common, and the most
traditional. Clowns are common to most circuses and are typically skilled in
many circus acts; "clowns getting into the act" is a very familiar theme in any
circus. Famous circus clowns have included Austin Miles, the Fratellini Family,
Rusty Russell, Emmett Kelly, Grock, and Bill Irwin.

Daredevil stunt acts and sideshow acts are also parts of some circus acts, these
activities may include human cannonball, chapeaugraphy, fire eating,
breathing, and dancing, knife throwing, magic shows, sword swallowing, or Fire breathers risk burns, both
strongman. Famous sideshow performers include Zip the Pinhead and The internal and external, as well as
Doll Family. A popular sideshow attraction from the early 19th century was the poisoning in the pursuit of their art.
flea circus, where fleas were attached to props and viewed through a Fresnel
lens.

Animal acts
A variety of animals have historically been used in acts. While the types of
animals used vary from circus to circus, big cats, camels, llamas, elephants,
zebras, horses, birds, sea lions, bears, and domestic animals such as cats and
dogs are the most common.

The earliest involvement of animals in circus was just the display of exotic
creatures in a menagerie. Going as far back as the early eighteenth century,
exotic animals were transported to North America for display, and menageries
were a popular form of entertainment.[42] The first true animals acts in the
circus were equestrian acts. Soon elephants and big cats were displayed as well. Female lion tamer and leopard.
Isaac A. Van Amburgh entered a cage with several big cats in 1833, and is
generally considered to be the first wild animal trainer in American circus
history.[24] Mabel Stark was a famous female tiger-tamer.

Controversy
Animal welfare groups have documented many cases of animal cruelty in the
training of performing circus animals.[44][45] The animal rights group People
for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) contends that animals in circuses
are frequently beaten into submission and that physical abuse has always been
the method for training circus animals. Elephants from Cole Brothers
Circus parade through downtown
Los Angeles, 1953
Animals acts controversy and laws in the USA
According to PETA, although the US Animal Welfare Act does not permit any
sort of punishment that puts the animals in discomfort,[46] trainers will still go against this law and use such things as
electric rods and bull hooks.[47] According to PETA, during an undercover investigation of Carson & Barnes Circus, video
footage was captured showing animal care director Tim Frisco training endangered Asian elephants with electrical shock
prods and instructing other trainers to "beat the elephants with a bullhook as hard as they can and sink the sharp metal
hook into the elephant's flesh and twist it until they scream in pain."[47]

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On behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the

Netherlands, Wageningen University conducted an investigation into the
welfare of circus animals in 2008.[48] The following issues, among others, were
found:

71% of the observed animals had medical problems

33% of tigers and lions did not have access to an outdoor enclosure
Lions spend on average 98% of their time indoors
An average enclosure for tigers is only 5 m2
Elephants are shackled in chains for 17 hours a day on average gorillas horse act
Elephants spend on average 10 hours a day showing stereotypic
behaviour
Tigers are terrified of fire but are still forced to jump through fire rings
Since 1990 there have been over 123 cases of lion attacks at circuses
Animals are trained through discipline.
Based on these findings, the researchers called for more stringent regulation
regarding the welfare of circus animals. In 2012, the Dutch government
announced a ban on the use of wild circus animals.[49]

In testimony in U.S. District Court in 2009, Ringling Bros. and Barnum &
Bailey Circus CEO Kenneth Feld acknowledged that circus elephants are struck Circus baby elephant training
behind the ears, under the chin and on their legs with metal tipped prods,
called bull hooks. Feld stated that these practices are necessary to protect
circus workers. Feld also acknowledged that an elephant trainer was
reprimanded for using an electric shock device, known as a hot shot or electric
prod, on an elephant, which Feld also stated was appropriate practice. Feld
denied that any of these practices harm elephants.[50] In its January 2010
verdict on the case, brought against Feld Entertainment International by the
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 'et al.', the Court
ruled that evidence against the circus company was "not credible with regard
to the allegations".[51] In lieu of a USDA hearing, Feld Entertainment Inc. Elephant act at a 2009 circus in
(parent of Ringling Bros.) agreed to pay an unprecedented $270,000 fine for Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico. In
violations of the Animal Welfare Act that allegedly occurred between June December 2014, as a response to
reports of animal mistreatment, the
2007 and August 2011.[52]
Mexican Congress passed a law
A 14-year litigation against the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus banning the use of animals in any
circus in the country.[43] The law set
came to an end in 2014 when The Humane Society of the United States and a
fines for violations and required
number of other animal rights groups paid a $16 million settlement to Feld
circuses to submit lists of the wildlife
Entertainment.[53] However, the circus closed in May 2017 after a 146-year run they possessed, which would then
when it experienced a steep decline in ticket sales during the year after it be made available to zoos
discontinued its elephant act and sent its pachyderms to a reserve.[54] interested in taking the animals.[43]

On February 1, 1992 at the Great American Circus in Palm Bay, Florida, an

elephant named Janet (1965 – February 1, 1992) went out of control while giving a ride to a mother, her two children, and
three other children. The elephant then stampeded through the circus grounds outside before being shot to death by
police.[55] Also, during a Circus International performance in Honolulu, Hawaii on 20 August 1994, an elephant called
Tyke (1974 – August 20, 1994) killed her trainer, Allen Campbell, and severely mauled her groomer, Dallas Beckwith, in
front of hundreds of spectators. Tyke then bolted from the arena and ran through the streets of Kakaako for more than

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thirty minutes. Police fired 86 shots at Tyke, who eventually collapsed from the wounds and died.[56]

Animals acts controversy and laws in the EU and the UK

In 2018 in Germany, an accident with an elephant during a circus performance , prompted calls to ban animal
performances in circuses. PETA called the countries politicians to outlaw the keeping of animals for circuses. [57] In 1998
in the UK, a parliamentary working group chaired by MP Roger Gale studied living conditions and treatment of animals in
UK circuses. All members of this group agreed that a change in the law was needed to protect circus animals. Gale told the
BBC, "It's undignified and the conditions under which they are kept are woefully inadequate—the cages are too small, the
environments they live in are not suitable and many of us believe the time has come for that practice to end." The group
reported concerns about boredom and stress, and noted that an independent study by a member of the Wildlife
Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University "found no evidence that circuses contribute to education or
conservation."[58] However, in 2007, a different working group under the UK Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs, having reviewed information from experts representing both the circus industry and animal welfare, found
an absence of "scientific evidence sufficient to demonstrate that travelling circuses are not compatible with meeting the
welfare needs of any type of non-domesticated animal presently being used in the United Kingdom." According to that
group's report, published in October 2007, "there appears to be little evidence to demonstrate that the welfare of animals
kept in travelling circuses is any better or any worse than that of animals kept in other captive environments."[59]

A ban prohibiting the use of wild animals in circuses in Britain was due to be passed in 2015, but Conservative MP
Christopher Chope repeatedly blocked the bill under the reasoning that "The EU Membership Costs and Benefits bill
should have been called by the clerk before the circuses bill, so I raised a point of order". He explained that the circus bill
was "at the bottom of the list" for discussion.[60] The Animal Defenders International non-profit group dubbed this "a huge
embarrassment for Britain that 30 other nations have taken action before us on this simple and popular measure".[61]

Worldwide Animals acts controversy and laws

There are nationwide bans on using some if not all animals in circuses in Sweden, Costa Rica, India, Finland, Singapore,
Switzerland, Norway, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece,
Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Israel, Taiwan,
Malta,[62] Netherlands, and Denmark. Spain, Ireland, United Kingdom, Argentina, Austria, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Mexico,
and the United States have locally restricted or banned the use of animals in entertainment.[63] In response to a growing
popular concern about the use of animals in entertainment, animal-free circuses are becoming more common around the
world.[64] In 2009, Bolivia passed legislation banning the use of any animals, wild or domestic, in circuses. The law states
that circuses "constitute an act of cruelty." Circus operators had one year from the bill's passage on July 1, 2009 to
comply.[65]

A survey confirmed that on average, wild animals spend around 99 to 91 percent of their time in cages, wagons, or
enclosure due to transportation. This causes a huge amount of distress to animals and leads to excessive amounts of
drooling.[66]

City ordinances banning performances by wild animals have been enacted in San Francisco (2015),[67] Los Angeles
(2017),[68] and New York City (2017).[69] These bans include movies, Tv shows, ads, petting zoos, or any showcase of
animals where they are in direct contact with the audience. The reason being the high chance of the animals to harm
someone in the audience. This is due to their instincts which they cannot control.[70]

Greece became the first European country to ban any animal from performing in any circus in its territory in February
2012, following a campaign by Animal Defenders International and the Greek Animal Welfare Fund (GAWF).[71]

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On June 6, 2015, the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe adopted a position paper in which it recommends the
prohibition of the use of wild animals in traveling circuses.[72][73]

Buildings
In some towns, there are circus buildings where regular performances are held.
The best known are:

Blackpool Tower Circus

Budapest Circus
Circus Krone Building in Munich
Cirque d'hiver, Paris
Cirque Jules Verne in Amiens[74]
Hippodrome Circus, Great Yarmouth
La Tohu in Montreal
Circus building
Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard in Moscow
Shanghai Circus World in Shanghai
Turkmen State Circus in Ashgabat
Riga Circus in Riga
"Globus" Circus in Bucharest
In other countries, purpose-built circus buildings still exist which are no longer
used as circuses, or are used for circus only occasionally among a wider
programme of events; for example, the Cirkusbygningen (The Circus Building)
in Copenhagen, Denmark, Cirkus in Stockholm, Sweden, or Carré Theatre in
Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Paper postcard of the Old Kharkov
Wood Circus
In art, music, films, plays and books
The atmosphere of the circus has served as a dramatic setting for many
musicians. The most famous circus theme song is called "Entrance of the
Gladiators", and was composed in 1904 by Julius Fučík. Other circus music
includes "El Caballero", "Quality Plus", "Sunnyland Waltzes", "The Storming of
El Caney", "Pahjamah", "Bull Trombone", "Big Time Boogie", "Royal
Bridesmaid March", "The Baby Elephant Walk", "Liberty Bell March", "Java",
Strauss's "Radetsky March", and "Pageant of Progress". A poster for Pablo
Fanque's Circus Royal, one of the most popular circuses of Victorian England,
inspired John Lennon to write Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! on The
Beatles' album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The song title refers to
William Kite, a well-known circus performer in the 19th century. Producer
George Martin and EMI engineers created the song's fairground atmosphere
by assembling a sound collage of collected recordings of calliopes and
fairground organs, which they cut into strips of various lengths, threw into a
box, and then mixed up and edited together randomly, creating a long loop The Circus, by Georges Seurat,
painted 1891. Original in Musée
which was mixed into the final production.[75] Another traditional circus song
d'Orsay, Paris.
is the John Philip Sousa march "Stars and Stripes Forever", which is played
only to alert circus performers of an emergency.

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Plays set in a circus include the 1896 musical The Circus Girl by Lionel
Monckton, Polly of the Circus written in 1907 by Margaret Mayo, He Who Gets
Slapped written by Russian Leonid Andreyev 1916 and later adapted into one
of the first circus films, Katharina Knie written in 1928 by Carl Zuckmayer and
adapted for the English stage in 1932 as Caravan by playwright Cecily
Hamilton, the revue Big Top written by Herbert Farjeon in 1942, Top of the
Ladder written by Tyrone Guthrie in 1950, Stop the World, I Want to Get Off
written by Anthony Newley in 1961, and Barnum with music by Cy Coleman
and lyrics and book by Mark Bramble, Roustabout: The Great Circus Train
Wreck written by Jay Torrence in 2006. Circus seals

Following World War I, circus films became popular. In 1924 He Who Gets
Slapped was the first film released by MGM; in 1925 Sally of the Sawdust (remade 1930), Variety, and Vaudeville were
produced, followed by The Devil's Circus in 1926 and The Circus starring Charlie Chaplin, Circus Rookies, 4 Devils; and
Laugh Clown Laugh in 1928. German film Salto Mortale about trapeze artists was released in 1931 and remade in the
United States and released as Trapeze starring Burt Lancaster in 1956; in 1932 Freaks was released; Charlie Chan at the
Circus, Circus (USSR) and The Three Maxiums were released in 1936 and At the Circus starring the Marx Brothers and
You Can't Cheat an Honest Man in 1939. Circus films continued to be popular during the Second World War; films from
this era included The Great Profile starring John Barrymore (1940), the animated Disney film Dumbo (1941), Road Show
(1941), The Wagons Roll at Night (1941) and Captive Wild Woman (1943).

Tromba, a film about a tiger trainer, was released in 1948. In 1952 Cecil B. de Mille's Oscar-winning film The Greatest
Show on Earth was first shown. Released in 1953 were Man on a Tightrope and Ingmar Bergman's Gycklarnas afton
(released as Sawdust and Tinsel in the United States); these were followed by Life Is a Circus; Ring of Fear; 3 Ring Circus
(1954) and La Strada (1954), an Oscar-winning film by Federico Fellini about a girl who is sold to a circus strongman.
Fellini made a second film set in the circus called The Clowns in 1970. Films about the circus made since 1959 include
Disney's Toby Tyler (1960), the B-movie Circus of Horrors (also in 1960); the musical film Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962); A
Tiger Walks, a Disney film about a tiger that escapes from the circus; and Circus World (1964), starring John Wayne.
Mera Naam Joker (1970) a Hindi drama film directed by Raj Kapoor which was about a clown who must make his
audience laugh at the cost of his own sorrows. In the film Jungle Emperor Leo (1997), Leo's son Lune is captured and
placed in a circus, which burns down when a tiger knocks down a ring of fire while jumping through it.

The TV series Circus Humberto, based on the novel by Eduard Bass, follows the history of the circus family Humberto
between 1826 and 1924. The setting of the HBO television series Carnivàle, which ran from 2003 to 2005, is also largely
set in a travelling circus. The circus has also inspired many writers. Numerous books, both non-fiction and fiction, have
been published about circus life. Notable examples of circus-based fiction include Circus Humberto by Eduard Bass,
Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan, and Spangle by Gary Jennings. The novel Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen tells the
fictional tale of a circus veterinarian and was made into a movie with the same title, starring Robert Pattinson and Reese
Witherspoon.

Circus is the central theme in comic books of Super Commando Dhruva, an Indian comic book superhero. According to
this series, Dhruva was born and brought up in a fictional Indian circus called Jupiter Circus. When a rival circus burnt
down Jupiter Circus, killing everyone in it, including Dhruva's parents, Dhruva vowed to become a crime fighter. A circus-
based television series called Circus was also telecast in India in 1989 on DD National, starring Shahrukh Khan as the lead
actor.

See also
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Animal training
Chautauqua, tent shows that preceded American circus
Circus clown
Clown alley
Circus skills
Cirque du Soleil
Clown
Contemporary circus
Dog and pony show
Flea circus
Lion taming
List of circuses and circus owners

Notes
1. circus (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3Dcircus),
Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, on Perseus
2. krikos (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dkri%2Fkos),
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
3. Tertullian, Septimus Florens (1931). De Spectaculis. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Loeb Classical Library.
4. Speaight, George (1980). A History of the Circus. London: The Tantivy Press. p. 11. ISBN 0498024709.
5. Croft-Cooke & Cotes, Rupert & Peter (1976). Circus: A World History. London: Paul Elek. p. 27. ISBN 0236400517.
6. Dagron, Gilbert (2011). L’ Hippodrome de Constantinople: Jeux, Peuple et Politique. Paris: Éditions Gallimard.
ISBN 978-2-07-013378-9.
7. "History of the Ludi" (http://www.novaroma.org/ludi/html/history.html). Novaroma.org. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
8. Marius Kwint, ‘Astley, Philip (1742–1814)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004;
online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 7 Jan 2014 (http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/821,)
9. Speaight, George (1980). A History of the Circus. London: Tantivy Press.
10. The Oxford English Dictionary lists the 1791 book The History of the Royal Circus about Philip Astley's troupe as the
first written use of the word to describe the modern circus.
11. "The circus comes to the Circus" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/2929565.stm). BBC News. Retrieved
December 13, 2014
12. Joe Nickell (2005). "Secrets of the sideshows". p.8. University Press of Kentucky, 2005
13. Stoddart, Helen (2000). Rings of Desire: Circus History and Representation. Manchester: Manchester University
Press. pp. 13–15. ISBN 0719052343.
14. McConnell Stott|, Andrew (2009), The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi, Canongate Books, p. 28.
15. Mr Philip Astley's Introduction to The First Circus in England (http://www.peopleplayuk.org.uk/guided_tours/circus_tou
r/the_first_circus/default.php) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20081108114017/http://www.peopleplayuk.org.u
k/guided_tours/circus_tour/the_first_circus/default.php) 2008-11-08 at the Wayback Machine.. PeoplePlay UK.
Retrieved 18 March 2007.
16. Philip Astley (British circus manager) (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/39827/Philip-Astley), Encyclopædia
Britannica.
17. Leathers, Victor L. (1959). British Entertainers in France, University of Toronto Press, 1959, p. 29.
18. Banham, Martin (1995). The Cambridge Guide to Theatre, Cambridge University Press, 1995, p.216.
19. Glenday, Craig (2013). Guinness World Records 2014. ISBN 978-1-908843-15-9.
20. "Historical Markers" (http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=815). Explore PA History. Retrieved
2012-04-20.

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21. "Person : Ricketts, John Bill" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120503230859/http://www.circusinamerica.org/public/pe

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9/us/us_ringling-bros-fine_1_animal-welfare-act-usda-cruelty?_s=PM:US) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2012
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pplaud-at-the-ringling-bros-circus-its-closure/). The Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-06-12. "In 2015, Ringling Bros.
announced it would stop using elephants in its shows. The lumbering mammals delivered their final performances last
May — dancing, spinning and standing on pedestals at the command of the ringmaster — and then were retired to a
reserve in central Florida. The move exacerbated the show’s demise; the elephants’ departure ultimately expedited
what was a “difficult business decision.”
“Ringling Bros. ticket sales have been declining, but following the transition of the elephants off the road, we saw an
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While the animal activists never prevailed against Ringling in court, they were victorious outside. The allegations of
elephant abuse prompted municipalities around the country to ban elephant bullhooks — a sharp metal tool used by
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References
Assael, Brenda, "Circus and Victorian Society", 2005, University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville ISBN 0-8139-2340-9
Croft-Cooke, Rupert and Cotes, Peter. 1976. Circus: A World History. Elek. London ISBN 0-236-40051-7
Johnson, William M. 1990. The Rose-Tinted Menagerie (http://www.circusperformers.org). Iridescent Publishing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circus 15/16
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Nance, Susan. Entertaining Elephants: Animal Agency and the Business of the American Circus (Johns Hopkins
University Press; 2013) 304 pages; elephants as "actors" or creatures of agency in the American circus from 1800 to
1940.
Speaight, George, "A History of the Circus" 1980, The Tantivy Press, London ISBN 0-4980-2470-9
Stoddart, Helen, "Rings of Desire: Circus History and Representation", 2000, Manchester University Press,
Manchester ISBN 0-7190-5234-3
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Circus".
Encyclopædia Britannica. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 390–391.
Tertullian, Septimus Florens. De spectaculis: Latin text with English translation by Terrot Reaveley Glover. Loeb
Classical Library 1931.

Further reading
Adams, Katherine H. (2012). Women of the American Circus, 1880-1940. McFarland and Company, Inc., Publishers.
ISBN 9780786472284.
Dfening, Fred D., III (November 2007). "The American Circus in the 1870s: An Overview from Newspaper Sources".
Bandwagon. Columbus, Ohio: Circus Historical Society. 51 (6): 4–60. ISSN 0005-4968 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/
0005-4968).—provides an overview of "low-yield research" into the history of the American Circus as covered in
"ragcontent newspapers [and] magazines [such as] White Tops"
Brooke, Bob (October–November 2001). "Step Right Up: Bob Brooke presents the history of the circus in America" (ht
tp://www.history-magazine.com/circuses.html). History Magazine.
Simon, Linda. The Greatest Shows on Earth: A History of the Circus (Reaktion Books, distributed by University of
Chicago Press; 2014); 296 pages;

External links
Circus (https://curlie.org/Arts/Performing_Arts/Circus) at Curlie (based on DMOZ)
Dictionary of Circus Slang (American and British/European) (http://goodmagic.com/carny/index.htm)
History of American Circuses and Sideshows (http://www.circusesandsideshows.com)
Circopedia (http://www.circopedia.org/SHORT_HISTORY_OF_THE_CIRCUS)
National Museum of Performing Arts, Theatre Museum. Circus Guided Tour (https://web.archive.org/web/2008101815
1207/http://www.peopleplayuk.org.uk/guided_tours/circus_tour/default.php)
The Philip Astley Project (http://www.philipastley.org.uk)

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