Interview with a Circus Matriarch

Lovely interview with 103 year old circus matriarch, Madame Rosa Bouglione.

Real Housewife of Cirque du Soleil

From The Urban Daily:

According to Eben Gregory, NeNe Leakes is heading to the New York-New York Hotel & Casino  in Las Vegas to join the cast of  Cirque du Soleil Zumanity. 

 

NeNe will play the Mistress of Sensuality in the show billed as “the sensual side of Cirque du Soleil.’

The reaction from the circus community? Not so super...

Ring In the New Year With Cirkopolis

Get it while it's hot, folks! For what I can only presume is a limited time, Arte is showing pretty much the complete version of Cirque Eloize's latest production, Cirkopolis. Enjoy it while you can!

Goodbye, Alegria

So long, Alegria! May your spark of light shine on!

Covering the Circus

I recently saw an old New Yorker cover posted on a website. It was from 1927 and featured an elephant and its trainer. I thought it was cool and wanted to find a copy of it to add to my image collection. Little did I know what it would lead to...

It turns out the New Yorker has had many circus themed covers. I just wanted to share that one elephant picture, but it looks like the circus gods have smiled in your favour, for I am about to share a wonderful wealth of circus cover art.

Enjoy!

 

 

Believe it or not, that isn't even all of them. And while I probably should have had a smaller sampling, there were just too many wonderful covers to choose from! I'd like to throw in one more, even though I don't think the cover actually has anything to do with the circus. I suspect it's more of a reflection of a certain political party, but I'm here to talk circus, not politics. At any rate, look at the funny elephants!

Speaking of Slava...

Huh. Just when I put up a post of Slava's Snow Show, what should I stumble upon but a nice little piece about the very man! Check it out here.

Blast from the Past

Surfing the internet randomly, as I am wont to do, I came upon a wonderful collection of photos from the Paris' Fesitval de Cirque de Demain from the early 90s. There are some pretty fabulous photos there, and not only because of the outfits. There were a number of familiar faces and, much to my surprise, a few people that I've worked for! It's a great little taste of circus history. I've included some of my favourite pictures below, and you can view the full collection here.

 Trio Impacto

Trio Impacto

Christian Schwandt & Sven Rauhe

 Duo Borcani

Sharkov Brothers

Les Reflejo Hermanos

Secrets of House of Dancing Water

The House of Dancing Water is touted as being absolutely incredible, but I've heard the behind the scenes action is even more impressive. CNN Travel did a very cool piece on just that, and it's definitely worth a read! Check it out here.

Llama Abduction

Sigh...

The Circus Train

Having done a traditional tour this past year, I've got to say that I have a greater appreciation than ever before for just how transport goes down. The following is a very cool interview with Ringling's trainmaster, Joe Colossa.

Soleil and the Macy's Parade

Happy Thanksgiving to my readers in the US today! Word on the street is that Cirque du Soleil has a float in the Macy's parade this year. From the photos I've seen so far, it's an inexplicable mix of pirates and one of the trio trapeze girls from Varekai...

 I've got to say, based on the pictures alone, I'm not really feeling it. Cirque du Soleil and pirates? And is the Varekai lady supposed to be some kind of sea creature? Maybe it's because I know the character is from Varekai, but she doesn't really seem to fit in with everything else, does she?

 

But then, if we look at the design...

Of course, a DREAMSEEKER! Perhaps someone will finally be able to open my jar of rainbows! 

Ugh...

Remember when Soleil used to be really innovative and inspired? I miss that.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dubé in Trouble

Bad news for Dubé Juggling...

Blow Down!

This appeared in my Facebook feed a while back. From what I understand the blow down occurred around the beginning of September to the Russian State Circus while they were in Osnabrück, Germany.

I, thank goodness, have never witnessed a tent blow down. I can't believe how fast it went down... A blown down can be the end of a circus. Here's hoping that no one was harmed and that the folks at the Russian State Circus get back on their feet quickly.

Tear Down the Circus

If you're on this blog, chances are you're a fan of circus. If so, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that your love of circus extends to things circus related. As such, do I have news for you!

Circus artist Kimmo Olavi has recently ventured into the music scene with the release of the song Tear Down the Circus, complete with official music video! Check it out!

If you enjoy the song, you can get on iTunes here!

Time to Pay Attention

Yet another fine article extolling the merits of contemporary circus!

Funding Fun

"The transformative power of circus connects education, physical art and social development. Social Circus is more than teaching circus skills. It is a tool for transformation, discipline, creativity and artistic expression."

 The above statement comes from the Mobile Mini-Circus for Children (MMCC) website. MMCC is Social Circus program in Afghanistan that uses circus arts a tool for teaching social skills, overcoming trauma and developing essential capacities and the ability to take responsibility.

Not only do they offer workshops for children, but they also perform educational shows about essential themes such as hygiene, Peace, or traffic safety. Partnering with MACCA/UNOPS, for example, MMCC has produced performances geared toward teaching and protecting children from the dangers of landmines and unexploded ordnance, in ways they can easily and much better understand.

MMCC is currently raising funds for their next year of operations. They hope to cover the costs of costumes for rehearsal and performance, as well as covering equipment costs.

Right now, they're at $765 of their $6000 goal. If you're able to help and wish to contribute, you can make a donation here.

For more information about the Mobile Mini-Circus for Children, visit their website here.

Escape

No matter the circumstances, no matter the devastation, somehow, the human spirit survives. Year after year, conflict after conflict, stories of hope and humanity push their way through the horror and the rubble. One needn't look further than the Syria Parkour Club to see that.

Belly of the Beast

It's no secret that Cirque du Soleil has some pretty impressive tricks up its sleeve when it comes to the mechanics that make their permanent shows run. But just how much is really going on? Forbes magazine decided to find out. The resulting article provides an interesting look at what makes the beast tick.

Circus, Performance Art, What's the Difference?

This is an interesting article that appeared in The Wall Street Journal. As a contemporary circus artist, what I find most interesting about this article is the perception of contemporary circus by the author and the shift in attitude that occurs.

I'd wanted to be in the circus since I was a little kid. I didn't need to be convinced of anything and as such, it never occurred to me that people could dismiss the art form circus has become. Heck, I pretty much jumped in blind and was pleasantly surprised by just how rich circus culture is and how many different kinds of circus there are! But of course if you've only ever rolled your eyes at the idea of contemporary circus and dismissed it, how could you possibly know what it has to offer and see its merits?

Read the full article here.

Chookas